Buhari’s dilemma and its solution

Also published in Daily Trust

Though Nigerians can now rest assured that their new president, Muhammadu Buhari will never condone corruption, let alone engage in it, yet his ability to deliver depends, to a large extent, on the quality of his team of political appointees, which is gradually emerging. 

President Buhari’s dilemma lies in the process of identifying and appointing the calibre of people he necessarily needs around him, because it is the individual and collective performance of the people he appoints as ministers, advisers, heads of various government agencies etc that will eventually determine his success or failure as President.

As the real journey begins…

Also published in Daily Trust

Today’s historic transfer of power is a remarkable achievement of a goal conceived by tens of millions of Nigerians almost thirty years ago, and which has been democratically pursued over the past twelve years culminating in Buhari’s assumption of the presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, today.

Though this event is indeed significant, being the first of its kind in the history of Nigeria where an incumbent federal government, having lost a re-election bid, peacefully hands over power to a winning opposition party, as it is also pretty uncommon in African and other emerging democracies elsewhere, yet, its significance is overshadowed by the significance of the hope that the person taking over the presidency represents for the overwhelmingly exhausted Nigerians.

The fruits of patience

Also published in Daily Trust

One of the most interesting things about time is the speed at which it flies especially when viewed in the context of a particular event scheduled to take place at a particular time.

Though this is an easily observable fact by all, the inspiration it exudes surprisingly eludes many people, which explains the extreme impatience that defines their attitudes when pursuing their individual or collective interests.

As Nigerians increasingly look forward to witnessing the next Friday’s historic transfer of power when President Goodluck Jonathan finally hands over the presidency to the incoming President Muhammad Buhari, I recall the widespread post-election violence that erupted in the aftermath of the 2011 elections in the country, which could have been prevented had the parties involved summoned up enough patience and sense of restraint to manage their grievances.

When despair begets hope

Also published in Daily Trust

Though the current unprecedented economic hardship resulting from the increasingly unbearable fuel scarcity, severe power shortages and acute cash crunch in Nigeria, which also afflicts Nigerians against the backdrop of the country’s already rundown economy, induces despair, it nonetheless raises the prospects of an imminent change for the better in the country, as the situation can’t possibly get any worse. After all, despite the country’s enormous wealth, Nigerians have endured enough of leadership-inflicted misery, which has also been particularly excruciating over the past few years.

Interestingly enough, it is quite ironic that, Nigerians have unnecessarily resigned to their fate, though it may not be actually their fate after all, having never been completely helpless in reality. In any case, the irony is that, this unjustifiable resignation contradicts their real or perceived rights consciousness, which they are always fond of displaying to give the impression of being too assertive to be short-changed or taken for granted by their leaders.

Qaddara and the Kano bridge tragedy

Also published in Daily Trust 

The collapse of a giant concrete beam of a not yet completed pedestrian bridge on Sheikh Ja’afar road in Kano metropolis that crushed seven people to death last Sunday was extremely tragic. The widely circulated images of the squashed taxicab in which they were travelling say it all about the unimaginable pain and agony they had suffered before their deaths.

The fact that the bridge construction site was not cordoned off to prevent people from accessing the area while work was underway means that the construction company had flouted the standard safety measures usually taken at construction sites. It might have also compromised on the structural quality of the pedestrian bridge in order to maximize profit and/or cover the cost of kickbacks and other corrupt practices, which also means that the incident was probably, if not certainly, preventable.