What the king should focus on

After 103-day medical vacation in London, the king, President Muhammadu Buhari, returned to the country last Saturday to the warm embrace of his country men and women with wild jubilation in some quarters. Th is is expected because the president must have severally heard of his own obituary. His return hale and hearty is a miracle indeed. Buhari, no doubt, is a bundle of testimonies. To the natural eye, the president’s ailment must have been cured through the advancement in medicine. But the truth, which Buhari himself can attest to, unseen forces/powers won the battle to regain his health. Of course, at the helm of these unseen forces is God, the Creator and Author of Life. Th is miracle of healing might be in response to the intercessory prayers of some Nigerians at home and abroad. God has given him a second chance not just for Mr President’s sake alone, but also for the purpose of allowing him to fulfi ll his mandate to the nation at crossroads on a number of burning issues.

Th us, the burning national issues should be the main focus of Mr President. He should not allow himself to be distracted. Authors of hate speeches should not distract him. Buhari should not be carried away by praise singers urging him to run for a second term. While the president was away, Boko Haram suddenly resurrected to terrorize the Northeast again. It is unclear whether this resurgence is due to political or religious motives or pure criminality. Osinbajo, while holding the forte, did his best to check the insurgents and ensured that the victory already recorded is not eroded. But he had his limit lest some cabal members tag him an over-ambitious deputy wanting to upstage his principal. So, he tried to manage the crisis until the return of the king. A major feat was recorded while the president was away as regards kidnapping with the arrest of Evans and other kidnap kingpins.

Yet, kidnapping is still on the rise. Our highways and neighborhoods are not safe from these evil men and women that are prowling for victims for ransom or rituals. May God save us from their evil dragnets, in Jesus’ name. Th ere are possibilities of countless ghosts who are victims of ritualists roaring our streets. Ordinary eyes may not see them, ghosts, but they exist. Recently, there was a reported case of a headless body that was captured on camera while a family was posing for a photo when they went out to a relaxation spot. Mr President should, therefore, focus on addressing these worrisome security issues that also include incessant herdsmen/farmers clashes, especially in Southern Kaduna, Benue and Enugu states. Buhari should also address the intractable problems in the education sector which have forced lecturers to go on strike at intervals of every 3-4 years thus losing a semester or whole session. Also deserving presidential focus is our health sector. Medical tourism to India, London and America has been identifi ed as a major channel of capital fl ight from this country claiming billions of naira yearly. Ironically, statistics have shown that over 50% of medical practitioners these countries are Nigerians who had to migrate to better climes that will not only enhance their practice but also be well appreciated. Th us, wealthy Nigerians have continued to troop to these better climes to attend to their health needs. On the political scene, separatist tendencies assumed a frightening in the president’s absence. Some of us had recommended restructuring with emphasis on devolution of power as a realistic solution to the crisis. In a write-up titled “Restructuring as panacea to agitations”, we observed that the nation is actually practicing a unitary system of government even though it is a federation in theory. We, therefore, advocated true federalism to allow the federating units to control at least 50% of their resources. We further advised that the 2014 National Confab Report should be considered. Th is is a celebrated confab on which the Goodluck Jonathan administration reportedly spent a whopping N29bn. It is good that the president has indicated his intention to discuss restructuring with the Council of State and the National Assembly. Nevertheless, the president should note that the buck stops on his table. People should be encouraged to engage in productive national discourse without being tagged authors of hate speech. Some are driven by genuine concern for the development of the nation while others are attention seekers disturbing the peace of the nation for selfi sh reasons. It is the excesses of the latter group that government should check and not attempt to silence genuine agitators that are campaigning for fair play and equity in the Nigerian project. Together with his government’s ongoing war against corruption, President Buhari should employ his renewed vigour to tackle these contentious issues. He shouldn’t dissipate energy chasing shadows. God has given him a second chance to prove himself as a selfl ess leader who desires to give his nation a sense of direction and lead it to greatness. Meanwhile, the president needs to thank God for blessing him with a loyal and a dedicated deputy, Professor Osinbajo, SAN, who acted for him faithfully. However, it is to Mr President’s credit that he reposed confi dence in Osinbajo. To God be the glory. On a good note, we join other Nigerians (home and the Diaspora) to welcome back the king. In his new found medical status with robust health, President Buhari is better described in Yoruba as “Eniti Olorun ko pa, Oba aye kankan ko le pa a; meaning, the person whom GOD does not kill, no king on earth can kill such a person”.

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