Dear
General Buhari,
Congratulations
to you for being elected the new president of Nigeria and for defeating the
incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan to become the new president elect of Nigeria.
Nigerians
hail your victory. Nigerians love your victory.
This
victory is one that has eluded Nigerians for many years. Your tenacity and
courage has got you this far and is the reason Nigerians celebrated the victory
with their whole heart. Many were wounded
and some died (RIP to those that died) while celebrating to show how happy they
are with your victory in contrast to the previous successive failed governments
of Nigeria.
This
is a victory for all Nigerians who want a change that translates to better
living conditions for them. Nigerians through this election have given
you their heart, please do not break it.
Nigerians
want to trust you.
The
trust they are giving you is very valuable to them, worth more than gold
and silver, worth more than the riches of our land. It is the kind of
trust a Christian have in Jesus and a Muslim in Prophet Mohammed (SAW).
As a true Muslim that you are, do not be dissuaded by wealth and riches because
I know you will get the chance to a lot of it and many Nigerian criminals will
throw it at your face. However know that what goes around comes around. Stick
to your promises and fulfill them, it’s the only reward you have here and in the world after.
Nigerians
are better enlightened now than when you ruled them over 30 years ago, the last
presidential election, which you won is a prime example of the changes
Nigerians clamour for. President Jonathan was kicked out for lack of
performance. This may be your fate too soon, so respect your mandate and start
the developmental process of Nigeria from day one as you take over on 29th of
May 2015. Stick with your conscience and let it direct and guide you every day
of your stay in office.
The average Nigerians have been failed
repeatedly, they have been left alone in the rain for so long, soaked with no
shelter. They have not received any support from the governments they so much
believe in. Every day of their lives is a struggle for survival, of what use is
the government that cannot provide the basic things of life to its people.
Nigerians have been made to suffer more than any of their contemporaries in
other countries, they have been repeatedly denied their basic rights, they make
and fix their own road themselves, provide their own security as the police
cannot be trusted, they have to access and pump their own water, they have to
source their own power supply and other basic amenities. Of what good is a
country that cannot provide these amenities for its citizens?
Make
Nigerians smile again, work your socks off and ensure all the promises you made
are fulfilled.
Leave
Nigeria better than you met it, make this your modus operandi for every unit of
Nigeria; this is the only pride you can be remembered for. If you do as you
promise, you will live in the heart of people forever, your family respected
and your children’s children adored forever.
It
is no longer news that we have experienced successive failed governments in
Nigeria and we've had leaders who have refused to stick to their
promises of developing Nigeria.
I
belong to the list of Nigerian yet to be healed from some of your government’s
atrocities when you became the Military Administrator of Nigeria over 30 years
ago. In the days Nigerians experienced unnecessary killings, lack of
recourse to the rule of law, jailing without proper trial, human right
abuses etc. I believe now is the time to turn this tides around and listen to
the voice of the people. Remember vox populi, vox dei (Voice of the people is
the voice of God)
In
your campaign messages, you asked Nigerians to forgive you for the many mistakes
you made in your past administrations and you have personally apologized to some individuals. This is a great thing to do and Nigerians have shown the
desire to make the past the past and move on. It’s equally important for you to
do what is right this time, and work to correct all past mistakes. Nigerians have given you the second chance.
Please do not fail.
Please
note that you do not have time to waste, ignore all the merriments and distractions that followed your winning. We want a nation that works.
Nigerians have been patient for over 50 years and waited for this day to
happen, now it has happened; do not take us back to where we came from.
Many
Nigerians have died and many more are dying daily to preventable diseases, hoodlums,
corruptions, poverty, insecurity and many more. Please pay urgent attention to
this and stop the deaths quickly. The lives of Nigerians should count with your
government.
There
is huge insecurity in our nation, our policing system needs overhauling and our
military needs to be equipped and every of our forces re-trained in modern
combat strategies using the best in military intelligence. This may cost more,
but it is for our own good and protection. If the military operation of tiny Chad Republic can fight Boko Haram better than Nigeria’s military, then we have
cause for concern.
Nigerians
want a quieter and pollution free nation, where generators are not needed all
through the night. Let PHCN provide
electricity or be scrapped. PHCN have
been created to create electricity. An hour without electricity is a failure
for PHCN. Nigeria’s past governments have invested money big enough to light
the whole of Africa into PHCN, but no part of Nigeria can boast of uninterruptible
power supply, this is a shame. Make PHCN board accountable or dissolved and new
people with foresight put in their place.
Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation is responsible for providing us with the needed
petrol, diesel, kerosene and other fuels to run our lives. We are one of the largest producers of fuel
products in the world, if the company cannot provide the needed products for
Nigerians at cheap rate, then NNPC needs to be dissolved and the cabals running
it broken. Missing NNPC money must be a thing of the past. Of What use is a
system not working?
All
ministerial heads and heads of national parastatals must give regular accounts
and any of them found wanting should not be speared the rod. Case of ministerial mismanagement came up
regularly in President Jonathan’s government and almost all of the culprits
were released back into the system without being made accountable or charged
despite their open air criminality.
I
am confident that you have the charisma and guts to confront the political godfathers
of Nigeria who have taken the country this far, do not be taken by their sympathetic
gestures, they are deadly worms to our system that needs to be flushed out and
this is what every Nigerian ask of you.
Please fight tooth and nail to end corruption.
Every
Nigerian loves you and believes you will not fail us.
Yes
you can.
God
bless you
God
bless Nigeria.
Abiola
Olaifa writes from the UK.
Web:
www.abiolla.com, email: abiolla@gmail.com.
