The title of Charles Dickens’ novel is appropriate to qualify the prevailing mood in the nation since the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission of General Muhammadu Buhari as the President-elect for Nigeria following the presidential election held on March 28, 2015. General Buhari would need more than an extra pair of ears to be able to capture all the hopes and aspirations being expressed by the populace and the different pieces of advice pouring in from all quarters. The jubilation which attended APC’s victory at the presidential polls reminded one of that which occurred at the demise of our erstwhile military dictator, late General Sani Abacha. Once again, the Nigerian people are experiencing a moment of great expectations.
Even as the people continue to make their views known via various media channels, the President-elect himself does appear to be mindful of the significance of this historical moment and the weight of the expectations placed upon his shoulders. The statements coming from him are beginning to give one reason to hope that the slogan of “Change!” on which he rode to victory might be more than a mere campaign gimmick. That is, we are starting to get some positive ‘vibes’ from our President-elect. Some of the issues on the basis of which General Buhari has begun to win the confidence of those Nigerians who for ages have been longing to see a responsible and responsive government include his tough stance on corruption and his intention to cut down on the cost of governance. With regard to tackling corruption, his decision to probe the activities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as well as the mandatory declaration of assets by all the members of his cabinet are two key points which have attracted quite a bit of attention in the media.
During the campaign, as we all remember well, the PDP and particularly President Jonathan’s wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, worked assiduously at portraying General Buhari as a hard-hearted man who would throw all his opponents into jail once he got elected. Mrs. Jonathan was quoted as saying that she did not wish to go and feed her husband in prison, so people should make sure Buhari did not get to the presidency. It was possibly in order to counter this portrayal of himself as ruthless and stony-hearted that the General felt compelled to assure President Jonathan that he “had nothing to fear” if he won the election. That caused a few people to wonder if what was meant was that Buhari would simply draw a line demarcating where Jonathan would be leaving off and where he would take over, basically letting bygones be bygones and dismissing all those cases of missing dollars and other scandalous occurrences with a mere wave of the hand.
That possible development made some of us deeply uncomfortable, for it could well be one of the main reasons that the political culture of impunity has come to be so well entrenched in our nation: hardly anybody gets called to give an account of acts of corruption committed under their watch while they were in office. It seems to be understood that no one has anything to fear; Nigerians are a forgiving people and find it hard to demand any reckoning from their officers. Thus, General Obasanjo was never asked to explain to us what happened to the billions of naira voted for the rehabilitation of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway during his tenure. He goes around freely today, still enjoying great respect as an elder statesman, frequently called upon to intervene in matters of national interest. He equally represents our country at international forums. We were thus wondering whether President Jonathan and his administration were about to be left off the hook so easily. It was a welcome announcement, therefore, and one which has received the backing of the World Bank, when General Buhari announced that the NNPC would be probed. That, at the very least, needs to be done, for the allegations of corruption leveled against that body make one to believe that it is a veritable cesspool of the worst kind of that evil with which our nation has come to be so closely associated.
It is hoped that nobody will begin to accuse the Buhari administration of witch-hunting people when that probe begins. For Nigerians are an interesting lot. Some of us will quickly forget the untold suffering that corruption has inflicted on Nigerians and come up with all manner of arguments to keep accused individuals from answering for their actions. In such instances, ethnic and religious sentiments will usually come to the fore. Let us be on the lookout.
As for the mandatory declaration of assets which will be required of all members of General Buhari’s cabinet, the surprising element about the announcement was that the President-elect was quoted as having used the word “force” – he would force his ministers to declare their assets before and after their tenure. The question is: Does General Buhari really want in his cabinet people who have to be “forced” to declare their assets? Is the matter of asset declaration not such an obvious requirement for good governance that only people who do it willingly deserve to be part of a government which promises fundamental change? Maybe that should be one of the starting points for the new administration. General Buhari should remember that we have great expectations.
