As we ushered into a new administration, I want to use this medium to task the candidates elected not to see this as the time to roll out drums for frivolities. The task ahead of them is tremendous. In as much as we have largely reduced governance to celebrating electoral victory other than reflecting on the tasks we sought to address, the need to remind our new public office holders to set their priorities right cannot be overemphasised.
Going through the manifestoes of the incoming public officers, it is saddening that none of these touch on the core needs of our country at the national level or at the state and local government levels. Many of us only hope that there will be a turn around in the course of their stewardship.
Northern Nigeria recently displayed insincerity regarding why Nigeria must be restructured. The silence of the northern elders on the restructuring of Kano and Jos Emirates, to many, connotes their support for the actions of the governors of the affected states. Sincerely speaking, the explanations of these governors are plausible and convincing. Their (the governors’) actions were long overdue. Too much concentration of power breeds abuse of power. But the salient question is, why are these same people scared of restructuring Nigeria? In case they did not know, what happened in Ibadan, Kano and Jos is restructuring. If restructuring is needed in these states, why should it be forbidden at the national level?
Personally, the task for the incoming governments is to address Nigeria’s core problems. How do we ensure that we utilise the material resources in our country to add value to our humanity? Our efforts on human capital development determine how developed our country will be. Our state today as a country is a reflection of how well our human capital has been treated.
Whenever people make reference to Nigeria during the regional government era and give credits to the level of development and healthy competition among the regions, they often fail to add that this was made possible because the country was well structured. Thus, the need to restructure Nigeria now cannot be overemphasised. The task ahead of the executive and the legislature is more than rolling out drums. Rather, the men and apparatus needed for this task ought to be put in place immediately. They should roll up their sleeves and ensure that all hands are on deck.
Adewale Qudus Lawal, alaniadewale@yahoo.com
