By Eubaldus Enahoro
If you ask me what my personal opinion is about the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari for a second tenure of another four years and the oath taken by the governors across the country, I will say Nigerians should be appreciative to God almighty.
The fact remains that there were some doom day predictions that Nigeria will not exist to witness this transition that swept across the country in the past few months.
The elections have come and gone for good, even though there are disputes in some cases, but today we have 12 governors who received batons from their predecessors and 17 returning governors in the states.
As usual, they have all made promises and taken oath of office. These promises are nothing new to the people, because experiences have revealed that despite the ceremonial oath, what they get as dividend of democracy is below expectations.
The Merridian Webster Collegiate dictionary defines oath as a formal calling upon God or a god to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says. It is our prayer that those oaths will guide our political office holders.
It is however unfortunate that in the past, most actions of those in the corridors of power are contrary to promises made and manifestoes brandished at the onset which may have led to the situation we have found ourselves as a nation.
The poor management of the country’s resources led to the country’s drift into recession because some of those entrusted with governance diverted monies meant to improve the living standard of the people to private pockets.
With such a situation, the gap between the rich and poor expanded and the political class lived large, while majority of the people wallowed in abject poverty. This class inequality and other factors no doubt may have led to insecurity in the society.
As the new occupants of the various government houses and Aso Rock settle down, they should not forget that they took an oath to serve the people and not enrich themselves. They should shun all acts of greed and make the people feel the impact of governance.
But unfortunately, we have witnessed some greedy persons in the corridors of power, either elected or appointed into position of authority with the main aim of enriching themselves to the detriment of the people.
Some of them made promises before stepping into office, but as soon as they are settled, it is like there is a force or spirit that takes over them. They begin to focus on building vast empires for themselves with resources meant for the general good of the people.
Though, not all political office holders are guilty of this evil, but majority of them renege on their oath, steal public funds and accumulate wealth for themselves in such a careless manner.
For instance, if the Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje keeps to his promise of providing free education at all levels for the physically challenged and other vulnerable persons in the state, as well as free and compulsory basic education for all school age children as he has promised, that will no doubt reduce the illiteracy level in the state.
In Nasarawa State and other parts of the North where there have been security breaches, the governors and security chiefs should know that in the absence of a secured environment, there will be no investment inflow, a situation that has undermined progress in those areas.
It must be emphasized that security and peace constitute the very basic prerequisite for all socio, economic development and that is why when promises are made and kept by those in government offices to use the funds for what it was budgeted for there will surely be results.
But in the contrary, where there is no accountability and the welfare of the people are not given priority, such a society will surely have problems. If the governors keep to their oath of office, it should not just end at promises, their actions should be geared towards achieving the goal.
If they must all work towards achieving the desired progress, those appointed or elected into office should strive to keep to their promises and oath of office. They should provide leadership that is required to make things work for the good of all. It is not what resources they have at their disposal but their sincere commitment to serve the people and how they manage them.
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Eubaldus Enahoro is Deputy Editor with the Nigerian Observer
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