On January 1, 2021, as we entered the new year, President Muhammadu Buhari spoke to Nigerians on the state of the nation and the way forward.

The President acknowledged the obvious; he called 2020 a tough year that put to test our national resilience and ability to survive. He however gave renewed hope about our nation’s capacity to brave any storms that lay ahead in 2021 and beyond.

He saluted our resilience as a country on the difficult journey to nationhood and greatness! He noted that Nigerian has confounded the many pundits at home and around the world “who never gave the newly-born country that emerged unto the world stage on 1st October 1960 a chance of surviving much longer than a few years.” Here the President was reminding us of the many travails such as the civil war that we overcame, a war which would have foreclosed our existence as a united nation.

However while it is good and worthy to celebrate our unity and resilience to stay together as one nation, we must never take our indivisibility for granted and thus take any section of this country for granted. Both the government and the people, must ensure fairness, equity and justice for all including those who did not vote for us or did not support the candidate that we supported. The development of the country must be holistic and no section should be favoured over the other. Equitable development should be the watchword.

#EndSARS did not escape the attention of the President as he noted that, “ 2020 indeed came with a lot of challenges ranging from security and economic issues across the regions to understandable protests that were mainly led by our youths and served notice to the demand for police reforms and accountability. This government heard, this government listened and this government is committed to fulfilling the five demands of our youths, fully understanding that we all wish well for Nigeria.” As a result of the #EndSARS protest against police brutality, states across the country have set up commissions of Inquiry to investigate allegations of police brutality.

The commissions of inquiry are ongoing as I write, but the worry or concern of Nigerians is the implementation of the recommendations that they are expected to come up with. The concern is not far fetched as we live in a country where such commissions are quickly assembled to buy time and when the public seems to have forgotten, we return back to the old ways. The Buhari administration as a change government must act differently and ensure that the issues raised by the youths are addressed.

It is also heartwarming that the President has promised that “I would ensure that these ongoing challenges will be faced head-on with renewed determination and with all the urgency required. Your voices have been heard and we would continue to listen to you, and all the key stakeholders who are committed to the unity of Nigeria to ensure that every region of this nation is safe for us all, while guaranteeing that the future is also secure for the coming generation.”

One of the issues that defined the year 2020 in Nigeria was the problem of insecurity. From insurgency and terrorism by Boko Haram/ISWAP in the North East, and Banditry and herder/farmers clashes in North West and North Central, Militancy in the Niger Delta to armed robbery and cultism in the South West, the nation was in the mercy of outlaws last year. In his speech the President promised, “Re-energizing and reorganizing the security apparatus and personnel of the armed forces and the police with a view to enhance their capacity to engage, push back and dismantle the operations of both internal and external extremist and criminal groups waging war against our communities in some parts of the country.”

It is common knowledge that no country could develop to its full potential under the shadow of insecurity, which is why the economy’s prospect in 2021 depends a lot on how government handles the insecurity bedeviling the country. The President speaking on the economy said that “Our focus is on revamping the economy through the national economic diversification agenda that supports the primary goal of national food self-sufficiency. This has helped reduce the growing food related inflationary figures and have in considerable measure positively impacted our food security status during the long months of the pandemic lock down. “We are also currently rebuilding our national infrastructure base and, in the process, introducing transformation through the rehabilitation, modernization, and expansion of the railway system, national roads and bridges both in rural and urban centres, alongside the airports and seaports. “The reforms we have put in place in the power sector would guarantee increased efficiency in our drive to significantly expand the generation and distribution of electricity for use in homes and factories.”

One of the reasons why Buhari was elected President in 2015 was to fight corruption. That task was not lost in his New Year speech saying that “On the anti-corruption drive of our administration, we have recorded substantial gains so far and this year, we are committed to continuing along the path of eradicating corruption, through collaboration with all the arms of Government to effectively prosecute this fight. While we would be working with the Legislature to enact laws that would strengthen this fight, we would also be looking at reviewing some of our laws, which would ensure that this fight is more effective. On the part of the executive, we would ensure the diligent and timely prosecution of corruption cases, while appealing to the judiciary to ensure that corruption cases are dispensed with expeditiously.”

For a government that was elected largely to fight corruption, the verdict from bodies likes the Transparency International (TI) showed that not much progress has been made, as such more effort need to be made to rid the administration of bad eggs that romances corruption overtly and covertly.

By the time Buhari read his speech Nigeria was already over a year after it overtook India as the poverty capital of the world. It is instructive that the President acknowledged those in the fringes of society when he noted that “In parts of the country where chronic poverty, social exclusion, and disillusionment among sections of the youth were already a problem, the cycles of violence that have been unleashed by mindless groups like Boko Haram and others have thwarted the efforts of government to undertake the social policy and associated investments that could make a huge difference in the quality of life of our citizens. “I am aware that for some of our compatriots, the progress we have registered since the inception of this administration is not nearly as fast or as sufficient as they would wish. I do not begrudge them their views in so far as they signify a wish, in which we all share, for only the very best for our country.”

This column is aware that the federal government established the National Social Investments Programmes (NSIP) in 2016, to tackle poverty and hunger across the country. Under the NSIP is the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme that supports those within the lowest poverty bracket by improving nutrition, increasing household consumption and supporting the development of human capital.

There is also the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) and the Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSF). Sadly, only very few Nigerians have benefitted from these laudable poverty alleviation programmes. To reduce the endemic poverty in the country the Buhari administration should ensure that more Nigerians benefit from the poverty alleviation programmes and the process made more transparent for easy accessibility of most vulnerable Nigerians.



Aluta Continua!
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