2017: Nigerians present wish list to Buhari …as year ends
A cross-section of prominent Nigerians
have highlighted the areas they want President Muhammadu Buhari to focus
on in 2017 with many others, especially workers describing 2016 as
their worst year ever and one in which they became poorer.
Top on the wish list presented to the
President are calls for him to find solution to the rising cases of
hunger in the land by fixing the economy, tackling corruption
successfully and ending insurgency. Others that also made the wish list
include calls on the President to restructure the country, ensure equity
in governance and improve security of lives and properties generally,
especially by putting a stop to attacks by Fulani herdsmen.
The Director-General, Lagos Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, Muda Yusuf, said it was imperative for the
President to address the rising cases of hunger among Nigerians, even if
it was by “relaxing government’s policy on importation of food items
for a short term to stem hunger.”
Yusuf also urged the President to
restore liquidity in the foreign exchange market, review the current
trade policy and find a way to stop the country from importing petroleum
products.
In the same way, the National Publicity
Secretary of Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba group, Yinka Odumakin, asked
President Buhari to “constitute an economic team to ensure that the
sufferings of Nigerians are ameliorated.”
Odumakin also said after spending about
19 months in office without the conviction of any corrupt politician,
Buhari should realise that it is better and cheaper to fight corruption
by building strong institutions than chasing after corrupt individuals.
“It has also become clear that the
present structure of Nigeria cannot move the country forward, so if I
were Buhari, I would accede to the calls by Nigerians to restructure the
country,” he added.
The President of the Pharmaceutical
Society of Nigeria, Ahmed Yakasai, identified the top three things he
would like President Buhari to do in 2017 as “providing better quality
of lives for Nigerians, including empowering the youth, turning around
the economy and securing the lives and properties of Nigerians.”
A former Commissioner of Police in
Lagos, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, stressed the importance of doing everything
possible to revive the economy to the President in his comment, saying
Nigerians are suffering.
In addition, Tsav warned Buhari not to
relent in his efforts to crush Boko Haram insurgency in the country, fix
bad roads and fight corruption.
“So Buhari should fight corruption
because where there is corruption; there will be insecurity, dearth of
infrastructure and bad roads,” he said.
A renowned professor of Law, Taiwo
Osipitan, said fixing the economy should be topmost on Buhari’s list
with the recession biting hard.
He said, “He (Buhari) needs to fix the
economy, carry out necessary reforms and assemble the right people to be
in his team to get the country out of this recession.
“The high rate of unemployment,
kidnapping and activities of militants should also be addressed. With
more employment opportunities, kidnapping and other social vices would
reduce.
“Judiciary should be treated with
respect and dignity. So far, the image of the judiciary and the legal
profession has been battered under this administration.”
Setting agenda for Buhari, the Ijaw
National Congress also explained that reviving the economy should top
the President’s agenda, adding that experts in economic matters should
be brought in to save the nation’s economy.
INC spokesman, Mr. Miebaka Tamunomiebi,
said the President’s ministers and special advisers might be unable to
achieve the feat while advising him to look beyond the All Progressives
Congress to appoint competent persons.
“There should be peace in the country.
The restiveness in the country, including in the Niger Delta, should be
brought under control. The activities of cattle rustlers should also be
checked,” he said.
The Dr. Junaid Mohammed-led Coalition of
Northern Intellectuals, Politicians and Businessmen and the Middle Belt
Forum under the leadership of Dr. John Dara, also advised the President
to pay greater attention to the nation’s economic problems and ensure
the security of lives and properties in 2017.
They spoke in separate telephone interviews with Saturday PUNCH, in Abuja, on Friday.
Mohammed, who is the convener of the
coalition, said it was integral for the Buhari-led government to take
its constitutionally assigned duty of ensuring the security and well
being of the nation’s citizens as paramount.
This, he said, made it mandatory for the
current administration to give priority to solving the nation’s
economic problems in the year ahead.
He said, “First of all, the President has to tackle the economy, second is the economy and third is the issue of security.
“It should never be forgotten that
anytime you have a constellation of economic crisis; inevitably, it
would lead to political crisis.”
Similarly, the National Chairman of the
Middle Belt Forum, Dara, said the President should effectively deal with
the nation’s economic problems and provide incentives that will enable
the private sector to grow.
He also urged the President to deal with
the problem of attacks by Fulani herdsmen in “a manner that shows that
he is committed to Nigeria and not Fulani herdsmen and engage the
South-East and the South-South in a more constructive manner.”
In the view of the National President,
Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, the
President should “intensify war against corruption to properly channel
the country’s resources for impactful change.”
Ogunyemi also called on Buhari to free
Nigeria from the grip of the International Monetary Fund and the World
Bank to encourage policies that would favour poor citizens.
“President Buhari should also fix the
country’s education and follow constitutional provisions and agreements
with ASUU,” he added.
