Tinubu and the seven principles of public life 2

In part one of this article, I ended with the imaginary first broadcast of the President-elect to Nigerians. I will continue to highlight what the President told Nigerians on how he will tackle the massive challenges created by his predecessors.

As if things needed not to be better, Buhari is setting a landmine for his successor with his request for $800 million loans to be corruptibly distributed to poor households. In his letter to the National Assembly, Buhari asserted that the $800m would be monitored and credited to the bank or wallet accounts of the beneficiaries.

Why is an administration giving away cash to disrupt the CBN cashless policy now dangerously bent on being cashless at her 11th hour? Buhari and his advisers undoubtedly want to end their sojourn in Aso Rock with more harm than anyone knows. On record, Olusegun Obasanjo, the letter writer, increased the fuel price to avoid creating a pressure point for the incoming administration of Late Yardua.

Why is Buhari not stopping in the war of his cluelessness and disruption of Nigeria? One man that is vindicated in all these dramas is Oyedepo. Buhari never disappoints Oyedepo. Oyedepo stood out in calling us to be mindful of the real intention of Buhari before, during and at the brink of his administration.

The damage had been done. It was a mistake to have allowed someone who never managed a business or himself to be leading our nation. We made a mistake, and thankfully, the man who was part of the plot is now responsible for cleaning the mess. In his first message (in my trance), BAT told Nigerians how he would return the country to its glorious days. He will build a strong foundation and institutions for us using the seven principles of public life.

According to the 16th President, he wants to build a foundation for prosperity, fairness, equity, and unity in Nigeria. In his broadcast, in said he wanted all his appointees and public officeholders, including civil servants, to see themselves as servants of the public and stewards of public resources. The days of looting and corruption are over.

We will be accountable to Nigerians and to one another. We will uphold the principles of public life in all we think and do. My administration is not for making money, power, and political gains. It is not about northern or southern agendas but the Nigeria dream and agenda. It is a new era. Therefore, if you plan to steal, practice nepotism, and scandalise our resources, you cannot work and be part of us.

We will be selfless as public servants. All our decisions will be based on and in the interest of Nigerians. Infrastructure will be given to states and locations based on needs, fairness and even development across the six geo-geographical regions. Again, there are no regional agendas except for an equitable sharing of political offices.

I, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will lead you with high integrity. Undoubtedly, I have been accused of corruption in the past; this time, I will be above board in my dealings. My presidential approval shall be for and for the benefit of Nigerians. I will strengthen the anti-corruption institutions, and there shall be no political allies regarding corruption. If you play the music of corruption with your position, you will dance to it publicly in the law courts.

We will make accountability our keyword in the next four years and beyond. We will declare and make public the income and expenditure accounts of the country, and I encourage all the states, local governments, and parastatals to do the same. We want public accountability in all aspects of our national life.

Let me shock you; none of us can be more prosperous than we are. What else do we want? We are at risk if most of our citizens are impoverished while we depend on public resources for our lifestyle—enough impunity and resource mismanagement.

I will be open to Nigerians and expect all my appointees to be so. I have no secrets henceforth. I will declare my financial and health status as your servant. I will declare my assets and interests in all entities as your leader. I will live by example and uphold the tenets of being a public office holder.

As your President, I will be honest with you. If we want Nigeria to remain united, we must be honest in our conversations. We must restructure this country to give every constituent nation equal opportunity. We cannot continue to have any region dominating another or claiming to be the power holder. No one can forcefully take another person’s land.

The herders will therefore be encouraged to practice modern animal husbandry and stop killing the indigenes. We will have the state police and encourage people to defend themselves and their territories from invaders while tolerating peaceful co-existence with everyone.

We will create an environment for all of Nigeria to thrive. I had said this when I was given the ticket for the APC. No one religion can eliminate another. God created all religions. We must live together as one people under God, even if we worship him differently. My wife and I are a living example of religious tolerance at a family level.

Finally, I will lead a government and a team of public officeholders with the principles of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership. My leadership is to correct what has been wrong with our country and recompense those wronged by the past government, including the military.

In the interest of peace and collectivism, we will pardon all the regional agitators and work with all and sundries for a united Nigeria. We will put forward a series of reforms to promote fairness. We will recognise and leverage our differences as assets that unite us, not as pain points that divide us. We will embrace our diversity and use it to our advantage.

I will appeal to my colleagues and fellow politicians to take a new turn for Nigeria to return to its glorious days. We must change Nigeria with Nigerians. We want all of us to think about the average Nigerian struggling to eat and survive, not our immediate family.

Read also: Tinubu and the seven principles of public life (1)

I looked into Akeem’s face while the president-elect was rounding off his broadcast with a massive episode of an unbeliever. Could this be real? I ask Akeem. I was ecstatic and wondering if what Bola Tinubu was saying was possible in Nigeria, that I know.

I began to see a country answering to her real name and image as the continent’s giant if our political leaders could put the public interest ahead of their personal interests. I couldn’t be more hopeful that the future is here but more doubtful about implementation. As it has been, Nigeria is blessed with top-thinking policymakers. The problem is in implementation.

Akeem, can this be real? Will Tinubu be the beautiful one we have been waiting for? I was about to ask my next question when I was tapped. Babs, it is 6.45 am and the time to prepare and start your day, the board meeting and the speaking engagement. I opened my eyes to see my wife standing by for my morning alarm that had failed to ring and allowed me to enjoy the dream of having my plan in Nigeria.

Will Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima make a difference?

Dr Babs Olugbemi FCCA, the Chief Vision Officer at Mentoras Leadership Limited, is Founder, Positive Growth Africa.