Not too long ago, on March 17, 2009, to be precise, Nigerians were roused to a blistering campaign on attitudinal change. Its pass-code was: Nigeria, Good People, Great Nation. And it was from the fertile ideas factory of the then Minister of Information and Communications, the late Prof Dora Akunyili. May God rest her beautiful soul.
In her characteristic fashion, she plunged every fibre of her being into the campaign. She mobilised every resource to push the mantra. And in a jiffy, the airwaves, social media and the conventional media, especially print, were on fire with their news with the slogan. It was powerful; it was forceful. Ironically, the more people heard and listened to it, the more disenchanted they appeared to be.
A few years later, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) under Mike Omeri launched a fresh campaign anchored on the slogan: Do The Right Thing. Yet the effort met with similar indifference by Nigerians whose attention it was meant to catch. Indeed Omeri NOA initiative fell flat on its face as he failed to correctly judge the mood of Nigerians with the poor reflexes they seemed to be getting from the government of the day on economy and their general well- being. This forced the question; Why?
The answer was not too far to locate. There was an apparent disconnect in the campaign between the people and those in government. It failed to psyche up the masses and they could not see or feel why they should feel good or key into the slogan. No sooner that the initiative was launched than it went into oblivion. It went with the enormous resources invested in it. Everything went down the drain.
The questions begging for answers; What did we learn from these moribund rebranding campaigns? What lessons have we brought to the table to guide our policy makers in their latest attitudinal change campaign? The initiative, launched in Abuja on Thursday 8 September 2016 has theme; Change Begins With Me.
It is good to galvanize the populace to be on the same page with the government in its various initiatives towards making Nigeria an utopian state (if there is any such thing) in all its ramifications, be it political, social and economic. But from my observation, the people that should have been mobilized to buy into these projects have always been inadvertently left out. Hence they are often dead on arrival. The reason is not difficult to locate: our policy makers love putting the cart before the horse.
Let the truth be told; the “Change Begins With Me” campaign came too little and too late. It is belated. For me, the change mantra started way back when President Muhammad Buhari was sworn in as the President of Nigeria. The people voted massively for him because they saw in him a renewal of hope, a rebirth of sort from their seemingly hopeless estate. The frenetic chants of Sai Baba almost became the national anthem of Buhari fanatics who showed their loyalty in diverse forms. Some trekked hundreds of kilometers to Abuja while others gave their last coin to celebrate PMB’s second coming. To me, that was the point the build-up to the launch of the change slogan should have started. But from all indications, the organizers had no roadmap. No lesson was learnt from the Akunyili and Omeri experiences.
A change slogan like this should have started with a well thought out advocacy programme a year ago beginning with the rural populace; comprising farmers, traders, community leaders, traditional rulers and school children. It should have come with juicy and attractive welfare packages that will translate into training them how to fish. Had this been done, it would have been easier for the people to key into it. It would have been easier for the people to engrave into their hearts an undying love and commitment for positive change.
It is only after people have been properly and appropriately sensitised that the administration could then prepare for a grand take off like what we saw in Abuja on Thursday even something much bigger than that.Such preparation should have seen the architects of the programme going round the country, mobilizing the people at every stratum of society. For Lai Mohammed and his crew to now begin to take the campaign round, for what I suspect, would amount to a waste of scarce resources, and an inducement for corruption, trust me. And an economy in recession cannot afford that.
The government should learn how to put smiles on people’s faces – like the ongoing efforts for mass employment for the million of unemployed- before dreaming of how to mobilize them for change of attitude. This is certainly a challenge for the government with its current advocacy campaign, to draw new people and new nation out of Nigeria.
However, hope is not completely lost as Mr President, has pledged personal commitment and leadership for the project. His apparent goodwill and honesty will definitely be an added advantage. The people must start seeing the reflection of change which they are noticing from the President. The cabinet members should queue in by conducting their affairs transparently. National Assembly members too should take a new attitude in which they put the interest of Nigerians first in their agenda and shun extravagant living. The Judiciary too must begin to to fight corruption within its fold and desist from trading judgement with money bags. The Nigerian Police that interface more with the public must be the show piece of this change.
This is absolutely necessary in order to encourage Nigerians to key into the change mantra.
Change must not be about mere slogans. As they say, talk is cheap. So, the architects of this mantra must show leadership by example. They must walk the talk. This must be expressed through some variations, including:
* Showing strong leadership sensibility.
