The first one hundred days have just passed since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office to run the affairs of the country for the next four years. Even though Presidency and All Progressives Congress (APC) sources have played down the first hundred days as a period to take a measure of their new administration, we believe that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a step in the right direction to reach the destination on schedule.
We are gratified to note that the personality and charisma of President Buhari has brought new impetus and esteem to the Presidency both at home and abroad. His image as a man of integrity, as well as his credibility to fight corruption has made many government officials to sit up. Government appears to be working better than before, and we hope this will become a permanent feature of governance in Nigeria.
The decision of the president and his vice president to unveil their assets to the public is well received, and we hope all who are going to work with them will be made to follow suit. This will give the anti-graft war the muscle of legitimacy when the public is convinced that the government is leading it by example.
We also applaud gains being made in the war to eradicate the Boko Haram terrorism. We are solidly behind this effort, and hope the mission will be accomplished ahead of the December deadline to enable the displaced citizens to return home and the rebuilding to start.
We, however, note that the delay in constituting the cabinet, whatever excuses the Presidency is making for it, has sown the seeds of uncertainty in the system and kept the nation in great suspense. We hope the president speeds up the process and also unfolds his vision and the direction the country will go under his watch.
We are also disturbed by the pattern of appointments so far made. We particularly note that Section 14 of the Constitution has not been respected to ensure that even the “kitchen cabinet” or inner sanctum of the Presidency reflects the federal character to give all sections of the country a sense of belonging.
We condemn the lopsided nature of the appointments and the total exclusion of the South South and South East zone while a section of the country predominates. Steps should quickly be taken to correct the imbalance.
We believe that it is only when all Nigerians have a sense of belonging that they will fully cooperate and support the government to achieve its electoral mandate. Buhari must bring all Nigerians on board.
We are very optimistic that Buhari has what it takes to succeed and wish him the best of luck.
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It’s only a matter of time before night turns into day.