A retired Army General and former Minister of Science and Technology, Sam Momah, has said that there were five things President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria must immediately tackle in 2017 if his government must continue to be in touch with Nigerians.
The five things include:
- Making a monthly broadcast.
- Visiting states more often.
- Setting up a national conference (that could also assist in the reduction of the size of the National Assembly and number of local government areas in the country).
- Using recovered looted money to pay for low-cost housing.
Daily Trust reports that Momah, a principal staff officer to Gen Buhari in the 1970s, said this in his just-released book: ‘Nigeria’s Break Up: Grave Consequences & Solutions’.
“A monthly broadcast by the president is important because there is a communication gap,” he stated in the book.
The report also said Momah, while speaking about the book in Abuja, added: “There is a need for a monthly broadcast as the people will like to hear from him (Buhari) because they so rely on him; they believe he has the magic wand. So, whatever word he utters is like gold to Nigerians.”
According to him, frequent visits to states would allow President Buhari to know what is on the ground and “it will energise the change mantra. It is stressful, but he’s visiting outside Nigeria.
“The people want to see their president. The governors alone cannot do it; some of them might not even share his ideas. But, by visiting their states, he can push them to work and carry out his ideals.”
Concerning the much-talked about national conference for Nigeria, Momah said that the president could look at the recommendations from the past ones and pick relevant things to do.
“He doesn’t have to take verbatim what (former President Goodluck) Jonathan was given, but he can modify them and move on,” said Momah while suggesting that restructuring of Nigeria should include reducing the size of the National Assembly and the number of local government areas.
He described these two as avenues for squandering public money.
The report further quoted Momah as advising the president to set up an ethical reorientation system, where Nigerians can be asked what and how they want to do whatever it is they want to do.