* Establishing trust by proving practically to taxpayers and voters that as leaders, they are dedicated to the society, community and the people.
* Restoring confidence and demonstrating strength and leadership through actions and programmes that beam strong rays of hope for the future. And of course, ensuring fairness and justice.
Even before President Buhari got to power, he had foreseen the enormity of the problems facing Nigeria and the Herculean task of changing the culture of governance. He mirrored this in an interview he granted ThisDay newspapers in 2014 during his electioneering campaigns, he said:
“The priority will have to put the country in order first.In attempting to put the country in order, it is going to be a terrible situation for whoever wins and I pity whoever succeeds President Jonathan, even if it were to be myself. But this is what we can do; the practical way to tackle corruption is to draw a line, because institutions have been compromised. We cannot go on the way we did in the military in 1983 to fight corruption. This time around, you cannot do it that way because most of the institutions have been compromised. The person you will depend on as the auditor to go and check the CBN, maybe he has got some substantial part of the deal. These are facts on the ground. So, what you do is to persuade them to help to amend it. And that part of the amendment is for the people to have attitudinal change to the ills of this country.”
However, no matter how hard he tries, President Buhari cannot do it alone. For the campaign to succeed, all hands must be on deck. Those charged with the implementation of his initiatives must put on their thinking caps, and endeavour to march his pace in his efforts at pulling the country out of the current recession. This is one battle we must win for our country.
Olamiti a Media Consultant wrote from Abuja. [myad]
An earthquake measuring 5.7-magnitude has hit the North-West Tanzania, resulting in the death of at least eleven people and injuring about 129 others.
Report says that the earthquake was felt as far away as western Kenya and parts of Uganda, which share the waters of Lake Victoria. Tremors were also felt in Kigali, Rwanda.
The 11 who died in Tanzania were in brick structures in the town of Bukoba, said Augustine Olomi, regional police commander for the Kagera region.
Saturday’s quake was shallow, occurring at a depth of 10 kilometers (six miles). Shallow quakes generally tend to be more damaging than deeper quakes. Seismic waves from deep quakes have to travel farther to the surface, losing energy along the way, while the shaking from shallow quakes is more intense.
A statement from the office of the President of Tanzanian, John Magufuli said that he was “shocked by reports of the earthquake that caused the death of many people, injury others and destruction of property.”
Recent earthquakes in the area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides. The last notable quake in the region was in 2004 and measured 4.7. [myad]
Former Nigerian Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has sent a word of courage to Nigeria over the hard-hitting economic crisis in the country, assuring the citizens that this storm would soon pass away.
In a statement by his Media Office in Abuja, the former Vice President, advised Nigerians to use the opportunity of the Eid-el-Kabir, which comes up on Monday, to reflect on the situation in the country and lend one another a shoulder of support.
He said that Nigerians should go and celebrate the festival like other people in the world in spite of the economic situation that has hit the country hard, and that this storm will pass away.
He added that rather than despair, the occasion should call for sober reflection, prayers, cooperation and the display of solidarity among Nigerians so that no one would feel left out.
He called on Nigerians to continue to work hard, persevere and pray for the success of the policies and measures being put in place by the APC government of President Muhammadu Buhari to restore the nation’s economy to good health and improve the lives of the people.
He said that the situation of things will take some time to improve because a lot was left undone for too long by previous leaders of the country assuring however, that there is always a silver lining at the end of a dark cloud.
He looked at the challenge in what basic survival has become, Atiku said that this is the time that all Nigerians should invoke the spirit of brotherhood and communal fraternity to beat the reality of the hard times, adding that with mutual help, everyone will come out stronger to see better days. [myad]
Dame Patience, wife of the immediate past Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has laid claim to the ownership of $31.4 Million (over N10 Billion) which has been frozen by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). The money is involved in an alleged fraud case before a Federal High Court in Lagos.
