You were gone for 104 days in your second medical journey to the US as the President of our beloved Nigeria.
We the citizens of Nigeria, who voted you president are very sad that our president was very ill.
Nobody wishes himself to be sick. We know that when you threw down the gauntlet to vie to be president, you did not plan to spend so much time in the hospital.
You are a patriot, otherwise you won’t have put your life on the line as a military man. So it was not your plan abinitio to saddle the country with your health issues.
Now that you are back, you know you are back to a country in need of a re-jig.
When you rest at night, please kindly take from the Government House Library the book containing the resolutions of the 2014 Confab.
At this critical time, what is most important is to look for the magic wand to deal with all the problems of the country.
Somewhere inside that document, where hundreds of eggheads from across the nation put their minds together to chart a way forward, can be found that magic wand.
Also, the Acting President needs to be appreciated. He did a yeoman’s job, a thankless job and exhibited the highest level of loyalty possible, in my opinion.
We never smelt it on him that he sees your absence as an opportunity for him to build his own political empire. I believe he is a God sent lieutenant for you. There hardly could have been a better hand to steady the ship of the nation as the deputy captain when the captain fell ill.
Your sojourn on a medial trip should make you take a second and a third look at the health sector in Nigeria.
Call the Minister for Health and ask him, what will it take for us to get from where we are now to the level where medical tourism will be a thing of the past. And take steps in that direction.
Many are angry that you travelled abroad for medical attention and other sundry issues, but I personally buy into the argument of your media aides that you wanted to continue with the hospital that has been attending to you for some time.
But the fact that you sought out medical attention abroad at the initial stage shows that our health sector still has a long way to go.
We voted you in on the mantra of change, so let your trip abroad count, not just for the complaints of people against your travelling abroad (with their possible misunderstanding), but for a new look at the health sector.
As you noted in your speech on Monday, the security issues affecting the country is now on a whole different level.
Quoting directly from your speech on Monday, you mentioned: “kidnappings and farmers versus herdsmen clashes.”
Let’s start with kidnapping. This menace has traumatised whole families, led to the death of many and recently one notorious Evans was arrested. But that has not led to a let up in the spate of kidnappings.
Some routes have been noted to be notorious for high incidence of kidnapping. This matter demands urgent attention. One keeps hearing that this person has been kidnapped, that person has been kidnapped. We need a change in this issue. We cannot continue like this.
Maybe we need to have a conference of those who have been kidnapped and freed and their families to tell us their ordeal. We need to be touched by what has touched them.
Their experience is obviously not as simple as being “taken” and some money paid. Lives have been ruined, businesses crashed. If well researched, kidnappings may be discovered to be a major factor in the continued recession the country is passing through in view of pervasive economic impact. This is such a blithe on the nation.
The matter of the clash between the Fulani herdsmen and farmers should also be brought to the front burner. We need a public hearing. An assault on one should be regarded as an assault on all.
These matters need the same attention that was paid to Boko Haram. To fight Boko Haram, special equipment were sourced for the military. We need special equipment sourced for and deployed for the use of the Police and other paramilitary agencies.
They have been using what they have to get the result they have been getting, and it is clear that if they are better equipped they will do better. We cannot expect them to bring water out of the rock with their bare hands.
And Mr President, that brings me back to the matter I raised earlier, the matter of the resolutions of the 2014 confab, where flesh was given to the concept of federalism.
Older men remember how the Police were in a federalist system. And with the peculiar configuration of the country, it is as clear as day that the present security arrangement will not work. You have heard this before and it bears repeating.
I have an idea for you sir.
Why not convert paramilitary bodies like NSCDC into full-fledged state police, and give a clear demarcation of their roles from that of the Nigeria Police (if we want to retain that name and not turn it into something like National Police).
As they say: the only thing that is permanent is change
A case where at regular intervals, State Commissioners of Police are changed and we have new people come in who know nothing about the state except what they read in the news, and have no prior stakes in the states, is not good
A police run like the military, does not augur well. This needs to change.
These are my ideas as a concerned citizen. I wish you total recovery because God works miracles.
I know you have missed the country, missed your family and we all believe for the best for the country and that with you as the President at this time, certain things can be achieved.
Take your rest, take your time. But also understand that amidst all these, time is ticking. If your present crop of ministers and aides are underperforming, since their activities reflect on you and your administration, change them.
There is less than two years more for this administration to wind up. So every day counts. Don’t bother if a cabinet reshuffle will displease some people, your legacy is what is at stake here.
On the matter of corruption which is also a strong factor in your winning the election, a way for people to immediately feel the impact of the effort of your administration in this regard is for the sums of money recovered till now to be intelligently deployed.
That means the transparency must start from the top. Because, Mr President, when you were abroad, people were spreading the rumour that all the monies purportedly recovered as part of the fight against corruption is just a ruse.
Thank God you are back; please let the money being saved be used to solve specific problems for the country. Thank you for your attention.
