President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari

The March 28, 2015
presidential election won by the main opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC) and its representative, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), has, no doubt, opened Nigeria up to another phase of politics. Among other things, it has opened the country to that phase of politics in which the governed matters.
In other words, only that which the people want, at any point in time, should hold sway in governance. This means that the era in which a few privileged people, especially those in government or at the corridors of power, decide what should be without recourse to the overall interest of the populace is over.
This much is decipherable in the words of former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (rtd): “This victory to me conveys two significant statements on our political history and evolution. First, that incumbents can be defeated in any democratic process if the people’s aspirations are not fulfilled.
“Second, that there is good reward for perseverance and hard work. General Buhari has been very consistent in pursuing his political aspiration”, he said, referring to the President-elect’s perseverance in contesting to ascend the highest position in the country in three previous occasions since 2003, which had failed until March 28, 2015.
But Babangida was not done in rightly rubbing home the implications of the APC cum Buhari win. Likening Buhari to former America President, Abraham Lincoln, who had to contest doggedly for several times in pursuit of his political aspiration and ended up enriching the contents of democracy in America.
“General Buhari”, he continued, “lives true to his military calling by remaining very consistent, resilient and courageous right from 2003 till date.
“This enviable feat to me further enriches our democratic process and matures us into the top echelon of nations where democracy has taken firm root. That President Jonathan has indeed conceded defeat and congratulated the President-elect is also cheering news.
“With this election and its outcome thus far, Nigeria has once again recorded another milestone in her march through the enviable ladder of democracy. Our leadership role in Africa will further be enhanced by the way and manner we manage the gains of this process. But I trust that the President-elect will live up to the expectations of many Nigerians that crave for change; and lift Nigeria to greater heights”.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, also emphasised on the win, noting the crux of the reason for Buhari’s nay APC’s acceptance by the electorate, taking a cue from the words of the late Nnamdi Azikiwe (Zik of Africa).
“The great Nnamdi Azikiwe once wrote that ‘history will continue to vindicate the just.’ Your victory in the polls, with votes from across the length and breadth of our country, bears witness to the acceptance of not just our party, the APC, but also your ideology of justice, fair play and zero tolerance for corruption as the bedrock for national rebirth”.
This, no doubt, is the kernel of truth, embedded in Atiku’s warning when he surreptitiously said, “Dear Buhari, the journey has just begun. Millions of Nigerians have put their trust in you, because they were not satisfied with the status quo. You represent the hope of a new generation of Nigerians, and you cannot afford to fail them.
“Our party has made a promise of change to our young people, to secure and rebuild our country, create jobs and opportunity, and improve citizens’ welfare. We will stand behind you to ensure we keep those promises, just like we did during these elections.”
Atiku said Nigeria needs a new direction, noting that Buhari should see his office as an opportunity to unite and rally Nigerians for development. This, he hinted, is the essence for which Nigerians so overwhelmingly voted for a change, and, in the process, voted out an incumbent government at the national level for the first time..
“We have voted for you, and our party won the election, but when you assume our highest office, you must become the president of not just the APC, but all of Nigeria, including the people who did not vote for you. We look up to you to heal the fractures of our country, and truly unite this country like never before”, Atiku said.
One way the Daura-born 72-year-old Fulani from Katsina is expected to do this is to first heal the wounds of a charged electoral campaign, as he admitted in his maiden speech after he was declared winner of the elections, obviously realising that emotions ran high.
“This was a hard- fought contest. Emotions are high. We must not allow them to get the better of us. This is not the time for confrontation. This is a moment that we must begin to heal the wounds and work toward a better future. We do this first by extending a hand of friendship and conciliation across the political divide. We hope and pray our friends in the other parties reciprocate.”
After this, Buhari needs to know that the Nigeria of today is not the one he ruled about 30 years ago as a 42 years old Major-General backed by the privilege of ruling by decree. Come May 29, he will be inheriting a deeply divided Nigeria with high youth unemployment, an unsafe and economically weak nation, coupled with dwindling oil revenues and an almost non-existent foreign reserve, largely warranted by high level corruption in governance.
Citizens’ confidence in the ability of the government to meet its obligations is at its lowest ebb due to massive corruption and the fall of the price of crude which has remained the country’s economic mainstay, while the widening gap between the rich and the poor has never been this wide.
Another serious issue, which the APC used as a campaign tool, is power generation and distribution, which several administrations have tried but failed to fix since the beginning of Nigeria’s fourth shot at democratic rule in 1999. The change which Nigerians clamoured and voted for certainly revolves round the hope that they will fare better than they are doing currently.
This, in the simplest of words, is in terms of infrastructural development; job creation in order to engage the growing army of educated and restless youths; supremacy of the constitution, which must be amended in tandem with the aspirations of a genuine democracy; and, most of all, a realistic and genuine war against corruption, which the retired General convinced Nigerians that out-going President Goodluck Jonathan was unable to fight, and which largely gave APC the win.
As Buhari waits for May 29 to ascend the coveted throne, this is the time to begin to take stock of the challenges on the ground because it is by these challenges he and the new ruling party will be judged.

Soibi Max-Alalibo