The Counsel to the first defendant in the charge, with case number FHC/337C/16, Gboyega Oduwole, informed the court that Mrs. Patience Jonathan had filed a fundamental application against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, claiming ownership of the money. In an application filed on September 6, this year, with file number FHC/L/C5/1233/16, Mrs. Patience Jonathan is asking the court to make an order for the enforcement of her fundamental rights, in terms of reliefs she sought, and naming as defendants, the EFCC and Skye Bank Plc. The former first lady asked the court to make a declaration that the fund standing to the credit of four of the companies and an account in her own name in Skye Bank belonged to her. She also asked the court to declare that the action of the respondents in placing a No Debit/Freezing Order on the said accounts without any order of a competent court of law or prior notice to her, to be in breach of her fundamental rights as contained in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The EFCC had taken former presidential aide, Amajuoyi Azubike Briggs; former Skye Bank official, Damola Bolodeoku; Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; and Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited to court in an alleged $31.4 million fraud involving the companies without addresses. Others also charged included Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Limited, Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited, Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited and Globus Integrated Services Limited. .Source: The Guardian. [myad]
No fewer than 1.5 million Muslims have moved en-mass to Minnah today, Saturday, to herald the beginning of the 2016 Hajj rites in Saudi Arabia. The multitudes of the Muslims from across the world are expected to climax the pilgrimage on Sunday when they will also move en-mass to Arafat.
The number of Muslims performing this year’s hajj is said to be smaller than the previous years because of the absence of thousands of Iranians over tensions between their Shiite nation and the Sunni-dominated Gulf kingdom.
The pilgrims moved to Minnah in what was described as debilitating temperatures exceeding 40 C (100 F). Some of the pilgrims walked under coloured parasols.
They are following in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad who performed the same rituals about 1,400 years ago.
“It’s an indescribable feeling. You have to live it to understand. This is my sixth hajj and I still cannot express how happy I am to be in Mecca,” said Hassan Mohammed, 60, from Egypt.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, which capable Muslims must perform at least once, marking the spiritual peak of their lives.
“People come from every country of the world, talk every language of the world, and meet here in one place under one banner, the profession of the Muslim faith,” said Ashraf Zalat, 43, also from Egypt.
The first day of hajj was traditionally the chance for pilgrims to let their animals drink and to stock up on water.
Then they proceed to Mount Arafat, several kilometres further, for the peak of the hajj on Sunday.
Meanwhile, for the first time in 35 years, Saudi Arabia’s top cleric will not give a traditional hajj sermon to pilgrims from around the world, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh has annually addressed the faithful from the Namira mosque in Mount Arafat for the peak of hajj, which this year falls on Sunday.
Okaz newspaper, citing anonymous sources, said Sheikh, “will step down from delivering the sermon on the day of Arafat, due to health reasons.”
He was appointed Grand Mufti in 1999 after the death of his predecessor, Sheikh Abdel Aziz bin Baz.
But Okaz said Sheikh had for about two decades prior to that, given the annual address to the hajj throng at the site where Prophet Muhammad is said to have delivered his final sermon.
Okaz said the mufti spent about two months preparing for each address.
The grey-bearded Sheikh is a descendant of Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab, the 18th-century fundamentalist preacher who co-founded the Saudi state.
In previous Arafat sermons, Sheikh has attacked jihadist extremists and Yemeni rebels who Saudi Arabia accuses of receiving weapons from Iran.
In a report in the Makkah daily newspaper, Sheikh said Iranians are “not Muslims,” after the supreme leader of the Shiite country launched a fresh tirade over the kingdom’s handling of the hajj pilgrimage. [myad]
No fewer than 30 buildings located in densely populated Works Layout in Amakohia area of Owerri in Imo State have been submerged by flood following a downpour.
The rain, which started at about 6pm and lasted till about 8.30pm on, caused flooding that affected property worth millions of naira in some parts of the town.
Cloths, cooking pots, plates, bags, books, and tricycles were seen floating on the flood.
Although no building collapsed, but the flooding fell the fence of some buildings leading to water flowing into houses.
The areas badly affected within the Works Layout area are Mgbeahuru Street, Road C, and Road B in Amakohia Housing Estate Owerri where almost all the upstairs buildings had the ground floors covered with water.
Kelechi Uzohu, a resident of the area, blamed the flooding on poor road construction by contractors engaged to rehabilitate the road from the Standard Shoe Industry Amakohia to Imo State University Junction.
Uzohu said: “The gutter constructed by the construction workers now is narrow and can no longer contain large water such as the former one built by past government and because of this, we record serious flooding here.”
Another victim, Emma Ugochukwu said but for the prompt intervention of his neighbours his two children and sister in-law would have drowned in the flood.
Ugochukwu said: “I was still on my way back home when the rain started and I stopped somewhere for the rain to subside.
“Unknown to me that flood had already covered my flat with my two children trapped in my flat with my 12-year old sister in-law.
“It was my fellow tenants who noticed that I was not yet back that rushed and forced my door open to rescue them.”
