Could it be that public expectations of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration are rather too high? Of course, considering where we were coming from and what we have passed through as a nation, it is only natural for expectations to be high now that the much-touted and desired change has come.
The euphoria that greeted the victory of Buhari at the last national polls and his eventual inauguration as the president was actually borne out of the desire of Nigerians to experience real change. Buhari’s antecedent as a focused, disciplined and no-nonsense leader gave Nigerians a sense of renewed hope that, perhaps, we might get things right this time around. The fact that he had unsuccessfully contested the presidency thrice in quick succession (2003, 2007 and 2011) before his recent triumph gave Nigerians an assurance that, for once, we have installed a president who really desired and, possibly, deserved the office.
This is quite instructive because since the Second Republic, what we have always had are unwilling leaders who were more or less imposed on the nation by various interest groups. In the Second Republic, Shehu Shagari was bidding to vie for a seat in the Senate when he was drafted to contest for the presidency under the umbrella of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN). Though he eventually won the election, it is doubtful if the government he led won the hearts of Nigerians. Indeed, many have claimed that it was the administration’s amazing penchant for profligacy that laid the foundation for Nigeria’s future socio-economic woes.
In the Fourth Republic, it is a common knowledge that Olusegun Obasanjo contested the presidency under the umbrella of the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP), almost against his wish. He was happy and contended when, with the death of General Sani Abacha, the succeeding General Abdulsalami Abubakar’s administration salvaged him from the valley of the shadow of death. Therefore, all he wanted was to go home and re-unite with his family and farm. That was not to be. He was prevailed upon to vie for the presidency. He did, and he won. The extent to which he succeeded at the post, which he occupied for eight years, is left for journalists, historians and scholars to appropriately chronicle. For the immediate past president, Goodluck Jonathan, like his name implies, he rode to the presidency largely on the account of his extravagant good luck.
Thus, in President Buhari, we have, for the first time, a man who meticulously coveted the presidency. Expectedly, this places a huge burden of expectations on his frail shoulders. Nigerians are no longer interested in mere rhetoric or excuses; what they want now is decisive actions from the president. They want actions that would put an end to some of their miseries. The president must be made to recognise that Nigerians were aware of his advanced age when they voted for him to lead them.
Since, he, at that age has decided to take up such a highly demanding job, he should not remind us about his age. Neither should he tell us about how his age could limit his performance. We have had enough of such tales in our 55 years of nationhood. That is why we opted for change.
Though, it seems a bit too early to talk about the slow pace of the president’s motion, but it doesn’t do much credit to Buhari’s image that a few weeks after his inauguration, vital apparatus of governance are yet to properly take shape. No one can yet pin-point the policy direction of the administration in vital sectors of the country. This, indeed, is not the way to begin the change that we have so much longed for. Before his inauguration on May 29, the president had two months, April and May, to effectively and sufficiently strategise with his team on most of the critical issues that now seem to be contentious; and yet very crucial to the success of his administration. The anticipation of Nigerians is that the Buhari presidency represents a brand new opportunity for us to get it right as a nation. If he fails, God forbid, we would have lost a golden opportunity to move forward as a nation.
One key sector that could determine the success or failure of the Buhari administration is the bureaucracy. Every government depends on bureaucracy to achieve set goals. Bureaucracy is an integral part of the way a government functions. According to German sociologist, philosopher and political economist, Max Weber, bureaucracy is the utmost structure of societal organisation. Hence, in Weber’s view, without bureaucracy, society cannot operate on a macro level. Weber goes further to identify the basic characteristics of bureaucracy as having jurisdictions, appropriating official duties, granting authority to positions of leadership, possessing a hierarchy, documenting actions, having standardised training and having a set of rules.
For any government to achieve specific goals, a firm set of rules and precise hierarchical arrangement must be in place to ensure the accomplishment of such goals. This is what bureaucracy represents in a society. No sustained and efficient action would be implemented if the society is disorganised. It is bureaucracy that ensures that a society is not disorderly. In a democracy, bureaucracy is the vehicle of governance. The public officials and administrators working for the government actually determine the pace and the course of governance.
In a democracy, bureaucracy propels the wheel of development. In most advanced democracies of the world, democracy thrives on the wing of a boisterous, efficient and reliable bureaucracy. In Nigeria, for democracy to really work for the common good of all, the Buhari administration must undertake a thorough reform of the country’s bureaucracy. Where it is found to be over-bloated, obstructive and counter- productive, adequate measures must be taken to streamline it. The bureaucracy that is required to drive democracy is one that is prompt, forthright and farsighted. In any nation where bureaucracy has become a drain pipe, democracy would certainly become endangered.
To save time and cost, there so many bureaucracy reforms reports that the Buhari administration could really benefit from. There is, for instance, among many others, the Fulton and Udoji reports. All that is required is for the government to carefully study these reports and carefully implement aspects it considers useful. According to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communication and Technology, Dr. Tunji Olaopa: “The salvation of the Nigerian civil service (i.e. bureaucracy) lies in keeping the significance of the Fulton and the Udoji reports. The nod that these reports gave to performance-oriented civil service system is, in the final analysis, an important nod to democratic governance that has the potential to transform the civil service itself as well as the lives of the citizen.” This, indeed, is the desire of every well-meaning Nigerian. This is what the Buhari administration partly requires to institute an enduring change in the country. This is the way forward. God bless Nigeria!
• Ogunbiyi wrote in from Lagos.
