By Christian Nwachukwu
It is quite encouraging that governance at all levels has been tried and tested by the populace, hence, the idea of choosing a leader through popular votes. It was through the exercise of the popular votes that an impeccable former governor, former Senator and national leader emerged victorious at the just concluded 2023 General Election as the elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the person of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, (GCFR).
As a man of vision and hard work, the present day Lagos State is working well based on the foresight he had for the state. Thus, it is as a result of his idea to transform Nigeria the same way Lagos State was transformed that he decided to put a round peg in a round hole by appointing a man with similar vision like himself to the position of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) in the person of Sen. George Akume.
Akume was a former governor, former senator and an administrator. A man that has all it takes to keep the ball rolling, he has been up and doing since he assumed office as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. He transformed Benue State during his time as governor. Now is the time for Nigerians to do away with sentiments and give him the needed support to enable him succeed in this role as the SGF.
Nigerians at large are expected to give their unalloyed loyalty to government of the day by supporting Mr. President and SGF and all other appointees of Mr. President in positions of authority. Nigerians have to disregard ethnicity, political affiliation, religion, etc, to enable Mr. President and his appointees in positions of authority like Akume to achieve and do more for the country.
Just as we are witnessing now, Mr. President and SGF are ready to work tirelessly and are marching word with action whenever we take a closer look into some of the policies the government has recently come up with.
Notable amongs them were the recent reduction of taxes and this would go a long way in helping businesses to grow as there are multiple taxes before now. Also, the Executive Orders recently signed are meant to help Nigerians in cushioning the effects of the aftermath of fuel subsidy removal. On this issue of subsidy, government is cushioning the effect of its removal.
Before now, subsidy fund was used for personal luxury and aggrandizement at the expense of public good but with the removal of subsidy, all the money being frittered private purse were stopped in its totality as government would not continue to subsidize petroleum product forever. This is the time for us as Nigerians to put aside anything that could discourage President Tinubu and SGF Akume in transforming the government of the day.
This can be done through a process whereby the leading opposition candidates in the last presidential should, in the name of national interest and patriotism, withdraw all court litigations from the courts or presidential election tribunal in order to join forces with President Tinubu in rebuilding Nigeria and taking Nigeria to greater height among the committee of nations.
It is equally necessary to underscore the fact that, attitudinal change among Nigerians is vital in achieving this noble objective. On this note, therefore, the choice of Akume as the Secretary to Government of the Federation is a welcome development and Nigerians should not only be at peace with this but should demonstrate their patriotism by extending their full support to him.
This is because the SGF is a man with vision and can articulate his wealth of experiences in moving Nigeria to greater height. This is the time of consolidation on the gains of democratic values and the present government of APC has all it takes to achieve the promises it made to Nigerians during campaigns. Now is the time to join forces with Mr. President in moving Nigeria forward.
Nigerians should be optimistic that better days lie ahead of us. As we patiently wait for Mr. President to come up with the ministerial lists, it is expected that men and women of impeccable characters that would help in achieving Mr. President’s vision would emerge. On this note, the National Assembly is expected to collaborate with Mr. President in order to do the needful in terms of timely screening of those that would make the ministerial list in forming the cabinet that will assist Mr. President in his day to day policy formulation and articulation processes.
Let us, therefore, emulate the vision of these two characters as they try to keep the ball rolling before the full formation of the Federal Executive Council under President Tinubu. Labour Unions, Trade Union Congress and civil servants should also support Mr. President. It is also expected that these unions/bodies should assist in achieving Mr. President’s vision of ensuring peace, economic, social and infrastructural development for Nigeria.
In the event of any fallout regarding what should be done to the above unions or bodies, dialogue remains the best way to go whenever the need arises. In a bid to ensure that every segment of the country is carried along, President Tinubu exemplified this in the just concluded appointment of Service Chiefs. Every part of the country is well represented in a bid to show diverse origin of the people of Nigeria and also to ensure that no tribe is marginalized.
Nwachukwu Writes from Abuja.
