The pan Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere has expressed the hope that the inauguration of a new government in Nigeria under the leadership of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu would herald a new lease of life in the country.
In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the organisation, Comrade Jare Ajayi on Sunday, the organisation said that, by his antecedents, Tinubu has what it takes to take Nigeria to a greater height.
“We are confident that he will assemble a goals-getting team that will enable him translate his dreams for new and better Nigeria into reality. These dreams include calming the fray nerves among various sections of the country, restoring security and safety of lives and property, shore up the economy, revamp our collapsed educational system, overhaul the dilapidated infrastructure, create jobs and restore the dashed hopes of youths in the country, setting Nigeria on the path of industrialization and bringing her into the comity of most advanced countries in the world in social, economic and political terms within the shortest time possible”.
The spokesman then submitted that to be achieved, the new President needs to consider some key areas which deserve urgent and critical attentions. These, he explained, included insecurity, economy, rekindling a sense of unity and patriotism among Nigerians, revamping agriculture, power, health and infrastructure.
“Cutting down the cost of governance is one of the ways to start with. Doing so, without favouritism will make resources available for critical sectors, block cesspools for corruption and make public officials to be more productive. Incidentally, both Asiwaju and his Vice, Senator Kashim Shettima are well suited in this respect going by their experiences as former governors, former senators and equally importantly, their educational backgrounds. Asiwaju studied Accountancy at Chicago State University in America while Senator Shettima studied Agricultural Economics at the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria”, Ajayi said.
He noted that the suggestions might not be easy in view of the tradition in Nigeria, where many look for patronage or ‘reward’ from political office-holders especially after a hotly contested election like the recent one. “Yet, it is possible. And we are hopeful that Asiwaju will be able to do it especially going by his knack to scout for round pegs to be put in round holes as he did when he called the shots as Governor in Lagos State. There is a way to balance political exigencies with the dire needs of the country such as smoothening the ethnic, political and religious divides and getting every hand to be on deck for the purpose of moving the nation forward”, he continued.
Ajayi further said that Tinubu seems to be conscious of this when he asserted that “our nation’s progress rests on the inclusivity, unity and not leaving any citizen behind and ensuring (that) every citizen enjoys the dividends of good governance”.
The Afenifere spokesman tasked the incoming President to live up to his words of dedicating his “entire being to the service of our great nation and the African continent.”
One of the ways to achieve this is to enable constituent parts of the country such as states and local government councils to have greater control of the resources within their jurisdictions.
“Called restructuring or what have you, the important idea is to enable each component of the country to be able to marshal its resources for the overall benefits of its citizens. Luckily, some inhibiting sections of the 1999 Constitution have been amended to make this possible. The amendments should continue under Tinubu administration until we get to a stage where component parts will have their destinies in their own hands as was the case during the First Republic”, he said.
Ajayi, who recalled that the dysfunctional nature of the country was the primary reason for hike in banditry, agitations for separatism and lately the tendency by many to wanting to leave the country in what was code-named japa syndromme, called on Tinubu to ensure that he quickly hit the ground running so as to put an end to these dysfunctional tendencies that stand as stumbling blocks for the development of any nation.
He was quick to call on groups who are agitating for their own nation states like Biafra and Oduduwa Republic to give Tinubu administration a chance.
“We heard of some youths who, earlier on Sunday – the eve of Tinubu’s inauguration – infiltrated Amuludun Radio station in Moniya, Ibadan to declare a ‘Yoruba Nation’. We consider this as inauspicious and ill-timed. We therefore call on all those who are agitating for carving out different countries out of Nigeria to give the new administration of Bola Tinubu a chance. We are confident that he will calm fray nerves by building a country in which everyone would have a sense of belonging”, Ajayi further said.
