On May 28, 2023, a day before the swearing-in of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I published this article, “My Fear About Tinubu’s Presidency,” considering the ‘State of The Nation’ at the time.
You don’t have to be a prophet or a professional to know that Nigeria was heading for the rocks, except if God intervened through courageous leadership.
Below is the full edition of the article lifted from the original piece published a day before the swearing-in of Mr. President.
The old article with the same headline and content remains intact in this medium.
Full Text
The presidential elections of February 25, 2023, were the most keenly contested since I knew my left from right in the annals of Nigerian history.
We had four top contenders to Aso Rock, Abuja: Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rabiu Kwakwanso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The election has come and gone, and a candidate emerged as the winner, as announced by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu. It is now history that Yakubu announced Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President-Elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Still, two of the candidates, Atiku and Obi, are challenging Tinubu’s victory at the Election Petition Tribunal. Pending the outcome of the legal battle, Tinubu will be at the helm of affairs.
As Muhammadu Buhari steps out of Aso Rock, Tinubu is going in to face the challenges of leading the most populous nation in Africa.
Tinubu’s coming will take supernatural intervention of God to bring Nigeria back to its glorious days. My fears about Tinubu’s presidency are not far-fetched considering the precarious situation of our economy, security, education, and social vices, along with corruption that has never been experienced since Nigeria’s independence in 1960.
Either by acts of omission or commission, Buhari is leaving Nigeria worse than he met it, with generational debt portfolios. Buhari’s administration is noted for borrowing; at the time of writing this piece, our debt portfolio was over seventy trillion naira, with a humongous sum still waiting at the National Assembly for approval. How will Tinubu, as President, bring back our economy? How will he fight terrorism, banditry, kidnappings, and corruption?
Sometimes I wonder what these candidates are fighting for in Nigeria. Is there any hope for survival? Our economy and cohesion are in shambles, and it will take our Lord Jesus Christ to bring our dead Lazarus back to life. How will Tinubu unite our major religions, the Muslims and the Christians, who are supposed to be agents of peace and tranquility but have torn the country into shreds?
What will Tinubu’s presidency do to the invading herders, ethnic cleansing in Kaduna South, Benue, Plateau States, and unnecessary shedding of blood in the South East? Debates for the removal of subsidies are gathering momentum every day. Can Nigerians endure the removal of another fuel subsidy when the ruling government has increased the pump price from N70 to over N200 per litre, yet still thinks of another removal? How many times will the subsidy be removed? Economic analysts encouraging the removal of the fuel subsidy should not back out if the resulting effects bring social upheavals.
No one is talking about reviving our refineries or recovering stolen funds that will enable the masses to have a sigh of relief, at least for once. The genesis of terrorism, banditry, kidnappings, and other vices in Nigeria is because our commonwealth is not evenly distributed. What would have gone around has been looted by a few powerful people in society. Those caught with stolen billions of naira are walking free with the audacity to fight back when the authority has no political will to prosecute them.
My prayer is that Tinubu will not be stoned for what he knew nothing about in the streets because Nigerians can no longer exercise any patience for another round of pain and agony. My instinct tells me there is no way Nigeria can get better without first going through excruciating pains. I hope we can endure the pains ahead without revolting against a wrong leader for the inefficiency of his predecessors. There is no doubt that Tinubu is capable of turning around the economy, but can Nigerians endure the pains associated with it?
In view of the above fears, I would keep my fingers crossed for Tinubu to prove me wrong and show he can do it. I had earlier put my hope in Buhari’s presidency; unfortunately, my confidence in Buhari was like when your fiancée calls it quits on your wedding day when guests are already waiting at the event centre. I was highly disappointed as my hopes were dashed. Mind you, Tinubu is still the best candidate among the top contenders. If the United States President, Joe Biden, were our new president, I doubt he could make any difference. Nigeria is a difficult nation to lead.-
My consolation is the fact that if Governor Babagana Zulum can turn around the war-torn Borno State, there is hope for our turnaround.
The first task before the new President to carry Nigerians along is to work on how he and those at the top can be trusted, tell us the truth, and lead by example.
On this note, I wish Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu a successful tenure to take Nigeria to our ‘Goshen land,’ our ‘Promised Land’ flowing with milk and honey. If this happens, his name will be written as someone who has been written off and underrated but has now become our chief ‘cornerstone.’
Adesoji OMOSEBI is the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of SOJ WORLDWIDE ONLINE NEWS.
