Buhari’s Visit to Germany Signals A New Beginning, By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa

In furtherance of his desire to jumpstart the ailing Nigerian economy, President Muhammadu Buhari departed Nigeria for Germany, purportedly on the invitation of the G7 leaders.

This is a signal of a new beginning. In times past, the PDP-led government of former President Goodluck Jonathan would turn this into a jamboree of some sorts, parading a motley of itinerant party loyalists and even militants, with little or no economic value, for the nation, and on many occasions, causing great embarrassment to us all.

I noticed that the team was very frugally selected, devoid of the wastage of the recent past. In particular, the President travelled without the ‘First Lady’, perhaps in fulfillment of his campaign promise to de-emphasise that ‘office’, and in response to recent criticisms about the rising profile of the ‘First Lady’.

It is good that the President is gradually returning our nation to the path of honor and dignity, amongst the comity of nations. More importantly is the sincerity of the self disclosure, by the President, that he would not be participating in the G7 deliberations, in any official capacity. Governance should be built on trust and transparency, characterised by full and frank disclosures, at all times.

As the President leverages on this golden opportunity to further the economic fortunes of Nigeria, I urge the President to direct his economic objectives in line with section 16 of the 1999 Constitution, in particular, section 16(2)(b) and (c):

16(2):

“The State shall direct its policy towards ensuring –

(B) that the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good;

(C) that the economic system is not operated in such a manner as to permit the concentration of wealth or the means of production and exchange in the hands of a few individuals or of a group.”

This has been the lot of Nigerians, in the hands of the PDP government, over the years, leading to mass poverty, suffering and a total collapse of the middle class. The change that we now expect is a total departure from the economic woes of our recent past. We expect that all those who have smartly cornered the commonwealth of our people should have no place in this dispensation and the President should match his words with action that he belongs to nobody.

Though questions have been raised about the religious composition of the team, I believe that the President means well in selecting the best people, on the merits, for his team, and that in our quest for excellence in this new dispensation, religion should have no role to play at all.

It is thus gratifying that the President is moving towards restoring the glory of our nation, but he needs to move faster and get his team running. The expectations of our people are very very high and time is fast running out.

God bless Nigeria

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a lawyer, writes from Lagos.