Nigeria Medical Association Chairman,
Lagos State chapter, Dr. Odusote Olumuyiwa, called on the President to
stabilise the exchange rate, which he said had adversely affected
“Nigerians’ purchasing power and other activities like importation of
food, drugs, medical equipment and even payment for medical services.”
Olumuyiwa, who expressed support for the
President’s anti-corruption war, however, warned that many Nigerians
already saw it as being selective.
He, therefore, urged the President to
put policies that would create employment opportunities in place and
make the fight against corruption total and not selective.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex
socio-political association of the Igbo, said its wish was for the
President to place more emphasis on equity and justice in 2017.
Ohanaeze also asked the President to respect the principle of ‘federal character’ in all his appointments.
President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Gary
Igariwey, said, “We just want to be treated like other Nigerians; we
want equity and justice.”
President, National Association of
Nigerian Students, Chinonso Obasi, also called on Buhari to improve the
economy by ending recession, investing heavily in the education sector,
improving infrastructural development and creating an enabling
environment for employment generation and entrepreneurial development.
“The military and security agencies
should be motivated and equipped in their continuous strive to end
insurgency and President Buhari should resolve to fix the power sector
once and for all as a way of opening up the economy for unemployed
persons,” he added.
Meanwhile, as 2017 fast approaches, some
workers including civil servants and artisans shared their experiences
of 2016 and their views of the year which they regarded as their worst
ever.
For instance, the Secretary, Forum of
2011/2012 Retirees in Osun State, Mr. Sola Olojede, wished to never see a
year like 2016 again in which he saw many people die of hunger, adding
that he could not “wait to see it end.”
Also, the Chairman of the Trade Union
Congress, Ondo State chapter, Mr. Soladoye Ekundayo, said the only
things to remember about 2016 were “economic recession and unpaid
salaries.”
A civil servant in the state, Mr. Bayo
Ayodele, who described the outgoing year as his worst ever, said, “We
struggle to live now and the government does not have solution in
sight.”
Similarly, a primary school teacher in
Ondo State, Mrs. Rachael Amodu, said she had started contemplating
leaving the country because “the situation has been tough on her and her
family.”
The Chairman, Trade Union Congress,
Bayelsa State, Mr. Tare Dounana, said: “No Nigerian worker can tell you
that he was richer in 2016 considering the fact that salaries were not
paid as and when due. Even now, many states still owe months’ salaries
or more.”
The Ekiti State Chairman of the Nigeria
Labour Congress, Raymond Adesanmi, described 2016 as the worst year
experienced by workers, saying, “It is a year that workers will never
want to witness again; it is a year when workers are being owed eight
months salaries at a go and prices of commodities are beyond workers’
reach.”
Speaking in the same vein, the Jagunmolu
of Omuo-Ekiti, Oladiran Adesua, said, “We can’t fail to recognise the
hardship faced in the year, unemployment is on the increase, electricity
has not improved ditto for infrastructure.”
The Kwara State Chairman of TUC, Mr.
Olumoh Kolawole, and the Secretary-General, Nigerian Union of Local
Government Employees, Kwara State branch, Mr. Abayomi Afolabi, described
2016 as a harsh and horrible year for Nigerians.
Kolawole said, “I do not wish for a year
like 2016 again”, while Afolabi said, “We are very poor. In fact,
throughout 2016, we only received two months’ salaries in all the local
government areas in the state.”
The Katsina State Chairman of the
National Conscience Party, Mallam Abdulmumini Shehu Sanni, challenged
the Federal Government to give Nigerians the type of change that would
improve their living conditions and free them from shackles of poverty,
saying, “Never in my life will I dream of a year like 2016.”
Chairman, NLC, Oyo State chapter, Waheed
Olojede, who also lamented the hardship in the land, however called on
political leaders “to take the welfare of Nigerians more seriously.”
A civil servant in Oyo State, Mrs.
Olubunmi Ayeyemo, said, “There is nothing exciting about the year
because even in its final days, we are still struggling to survive.”
Enugu State TUC Chairman, Chukwuma
Igbokwe, said, “While we were crying over government’s inability to pay
salaries as and when due, prices of food items went up beyond our reach
and some of us had to withdraw our children from school during the year
because of our inabilities to pay school fees.”
In the same vein, a civil servant, John
Onimo, expressed joy that the year was coming to an end, and hope that
2017 would be better.
Also reminiscing on the outgoing year, a
community leader, Ameze Ugwoke, from Uzo-Uwani, in the Nsukka area of
Enugu State, described 2016 as “a difficult year that was worsened by
herdsmen attacks in my community and hike in the cost of goods and
services.”
Chairman, NLC, Niger State chapter, Alhaji Idris Ndako, said he would not wish for a year like 2016 again.
Also, a senior civil servant in the
state, Mallam Mohammed Kuta, had one prayer and it was that 2016 should
“go with its frustrations and hardship so that we will enjoy better
lives in 2017.”
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