The odds against the Change, by Jacob Ogunseye

The enthusiasm Nigerians all over the world showed in the last campaign that ushered in the present administration will go down a memory lane in history of the country. The slogan was “change”. The social media were rented with the slogan, likewise the print media. Even from the sucking babies, the language was change. The crusade, which the naysayers have been desecrating, became real, with time and commitment; it was transformed from mere slogan into reality. Everyone laboured within their power, invested their resources – time, cash etc.  As the clock thickens, now, the change is being threatened, the slogan is being confronted and just hope it is not at the verge of being dashed.

We should be courageous to call a spade a spade. The attitude and body language of President Muhammadu Buhari to the endemic corruption in the land is commendable. His zeal and courage to confront the scourge and put things aright is no doubt a rare feet in curtailing the national cancer. The system had been grossly violated, many Nigerians live in a society where interacting with government agents is a potentially hazardous activity because of their corrupt tendencies. The government was out of control, bloated and infested with fraud, deceit and corruption. This is highly noticeable in government agencies and public enterprises. And of course, our political system promotes nepotism and waste. This has undermined our legal system and confidence in the functioning of the state.

Previous national assembly members showed indifference to corruption, rather, they encourage it through huge allocation of funds to themselves at the expense of the electorates. Workers in public services became reckless, according to Chief Edwin Clark, a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain; drivers in the former administration built palatial mansions; and ride expensive cars corruption reached its peak since the body language of the former leader favoured the sharp practices. Today, the odds is in fighting against corruption is raising its ugly face and yet we must not fail.

Presently, the president is obviously having a top task in constituting his cabinet. The choice of who take what has been a great challenge. And Nigerians will not compromise. The list read on the floor of the senate recently did not suggest the change. The list signal the continuation of the recent past, it suggest a reward for party loyalty. It pains my heart that we are moving from one obstacle to another. We need to move at a speed where we can quickly control and correct all the anomalies of the past administrations. I have nothing against the politicians but their antecedents for running of government are unpleasant. Where are the technocrats to evolve new ideas? Where are the young ones who will bring the innovations?

It is pertinent to reinstate that the major impediment against the success of this administration is the administration itself, I respect elders but some of them need to give the younger ones some chance, in sincerity, For instance, I doubt if any of these present nominees could surpass the achievement of the former minister of agriculture under Goodluck Jonathan administration. We need men and women who can dance contemporary music, clearly, age is not on the side of the President, and one would have expected him to exempt the baby boom generations who have serially failed the country. The people paraded are obviously out of touch and may struggle to deliver. To achieve the much clamoured change, we don’t need to fall on our knees. The change we desired is not selective but total transformation.