Also speaking, Vitus Nwadikwa, a resident of MCC/Uratta area of Owerri, said: “I cannot count the number of buildings covered by water in the area where I reside this evening.
Nwadikwa said:“The level of damage is enormous and people are running here and there in the rain to move their things out.”
Other areas also affected by flood were Umunguma area, Akwakuma, Orji, Ikenegbu and some part of Ekeukwu Owerri Main Markert on Douglas Road Owerri.
The National Emergency Management Agency office in Owerri had earlier warned people living in flood-prone areas to relocate to safer locations due to imminent flooding expected towards the end of the year. [myad]
Nigerian Air force has confirmed the arrest of a man described as arm dealer in Numan, Adamawa state.
The Public Relations Officer of the Base in Yola, Gboko Tsekaa, who confirmed the arrest of Elisha Dubi, said to be a prominent indigene of the state, denied that the man was kidnapped.
Speaking to news men, the Air Force spokesman said that Dubi was arrested over allegations of dealing in and illegal possession of arms.
He was specifically said to be in possession of a missing FN Rifle.
The rifle was found in his house in Numan, Numan Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
Tsekaa said that it was thus not right to link Dubi’s arrest to kidnapping “by some unidentified Air Force men.”
He said that through a joint operation, the arrested man was found to be in possession of a missing Nigerian Air Force FN Rifle.
He explained that the weapon was stolen and allegedly sold to Dubi in Numan.
“We had an intelligence report of an arms dealer in Numan, who it was allegedly purchased the missing riffle.
“The NAF swiftly went into action in conjunction with members of the State Security Services and civil police to arrest the man.”
The spokesman said that the arrested arms dealer is in the custody of the Nigerian Air Force and is undergoing further interrogation, adding: “he is safe and sound.” [myad
Huawei Nigeria has launched a new GR5 Mini Smartphone designed with long-lasting battery of up to 32 hours, for hard users, to eliminate use of power bank.
Speaking at the launch of the phone in Lagos on Saturday, the Managing Director, Devices of Huawei, Mr. Leo Jiang, said that the phone has been equipped with a 3000mAh battery life, owing to the electricity situation in Nigeria. mAh means milliamp Hour and is a unit that measures (electric) power over time. It is commonly used to measure the energy capacity of a battery; generally, the more mAh, the longer the battery capacity.
”The phone’s 3000mAh battery with intelligent power saving technology allows the battery last for as long as two days without charging for light users, and 32 hours for hard users,” he said. According to him, the Smartphone, which features new generation fingerprint technology, has been improved 100 per cent over the first generation.
He said that GR5 Mini had a sensor that performed in 0.5 seconds and had 360 degree readability, builds on Huawei’s success in delivering powerful high end Smartphone with a high level quality.
”Bound to be a delight for photo and self-lovers, the Huawei GR5 Mini has an 8MP front camera, with high chromatic resolution, 4P lens array and a 77 degree wide angle visual range. “It takes sharp looking self and also allows self-lovers to capture more people in the shot.
”The rear-facing 13MP camera features a f/2.0 aperture, 78 degree wide angle visual range, 5P Aspheric lens array with a blue glass filter to improve photo quality.
”It also has professional mode for taking photos with parameters comparable to that of a Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) camera,” Jiang said.
He said that the GR5 Mini showed Huawei’s cravings for innovations with a 5.2 full High Definition (HD) display screen, which delivered great clarity and pixel density, even in sunlight or low lighting conditions.
According to him, the large display is also comfortable to handle and perfect for getting work done. He said that with an exquisite design, ergonomic streamlining and rippled surface treatment, the phone had an elegant look and feel, and a convenient and comfortable form factor that fitted every lifestyle.
Jiang said that Huawei with its awaken craftsmanship aimed to be the number one Android Smartphone maker. He restated Huawei’s commitment to its mission of continually providing better Smartphone that phones users could enjoy using every day.
Meanwhile, Huawei announced its partnership with Nigerian designer, Adebayo Oke-Lawal of Orange Culture to give customers, who purchase GR5 Mini a designer phone case for free.
”We value our customers’ need for mobile technology, which suites their lifestyle and meets their needs, and now we are aligning with customers’ strongest passions, one which we have discovered to be fashion,” Jiang said.
