President Muhammadu Buhari turned 73 Yesterday; for an
African his age, one can only say he is aging gracefully.
The ex-general who has come to be loved by Nigerians,
was born on December 17, 1942, in Daura.
As with most birthday celebrations, gifts are likely to
come rolling in from all quarters. However, of all the
felicitations and gifts which the president is likely to
receive today, nothing will please his heart more than
these five gifts.
1. Boko Haram surrender
Earlier in the year, President Buhari gave a deadline for
the ousting of the dreaded sect which has been plaguing
the northeastern region of the country. However,
December is here and though the Nigerian army has
made progress clearing the camps of the insurgents, still
the jihadists are not giving-up.
President Buhari desires an end to the insurgency in the
northeast.
The Islamists have continued to carry out guerrilla
attacks, wrecking havoc from time to time, causing the
nation so much agony.
Only recently, the sect ambushed troops of the Nigerian
army traveling in a convoy at a town along Bama/
Konduga axis, killing a lieutenant colonel and some other
officers .
The truth remains that Boko Haram is Buhari’s and
Nigeria’s biggest dilemma at the moment, and nothing
will please the president more, than seeing an end to the
bloodshed that has characterized the insurgency within
the northeast of Nigeria.
He would do anything to see that the people stop living in
terror .
2. Biafra bury the hatchet
There is no doubt that President Buhari would not have
no part in a divided Nigeria. The president has often made
clear his love for the nation and believes that the country
in unity can be great.
The agitation by pro-Biafra groups in the southeast has
for a while troubled the nation. The Igbos are an integral
part of the nation, they played a great role in the
attainment of the country’s independence, and rather
than have them go, the president would rather strive to
make them understand that they are of great value to
Nigeria and that the country would be more formidable
with all its ethnic groups focused on one goal.
The Biafra agitation is one issue the Nigerian president
would love to be resolved.
For quite a while, Buhari seemed silent over the brewing
agitation across states in the southeastern region,
however, when he finally spoke on the issue, one could
see the passion of a leader determined to keep the
country united.
In his speech on Monday, November 16, during the
launching of the 2016 Armed Forces Remembrance Day
Emblem and Appeal Fund, the president noted that
Nigerians have since independence remained united,
therefore, the people’s resolve to remain united is ever
strong.
3. The death of corruption
If there is one great task President Buhari believes he
has been assigned, then it will be the death of corruption.
In all his prominent speeches, the president has always
hammered on corruption and how he yearns to oust it
from the Nigerian system.
It is no news that corruption has eaten deep into the fibre
of the Nigerian system, a factor which experts say is
responsible for the nation’s poor growth over the years.
With so many scandals and corrupt officers on all the
levels, the president’s heart is broken, and once he
lamented saying the nation’s trust has been betrayed.
President Buhari has said that his administration will fight
corruption and bring corrupt officials to justice. Like the
request of John’s head on a platter, by the daughter of
Herod on her birthday, a great gift for Buhari on this day
will be the head of corruption which for too long has
deprived Nigeria of its true glory.
4. Fuel woes and economic healing
For a nation that is blessed with an abundance of oil, fuel
and other petroleum products should not be an issue, but
that this not the story of Nigeria.
Nigeria’s fuel scarcity issues keeps getting worse by the
day, with numerous issues plaguing the oil and gas
industry.
The issue of subsidy payments thrives on, as arguments
for and against subsidy removal are raised. Nigeria’s oil
production has dwindled and that has cost the giant of
Africa its place as the top oil producer in Africa .
It would be recalled that prior to his election as the
president of Nigeria, Buhari had in an interview with
Channels TV, said that he will stabilize the global oil
price.
Solely dependent on petroleum for the running of the
economy, the country tends to be taking a nose dive, as
there seem no growth in sight, a problem that is well told
by the daily depreciation in the value of naira.
According to This Day, traders said that low oil prices and
forex currency curbs introduced by the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) saw the naira fall yesterday to a new low
of N270 to the US dollar on the unofficial market. This
comes after the central bank rationed dollar supplies for
the third week in a row.
Nigeria’s current debts as stipulated by the Debt
Management Office (DMO), is a whooping $64 billion.
Nigerians are skeptical of the situation, though at a
briefing of the Senate Committee on Foreign and Local
Debts on December 14, Abraham Nwankwo, the DMO
boss, dismissed the fears of some Nigerians that the
rising debt profile of the country will affect the economy
in a negative way .
Nwankwo explained that the N1.2 trillion domestic
borrowing and foreign loan of N635.88 billion proposed in
the Medium Term Expenditure Framework for the 2016
fiscal, was also healthy for the nation’s economy.
As the Yuletide celebrations approach, prices of goods
and services have soared across the country. Less than
10 days to Christmas, consumers are apprehensive over
the increase , while traders in major markets across the
country now complain of low patronage.
A great gift for President Buhari will be strategies that
can efficiently see Nigeria through its economic
difficulties, as some stakeholders would have loved the
president to resign if he cannot solve the economic
hardship in the country
The nation needs a miracle to make its economy grow
and stand firm, generating revenue from other sources is
a very viable option.
5. Change
The mantra for the APC-led administration is “Change”, a
message which saw them unseat the Peoples Democratic
Party that has ruled the Nigerian people over the last
sixteen years.
President Buhari promised the Nigerian people change in
diverse sectors, but while the people patiently await the
fulfillment of all that has been promised, there is a
change that the president would love to see as a gift for
his birthday, and that is the change that begins with the
people.
Candidate Buhari (APC) addresses a rally in Lagos during
the 2015 electoral campaign; the theme for the party’s
campaign is “Change”. Photo credit: Akintunde Akinleye/
Reuters
Like the saying goes, in a democratic society the people
constitute the government, hence any change desired
must begin with the people.
The president would definitely love to see that Nigerians
work with the mentality of change, a change of mindset
and character.
It would be beautiful that as the year runs to an end, the
Nigerian people make resolutions to change certain things
that do not aid in the development of the nation.
In one of his famous speeches, President Buhari said:
“This generation of Nigerians, and, indeed the future
generation, have no country other than Nigeria; we shall
stay and salvage it together” . The statement emphasizes
the fact the president is counting on everyone to make
the promised “change” feasible.
We,@nosyempire.blogspot.com wish President Buhari good health,
wisdom and more power to his elbow, even as he strives
to meet up with the demands of the covenant which he
made to the great people of Nigeria.
Happy birthday, Mr President!
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