The country that Muhammadu Buhari takes control of today, in the
estimation of some, has literally fallen under. It is a country where
the primary ingredients of a functional state are in many cases in
immeasurable deficit to the harrowing plight of the citizenry.
With all indices of human capital development indicating that the
country hardly spent its huge income to bring about quality life for
its over 170 million people, Nigeria is once again at a crossroads.
Interestingly, that fact was not lost on Buhari, who had variously
conceded that he would be leading a nation of altered dreams and
wasted journeys.
The political challenges
The challenges facing the new government are not limited to the
inherited governance issues being left behind by the just exited
administration. The Buhari administration is also going to grapple
with the political challenges of managing its success and one of the
immediate challenges before it is on how to grapple with the
division among the leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC
on the emergence of the new presiding officers of the National
Assembly.
It is not difficult to forget that the difficulties of the Jonathan
administration were partly rooted in the emergence of
Speaker Aminu Tambuwal against the permutations of the
president and his party.
Perennial challenges
The enormity of the challenges is such that miracles are
being expected from the man, whose electoral victory was a
product of general resentment towards an administration that
was largely perceived as irresponsive to the issues.
In spite of the fact that the prospects of surprises had been
dashed by Buhari, who after a thorough appraisal of the
Nigerian situation cautioned against such, analysts have
outlined some critical spheres of the nation’s life in need of
urgent attention.
The areas include; backlog of unpaid salaries, perennial fuel
scarcity, fuel subsidy regime, cost of governance, size of
government, review of power sector privatisation,
institutionalised corruption, security votes, alleged missing oil
money, national reconciliation, the Niger Delta question,
insurgency, and general insecurity.
An early and as well pragmatic approach to these national
challenges could go a long way in defining the direction of
the new administration.
Backlog of unpaid salaries
Though the practice of not paying salaries is endemic in
Nigeria’s public and private sectors, the matter is now at an
alarming rate following the slump in oil prices.
Of the country’s predominantly 36 unviable states, 22 have
not been able to meet their financial obligations to civil
servants for months following shortfalls in federal
allocations.
So pathetic are the attendant effects on federal and state workers
that many want payment of salaries to top Buhari’s agenda.
The extremity of the situation came to the fore during the last May
Day celebration, as government workers in some parts of the
country openly grumbled at the parade ground over the lengthening
delay in the payment of their entitlements.
Therefore, for Buhari’s government to hit the ground running, hard
decisions that would result in generating the needed funds for this
purpose must be made urgently.
Buhari is particularly expected to get the incoming and re-elected
governors into prioritising the need for regenerative sources of
revenue in view of the current financial crisis.
Perennial fuel scarcity
The re-emergence of fuel scarcity in Africa’s largest oil producing
nation at this time, no doubt has compounded the myriad of
challenges for the new government.
Since February this year, Nigeria’s struggling population has faced
acute fuel crisis resulting in increase in the price of goods and
services.
The fact that most homes depend on petroleum as a result of
unsteady power supply underscores the agony of Nigerians at this
time.
Across the country, the product currently sells betwee N150 and
N300 per litre, representing over 60 and 100 percent above the
official rate of N87.
Despite promises by the Goodluck Jonathan administration that the
country would be flooded with petrol, the situation is deteriorating
on a daily basis with people finding it increasingly difficult to buy
the commodity.
Fuel subsidy regime
The new government will have to frontally address the issue of fuel
subsidy which is reportedly at the centre of the crisis in the supply
of fuel products. Given the general upheaval that attended the last
effort by the Jonathan administration to remove the alleged subsidy
in January, 2012, President Buhari is bound to be in a catch 22
situation. While it is a given fact that the subsidy regime is polluted
with fraud, it is also a fact that Nigerians do not want to pay
astronomical prices for the product.
Cost of governance
Buhari’s determination to force the cost of governance is not an
issue with many. What, however, is of concern is the resistance of
those who have been used to the system to adapt with his moves.
At a pre-election summit with governors of his party, Buhari had
urged them to address the exorbitant pension scheme that many
Houses of Assembly had passed for their governors and speakers.
The Buhari administration is also expected to cut down on the
number of aides and ministers, but one challenge the president
would face is the constitutional requirement that requires each state
to produce at least one minister.
Apart from that, the ministries reportedly have about 400
parastatals. The ministries with the highest numbers are Health, 77;
Science and Technology, 40; Education, 41; Agriculture, 44; Power
and Steel, 27 agencies. The worsening nature of the current
financial quagmire is such that Buhari’s government can’t but
review this age-long practice of servicing profligacy.
However, in doing this, the new administration would need to draw
blood in shedding body weight which would entail reduction in the
number of staff, an action that would in the immediate future draw
ill-wind from those affected and the labour unions.
Alleged missing oil/NNPC probe
Even without being persuaded Buhari has calmed fears that the
allegation of missing oil money may be swept under the carpet.
He specifically vowed to investigate the 20 billion dollars allegedly
missing from coffers of NNPC, with the view of bringing anyone
found wanting to book.
With that came sighs of relief from Nigerians, who had thought that
the matter would receive the kind of attention it got under President
Jonathan.
Mallam Sanusi had last year accused the NNPC of not accounting
for $49.8billion oil money. He later reviewed the sum to $20 billion
after a reconciliation of the figure by the NNPC, the Federal Ministry
of Finance and other government agencies. Aside the probe, many
are expectant that other activities of the NNPC would be urgently
looked into in order to reposition the corporation and as well restore
public confidence.
Institutionalised corruption
Given that most of the challenges to be inherited by the Buhari
administration were brought about by corruption, there is hardly any
surprise in the urgency to curb the menace. Buhari himself had
alluded to this during the campaign with his famous quote that “If
we don’t kill corruption this corruption will kill us.” Among the most
challenging issues on corruption that Nigerians would be expecting
the new administration to tackle are the allegations of a missing $20
billion from the Federation Account, the subsidy funding scheme,
among many others.
Insecurity
The security chiefs of former President Goodluck Jonathan had
given the assurance that they would find the secondary school girls
captured from Chibok before handing over to the new
administration. However, as at press time the school girls were yet
to be rescued even as the Boko Haram group has continued to rear
its head here and there. Hence, insecurity is another challenge that
the Buhari administration would have to put at the front burner in its
efforts at restoring normalcy to the land.
National healing
The election left the country almost divided with the majority of the
South-South and the Southeast almost left out of the Buhari
phenomenon that squashed out the first South-South president of
the country. Though a democratic expression, the new
administration would have to address concerns of the people of the
two regions who may feel apprehensive over their marginalisation in
the government that took office today.
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