Tinubu’s era begins

By Musa Gajere

The inauguration activities of the new president, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu reaches a crescendo on Monday, May 29th. Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima will take the oath and thereafter, amid all the celebration and pomp, the new administration will have to dig its teeth into setting up its team.

The president is expected to release the names of his communications staff and other protocol officers, while that of the Chief of Staff may be delayed if House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila is the pick till after the Inauguration of the new National Assembly.

The appointment of key officers will be made just after inauguration, signifying the new era of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR. The new president has his work cut out for him, as our Editors and reporters lay out in this Special Inauguration Edition.

Tinubu’s Promises:

On These You Shall Hold Me Accountable

• Build a Nigeria, especially for our youth, where sufficient jobs with decent wages create a better life.
• Manufacture, create, and invent more of the goods and services we require. Nigeria shall be known as a nation of creators, not just of consumers.
• Export more and import less, strengthening both the naira and our way of life.
• Continue assisting our ever-toiling farmers, through enlightened agricultural policy that promotes productivity and assures decent incomes, so that farmers can support their families and feed the nation.
• Modernise and expand public infrastructure so that the rest of the economy can grow at an optimal rate.
• Embolden and support our young people and women by harnessing emerging sectors such as the digital economy, entertainment and culture, tourism and others to build the Nigeria of tomorrow, today.
• Train and give economic opportunity to the poorest and most vulnerable among us. We seek a Nigeria where no parent is compelled to send a child to bed hungry, worried whether tomorrow shall bring food.
• Generate, transmit and distribute sufficient, affordable electricity to give our people the requisite power to enlighten their lives, their homes, and their very dreams.
• Make basic healthcare, education, and housing accessible and affordable for all.
• And, most importantly, establish a bold and assertive policy that will create a strong yet adaptive national security architecture and action to obliterate terror, kidnapping, banditry, and all other forms of violent extremism from the face of our nation.

Broad Goals of Tinubu’s Administration From his Campaign Document, Renewed Hope

10 HOT-BUTTON ISSUES FOR PRESIDENT TINUBU

1.National Unity and Cohesion: President Tinubu will have to assure all Nigerians that they belong in Nigeria. He can do this by running an inclusive government and finding competent hands from across the country to man key offices.

2. Addressing Insecurity: Beyond Boko Haram and separatist violence in parts of the country, he has to take headlong the menace of kidnapping for ransom and banditry that have become rampant nationwide.

3. Building the economy: This is as good as any task can be, with inflation at 22 percent and unemployment at over 40 per cent. Poverty is widespread and is a timebomb the president cannot afford to neglect

4. Address electricity supply: Nigeria is losing many factories to neighbouring countries because of high cost and unreliable electric power supply. With an entrepreneurial class and skilled population, electricity is key to spur growth.

5. Ending crude oil theft: To shore up national revenues, Tinubu will have to sustain the late effort to stem oil theft, which cut Nigeria’s export revenue drastically in recent years.

In 2022, Nigeria’s crude oil output fell to its lowest since 1998. He has to find new ways to ramp up oil production to bring in more money for development.

6. Reviving Agriculture: Getting food production up again is key to reducing the high and rising food inflation and huge food import bills. A starting point is riding the farms and forests of kidnappers and addressing the herders’ problem.

7. Addressing Incessant Public Sector Strikes: Currently, doctors are on strike over wage issues and the public tertiary school unions such as ASUU are in the wings. He has to find a way to make strikes unattractive and create a stable industrial workplace.

8. Address Fuel Price Subsidy: The government will have to address the subsidy regime that is inherently corrupt and has contributed to the huge government deficit.

9. Address forex disparity: The band between the official and black market rates is so wife that government officials and their friends engage in arbitrage, further depressing the naira’s value. It is a sore point in managing Nigeria’s financial sector.

10. Build trust in the government: There is no doubt that young, and many other, Nigerians do not have trust in government. Tinubu has to run a government that starts to rebuild that trust.