While receiving the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors who paid him a Sallah visit in Daura, Katsina State, recently, President Muhammadu Buhari confessed that being the President of Nigeria had been tough for him. Though he expressed gratitude to God that people appreciated what he called his personal sacrifices, he said he was eager to go. Buhari’s open confession, though surprising, sounds as a note of caution, especially to those aspiring for the position, that it is not a tea party.
Apparently, the schedule of work is too much for the President as he appears overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenges confronting the country. Some of these challenges include insecurity, collapsing infrastructure, bad economy, corruption and others. Insecurity, for instance, has proved to be a very hard nut to crack for the government. All over the country, the spate of killings and kidnappings has become so worrisome that people dread travelling out of their bases these days. Today, non-state actors appear to have the upper hand in the battle between them and the security agencies. Recently, terrorists ambushed and killed at least 34 soldiers and eight policemen in Shiroro, Niger State. In the first quarter of this year, over 2, 968 people have reportedly been killed and about 1,484 abducted in Nigeria.
Managing the economy to achieve optimum performance is also a big task for the President. Since he assumed office in 2015, the economy has gone from bad to worse, falling into a recession in 2016 and 2020. Inflation, unemployment, poverty, hunger and many other indices of measuring a sound economy have gone haywire. Food inflation is so high that many Nigerians go to bed hungry every day. And almost on a daily basis, the prices of food items keep rising. This has pushed many of our youths into crime. The tragedy of the Nigerian situation is that there seems to be no hope in the horizon. We have continued to borrow and mortgage the future of our children. From about N12.12 trillion in June 2015 when President Buhari assumed office, the country now owes N41.6 trillion, a debt that may be very difficult to offset.
The lesson for presidential aspirants is that the job is not an easy one. It is not about high ambition. It is also not about whose turn it is or, as the former US President Gerald Ford once said, the presidency is a prize to be won. It is a service to be rendered. The job is both physically and mentally tasking. Each of the Presidential candidates should ponder about the following salient questions: Do they have the capacity to do this job? Are they physically fit to withstand the rigours of the job? A President, for instance, has so many files to attend to and so many issues to resolve. Sometimes, he also has hordes of visitors to attend to. He takes the glory or blame for whatever happens in the country.
The President must also not be a tribal or religious bigot. Knowing that Nigeria is a heterogeneous society, he must carry every segment of the country along in the scheme of things and ensure equity in his appointments and allocation of resources. Failure to respect the nation’s diversity in his appointments will lead to agitations and criminal activities that will exert more pressure on him and his government.
A Nigerian President must be wise and mentally alert all the time. Though he has ministers who will help him in discharging his duties, he takes direct responsibility for their actions as the buck stops on his table. This is why he must be interested in what goes on in the ministries and agencies of government. Currently, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is on a long strike. This has crippled the Nigerian public universities. Although the lingering issues fall under the Ministry of Education, all eyes are on Buhari to resolve the issues and reopen the universities.
Accountability and transparency must also be the defining features of the government. Above all, Nigeria needs a credible leader. Nigeria is where it is today because of leadership deficit. The country has enormous resources but her citizens are the poorest in the world on account of mismanagement of the resources. There is still an opportunity to make amends in 2023. Nigerians should come out en masse to vote in capable leaders to pilot the affairs of the country. They should go for somebody who has the capacity and the will to do the job. Let Buhari’s confession serve as an eye-opener.