GR5 Mini which provides support for tasks like speech recognition, low-power consumption MP3, sensor hub, Fused Location Provider (FLP) navigation, and more efficient location-based tasks is sold for N85,000. [myad]
Governor Ayodele Fayose has cautioned a Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) to slow down on his hatred for him so that he would not go mad. Fayose even recommended what he called “anti-Fayose cataract” for the lawyer so that he would see clearly what he (the governor) has been doing right. Reacting to comment made by Falana at the maiden edition of Ekitipanupo colloquium in Lagos on Thursday that Fayose was looting funds meant for the development of Ekiti State, the governor’s special assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka advised Falana, whom he described as self-professed human rights activist, to desist from such unwarranted utterances. He quoted Fayose as saying: “it is obvious that Falana is driving himself sick because of his personal hatred for Governor Fayose and if care is not taking, his state of mind concerning the governor may graduate from psychology to psychosis one day. “Falana should purge himself of his hatred for anything Fayose because he (Fayose) was not the one who scuttled his (Falana) ambition to be governor of Ekiti State.” Governor Fayose insisted that “the self-professed human rights lawyer” should get the anti-Fayose cataract that has blocked his eyes removed so that he can see all the developmental strides of Governor Fayose both during his first term and his second tenure, “particularly, all the dualised roads in Ado-Ekiti (except) two were done by Fayose. Today, which of the past governors in Ekiti can match Fayose’s achievements?” The governor challenged Falana to make public any evidence of his stealing of Ekiti State funds, saying: “it is strange that Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) could go public with accusation of fraud against someone who has not been pronounced guilty by any court of law and the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) must take particular notice of this.” He wondered that Falana is still living under the illusion that he can achieve what he used the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to achieve against him in 2006 ten years after. He challenged Falana to put pressure on his allies in the EFCC to look into the looting of Ekiti State treasury by the All Progressives Congress (APC) government of Dr. Kayode Fayemi. “Is Falana unaware of the diversion of N852, 936,713.92 counterpart fund paid by the Ekiti State Government to access the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) 2012 Marching grant by the Fayemi-led government, which has made it impossible for Ekiti State to access UBEC matching grant for 2013, 2014 and 2015? “Is Falana not aware of the N25 billion bond and other commercial bank loans that the Fayemi’s government took and misappropriated, on which over N1 billion is being deducted from the State federal allocation now? “Why did Falana keep silent when Ekiti State treasury was being looted right, left and center by the APC government of Fayemi? Where was Falana when uncompleted projects like the Oba Adejugbe General Hospital and State Pavilion in Ado Ekiti were being commissioned by Fayemi? “Is Falana’s activism concerning Ekiti State only about Fayose and everything about his government? “As someone who used to be close to him, my counsel for Femi Falana is that he should stop thinking that he can realise his governorship ambition in Ekiti State by maligning Governor Peter (the Rock) Ayodele Fayose everywhere he goes. He should rather come to Ekiti and sell himself to the people.” [myad]
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Governor Ayodele Fayose has cautioned a Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) to slow down on his hatred for him so that he would not go mad.
Rolland Ezuruike, a Nigerian, has set a new Paralympic record of 190kg to win gold in the men’s -54kg.
The Change Mantra, By Folu Olamiti
Not too long ago, on March 17, 2009, to be precise, Nigerians were roused to a blistering campaign on attitudinal change. Its pass-code was: Nigeria, Good People, Great Nation. And it was from the fertile ideas factory of the then Minister of Information and Communications, the late Prof Dora Akunyili. May God rest her beautiful soul.
In her characteristic fashion, she plunged every fibre of her being into the campaign. She mobilised every resource to push the mantra. And in a jiffy, the airwaves, social media and the conventional media, especially print, were on fire with their news with the slogan. It was powerful; it was forceful. Ironically, the more people heard and listened to it, the more disenchanted they appeared to be.
A few years later, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) under Mike Omeri launched a fresh campaign anchored on the slogan: Do The Right Thing. Yet the effort met with similar indifference by Nigerians whose attention it was meant to catch. Indeed Omeri NOA initiative fell flat on its face as he failed to correctly judge the mood of Nigerians with the poor reflexes they seemed to be getting from the government of the day on economy and their general well- being. This forced the question; Why?
The answer was not too far to locate. There was an apparent disconnect in the campaign between the people and those in government. It failed to psyche up the masses and they could not see or feel why they should feel good or key into the slogan. No sooner that the initiative was launched than it went into oblivion. It went with the enormous resources invested in it. Everything went down the drain.
