New Year speech: Buhari is not sincere!

Sir: President Muhammadu Buhari is at it again! His ineptitude and lack of vision were legible on every page of his new year’s broadcast to Nigerians. Coming on the heels of a harrowing fuel scarcity which left many Nigerians who were supposed to be celebrating Christmas stranded and depressed during the yuletide, one would have expected him to apologise and present a credible roadmap to lead Nigeria out of the myriad of challenges bedeviling it.

Instead, the president and his army of clueless advisors, speechwriters and hangers-on decided to insult our sensibilities with a speech which lacked essence and depth.

Typically, New Year speeches by world leaders are supposed to lift the morale of the citizenry and fire them up for the year ahead but our President cum Minister of Petroleum displayed insincerity, lack of wisdom, charisma or the attribute needed to make inevitable structural change possible.

President Buhari and the supporters of his retrogressive policies need to understand that solving Nigeria’s challenges is not a rocket science. The adage that Rome was not built in a day is partially true but technology and good strategy have condensed time and year to seconds.

Some would claim that it took the United States of America approximately 250 years to attain her status of development. However, in their narrative, they failed to articulate that it took Dubai, Indonesia, China less than 20 years to reform and change the trajectory of massive economic development and growth. I submit that regional autonomy is the best way forward to move Nigeria from dependency to self-reliance and progressive growth and development.
Using the right strategy and structural reform will deliver more dividends than the current insignificant unbalanced and military-imposed unitary system, which is designed to serve the interest of the military.

The new strategy must focus on effectiveness, efficiency, growth and development with entrepreneurship mindset. It is a pity that Buhari’s administration is fighting corruption without transparency about the status of the recovered assets and money. The public has a right to know. Enough of shrouding recovered assets and money in secrecy.

Also, President Buhari must realise that restructuring Nigeria is a must. Rejecting the clamour for restructuring in a nationwide broadcast will ensure that Nigeria remains stagnated. It is my belief that restructuring will bring Nigeria closer to competitive prominence and development.

Prof. Babs Onabanjo, former president, Nigerian Alliance for Democracy, 1993-1999.