Finally, the results of the general elections held on February 25 was announced by the Independent National Electorial Commission, INEC, in the wee hours of Wednesday. As expected, it was a landslide victory for the All Progressives Congress standard bearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who polled 8,794,726 to beat Abubakar Atiku of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, (6,984,520) and Labour Party’s Peter Obi (6,101,533) votes.
The party has started across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria as supporters continue to pop champagne for the next President and Commander-in-Chief. of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
While Tinubu and APC as a party must be celebrated for checkmating the vociferous attempts by PDP to come back to power after wreak more havoc on this country after their 16 years of the locusts, without nothing to show for it, the northern Progressive elements who ensured that the power rotation understanding between the North and the South was respected despite pressure from the northern elders group who believed power should continue to remain in the north without weighing the likely consequences on the unity of this country, must be congratulated
Well, these crops of progressive leaders from the north have earned my trust and other millions of Nigerians both home and abroad.
It’s my candid view, that Tinubu might have spent several years to prepare for this election, his efforts may have ended in nightmare if not for the progressive governors from the north who stood by him from the period of the primary election up to the end of the presidential election.
I know for sure that when the history of this country is written, your names will be listed amongst people that stood your ground so that this country may continue to stay united.
Our dear Jagaban, accept my deepest Congratulations, wishing you a successful tenure. We know you are the Abraham Lincoln of our time but let your manifestos be your bond to the people. Place it side by side with your Holy Koran and start hunting for talents if you haven’t done so. But we know you have them in excess supply.
Now that the battle has just begun, needless to remind you that Nigeria needs a solid team to put together developmental plans for this country like you did for Lagos State when you became the governor in 1999.
Dear Asiwaju, with you, we know Nigerians will not be afraid of human rights abuses that are prevalent in this country. To all lovers of democracy which you represent in all respects, you will make institutions to function and rule over this country according to the rule of laws.
This, to me, is the first time the man who led the onslaught against the military and fought for democracy will be in the saddle of affairs as the president of this country.
You know the expectations of Nigerians are very high so the need to hit the ground running now is very imperative. In my view, we need to set up a national reconciliation process so as to put the nation together while you work on policies that will trigger opportunities so that Nigerians can really enjoy the dividends of democracy in real terms.
Mr President elect, some Nigerians don’t know the difference between economic theories and practical and impactful economic philosophy. They are quick to go against borrowing yet they love good things of life and are advocating for improved social wellbeing of citizens without looking at what advanced economies are doing right.
America today is the biggest debtor in the world with over $33trillion and are still borrowing till date but those borrowings are targeted at improving infrastructure.
We know economic revolutions of advanced economies started with improved infrastructure as minimum template for economic growth. With huge investments in infrastructure to improve on what the outgoing President Buhari did,, we are sure that more borrowing by your government will trigger industrial revolutions that occurred in Europe and America in those years.
As part of low hanging fruits, we expect your government to open up the ocean economy otherwise called maritime space as done in Singapore, Malaysia, America and other European countries to enhance opportunities for the benefit of the experts in this respect and the country.
CVFF that has continued to remain in the realm of political statement by authorities since 20 years of the Cabotage law should be liberalized to make the fund accessible to ship owners in form of assets acquisition. The ship to ship operations that has continued to create job losses to Nigeria and promotes economies of countries in West Africa especially Togo should be reversed.
Any vessel that is Nigeria bound should not be allowed to stop in Lome as this policy has continued to inflict more costs and job losses to the maritime industry in Nigeria.
Security challenges in our country should be tackled with stick and carrot approach. With many opportunities created for our jobless youths in Agriculture and strategic orientation of our youths towards entrepreneurship, our insecurity challenges will reduce drastically. The need for continuous interventions in sector by sector and availability of loan with single digit will go a long way to change the mindset of our youths as job seekers to business owners. It’s my belief that with you in the saddle of affairs in this country, Nigeria will be respected amongst comity of nations around the world and prosperity will flourish in our country once again. Congratulations President elect.
.Otunba Sola Olatunji, Chairman, Ikale Heritage Development Association, writes from Lagos