The questions begging for answers; What did we learn from these moribund rebranding campaigns? What lessons have we brought to the table to guide our policy makers in their latest attitudinal change campaign? The initiative, launched in Abuja on Thursday 8 September 2016 has theme; Change Begins With Me.
It is good to galvanize the populace to be on the same page with the government in its various initiatives towards making Nigeria an utopian state (if there is any such thing) in all its ramifications, be it political, social and economic. But from my observation, the people that should have been mobilized to buy into these projects have always been inadvertently left out. Hence they are often dead on arrival. The reason is not difficult to locate: our policy makers love putting the cart before the horse.
Let the truth be told; the “Change Begins With Me” campaign came too little and too late. It is belated. For me, the change mantra started way back when President Muhammad Buhari was sworn in as the President of Nigeria. The people voted massively for him because they saw in him a renewal of hope, a rebirth of sort from their seemingly hopeless estate. The frenetic chants of Sai Baba almost became the national anthem of Buhari fanatics who showed their loyalty in diverse forms. Some trekked hundreds of kilometers to Abuja while others gave their last coin to celebrate PMB’s second coming. To me, that was the point the build-up to the launch of the change slogan should have started. But from all indications, the organizers had no roadmap. No lesson was learnt from the Akunyili and Omeri experiences.
A change slogan like this should have started with a well thought out advocacy programme a year ago beginning with the rural populace; comprising farmers, traders, community leaders, traditional rulers and school children. It should have come with juicy and attractive welfare packages that will translate into training them how to fish. Had this been done, it would have been easier for the people to key into it. It would have been easier for the people to engrave into their hearts an undying love and commitment for positive change.
It is only after people have been properly and appropriately sensitised that the administration could then prepare for a grand take off like what we saw in Abuja on Thursday even something much bigger than that.Such preparation should have seen the architects of the programme going round the country, mobilizing the people at every stratum of society. For Lai Mohammed and his crew to now begin to take the campaign round, for what I suspect, would amount to a waste of scarce resources, and an inducement for corruption, trust me. And an economy in recession cannot afford that.
The government should learn how to put smiles on people’s faces – like the ongoing efforts for mass employment for the million of unemployed- before dreaming of how to mobilize them for change of attitude. This is certainly a challenge for the government with its current advocacy campaign, to draw new people and new nation out of Nigeria.
However, hope is not completely lost as Mr President, has pledged personal commitment and leadership for the project. His apparent goodwill and honesty will definitely be an added advantage. The people must start seeing the reflection of change which they are noticing from the President. The cabinet members should queue in by conducting their affairs transparently. National Assembly members too should take a new attitude in which they put the interest of Nigerians first in their agenda and shun extravagant living. The Judiciary too must begin to to fight corruption within its fold and desist from trading judgement with money bags. The Nigerian Police that interface more with the public must be the show piece of this change.
This is absolutely necessary in order to encourage Nigerians to key into the change mantra.
Change must not be about mere slogans. As they say, talk is cheap. So, the architects of this mantra must show leadership by example. They must walk the talk. This must be expressed through some variations, including:
* Showing strong leadership sensibility.
* Establishing trust by proving practically to taxpayers and voters that as leaders, they are dedicated to the society, community and the people.
* Restoring confidence and demonstrating strength and leadership through actions and programmes that beam strong rays of hope for the future. And of course, ensuring fairness and justice.
Even before President Buhari got to power, he had foreseen the enormity of the problems facing Nigeria and the Herculean task of changing the culture of governance. He mirrored this in an interview he granted ThisDay newspapers in 2014 during his electioneering campaigns, he said:
“The priority will have to put the country in order first.In attempting to put the country in order, it is going to be a terrible situation for whoever wins and I pity whoever succeeds President Jonathan, even if it were to be myself. But this is what we can do; the practical way to tackle corruption is to draw a line, because institutions have been compromised. We cannot go on the way we did in the military in 1983 to fight corruption. This time around, you cannot do it that way because most of the institutions have been compromised. The person you will depend on as the auditor to go and check the CBN, maybe he has got some substantial part of the deal. These are facts on the ground. So, what you do is to persuade them to help to amend it. And that part of the amendment is for the people to have attitudinal change to the ills of this country.”
However, no matter how hard he tries, President Buhari cannot do it alone. For the campaign to succeed, all hands must be on deck. Those charged with the implementation of his initiatives must put on their thinking caps, and endeavour to march his pace in his efforts at pulling the country out of the current recession. This is one battle we must win for our country.
Olamiti a Media Consultant wrote from Abuja. [myad]