Opinion
“The fear of Buhari” whips Nigeria into shape – and Africa just might be carried along with it
Waiting for Buhari
It is thought that some of the best past performing governors – especially those that stepped down owing to the two-term limit rule are hoping to be appointed to Buhari’s cabinet.
Who would have thought that former Nigerian governors would be angling for cabinet positions – using their past performance as credentials, to get to do even more transformative things on the national, federal stage?
“A governor in their state is more powerful than the President of Nigeria in the whole of Nigeria,” declares my host. So why would a person with near absolute authority feel the need to compete at all? It is a sign of an emerging meritocracy, which the cynics had long said was impossible in Nigeria.
Times have changed here. The country has managed over the past few years to create a demand for more accountability, more thinking, more prosperity. It is probably why the former president – Goodluck Jonathan – stood a very slim chance of being re-elected.
His administration had become out of touch and gotten too comfortable. Jonathan was not seen to have taken any decisive action against the marauding Boko Haram until 6 weeks before the election. Voters saw through this, and he was punished at the polls.
Of course not everything is rosy. Many of the new governors who have recently taken office have since discovered that their state coffers were looted by associates of previous gubernatorial administrations. As a result some states have seen industrial action by state workers as they have been unable to pay salaries in time.
There still is blatant and open corruption everywhere, still, there is a lot of fresh air in this country. A renewed expression of critical thinking, innovation and commitment to public service. Of course nobody knows how things will turn out over the course of this presidency but one thing is for sure Nigeria is on the move and the rest of Africa is likely to benefit.
The fear of Buhari. Long may it continue.
Dan Aceda is a Kenyan architect and entrepreneur. He is also a 2013–2014 Global Health Corps fellow and has also been part of the Global Accelerator Conference for entrepreneurs. He has been based in Lagos, Nigeria.
