If you ask me what my personal opinion is about the inauguration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the oath of office taken by elected and appointed government officials across Nigeria, I will urge Nigerians to appreciate God Almighty for keeping the Country in peace so far.
The fact remains that there were some Nigerians who predicted that Nigeria will not exist to witness this transition that is sweeping across the country in the past few months because of the popularity of the Labour Party Presidential candidate, Peter Obi who was believed to have won the elections in the country.
The elections have come and are still to be decided by the election tribunal due to disputes in some areas. As usual, those who were sworn into office have made promises and taken the oath of office. These oaths and promises are nothing new to the people because experiences have shown that despite the ceremonial oaths, what they get as the dividend of democracy is below expectations.
The Meridian 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 what one sincerely intends to do and what one says. With this understanding It is our prayer, therefore that those oaths should guide our political office holders.
It is quite unfortunate that in the past, most actions of those in the corridors of power have been contrary to their promises made and manifestoes brandished at the onset which may have led to the situation we have found ourselves as a nation struggling to survive economically due to corruption and saboteurs
The poor management of the country’s resources also led to the country’s drift into recession because those entrusted with governance diverted monies meant to improve the living standard of the people to private pockets.
With such situations, the gap between the rich and poor became wide apart and the political class lived flamboyant lifestyles, while the majority of the people wallowed in abject poverty. This class inequality and other factors no doubt led to insecurity in the society.,
As the new occupants of the various government houses, including Aso Rock settle down, they should not forget that they took oaths to serve the people and not to enrich themselves. They should shun all acts of greed like the public servant who stole a whooping sum of 18 Billion Naira of government money.
They should shun all acts of greed and make the people feel the impact of governance. Nigerians have witnessed over the years how some greedy persons in the corridors of power, either elected or appointed into positions of authority enriched themselves to the detriment of the people they are to serve.
Some of them made promises before stepping into office, but as soon as they are settled, it is like there is a spirit or force that takes over them and they only focus on building vast empires for themselves with government money. Though not all political officeholders are guilty of this evil practice, the majority of them renege on their oath, steal public funds and accumulate wealth for themselves in such a reckless manner.
It must be emphasized that security and peace constitute the very basic requirement for all socio, economic development, and when promises made are kept by those in government offices there will surely be improvement in the standard of living of the citizenry. We live in a society where there is no accountability and the welfare of the majority of the people does not matter when it has to do with keeping promises made.
Now, Nigerians are no doubt living in times one would say with reasonable certainty that God loves this black nation so much despite the evil and self-destructive tendencies of corrupt politicians who have occupied the corridors of power all this while.
Today, the nation is locked up in a debate, a highly charged, emotional, and acrimonious debate over the emergence of President Bola Tinubu on the saddle of authority. As in all debates, members of the audience, willing listeners are all subjected to all viewpoints including the sublime and the downright ridiculous
Tinubu was sworn in on the 29th of May 2023 and since then, the President has made some unexpected decisions, including the removal of fuel subsidy, suspension of the Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele over his abysmal handling of the country’s monetary policies for the past nine years
A similar treatment was given to Abdulrasheed Bawa, the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, over a weighty allegation of corruption and many citizens are now becoming convinced about the President’s consciousness of the Nigerian situation as it pertains to corruption
The former senator and Leader of the All Peoples Congress, APC, Tinubu has taken some decisions that took the past administration years to come by or totally overlooked within a few days or hours of the current administration and some Nigerians believe that Nigeria has unlocked successes due to the critical economic decisions taken so far. These include fuel subsidy removal, the signing of the Electricity Act 2023, the data protection Act, the Student Loan Act, the unification of the foreign exchange market, and others
Although some of the President’s plans and direction are still unfolding, just as he retires all service chiefs and replaced them with mostly officers from the South West region of the country, Nigerians believe he is doing what anyone who wants to build the country will do even though there are implications, such as rising cost of living in the country and during the Democracy Day broadcast on June 12 Tinubu begged the citizenry to endure a little while.
