By Mohammed Nasir Shuaibu (Bauchi State Correspondent)
A one time National Ex-Officio of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD), Alhaji Al'ameen Sani Muhammad, has explained that for Nigeria's next President to succeed, he should be a servant leader and an apostle of Justice who can serve the country with Fear of God and can be fair and just to all Nigerians.
Al'ameen who was a former Assistant Director Grassroot Engagement and Orientation of Tinubu/ Shettima Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) in the 2023 election, gave the advice while addressing newsmen on Sunday in Bauchi.
He said Tinubu needs to take all sections of Nigeria as one, and urged him to drop his idea of demeaning Northern part of the country as he did in the past which led to the death of defunct AD political party.
He said Tinubu can only succeed if his efforts are complemented by right thinking Nigerians who share the vision for the unity of the country.
Al'ameen who was a former Bauchi APC Governorship aspirant, said, "Tinubu should refrain from avoidable delays in decision making. It is better to take a bad decision and correct it after seeing its effects than to wait until eternity to make one. That’s why it’s customary to say that indecision is the graveyard of good intentions".
Muhammadu Buhari’s spectacular and lamentable failure as a president was built on the fundamentals of indecision. Buhari couldn’t make up his mind about anything and took half-hearted, ineffective decisions only after the urgency of moments had passed.
He couldn’t come up with his cabinet members months after he was declared winner of the 2015 election, governing boards of government agencies, which are the engines of everyday governance, were unfilled years after Buhari was inaugurated as president. That was one of the reasons the economy took a tailspin into predictable chaos from which it hasn’t recovered."
He said "Tinubu should assemble his cabinet members while he is awaiting his inauguration and announce them within the first week following his inauguration.
He should also fill all vacancies in governing boards of government agencies within the first few months of his administration. The choice of cabinet members should lean toward savvy and competent people.
"I am aware that in presidential democracies, cabinet positions are often given as rewards to politicians who supported a presidential candidate during electioneering.
"I don’t expect Tinubu to not reward people who supported his electoral victory. But in light of the multiple burdens of heightened insecurity, economic stagnation, progressively dysfunctional infrastructure, etc that he is inheriting, Tinubu will earn the confidence of the nation if he appoints apolitical, clear-eyed, and demonstrably experienced and capable people to supervise the economic, security, power, and other consequential sectors of the nation"
He said even after he appointed them, Tinubu should, because of this, set up achievable and measurable metrics to evaluate the performance of ministers and fire non-performing ministers irrespective of their credentials.
"Tinubu should work to earn the trust of people who didn’t vote for him, including people who don’t believe he legitimately won his election, or that he has the interest of one Nigeria in his heart. In appointments and location of projects, he should reflect Nigeria’s intricate diversity.
"He also should not, in words and in deeds, marginalize any parts of Nigeria that resent him and unfairly elevate his natal constituency. It’s easier to win over opponents by repaying their hostility with kindness than to fight them back.
"In any case, after becoming president, there will automatically be power asymmetry between Tinubu and his traducers. The fact of being president dwarfs any vilification he may receive from his opponents and critics. Success, they say, is the best revenge. How he treats opponents will define him more than how he treats people who support him."
"Don’t increase petrol prices, but any policy (call it deregulation, subsidy removal, appropriate pricing, etc.) that results in an arbitrary and unbearable hike in the price of petrol, he should resuscitate existing refineries and create conditions for a robust private sector investment in building new ones. Any serious government would make this happen.
"He should dwell on what will reduce hardship environment to the common man. He should reduce public frustrations. He should focus on mechanized Agriculture, make farming policies easier and accessible to the common man even if it means subsidizing the farming implements, because, no responsible government shies away from subsidizing the production and consumption of essential commodities for its people."
Al'ameen said Tinubu should reverse all the last minutes appointment rushed to do by the Buhari administration. "He should also reject the strong rumors going on that he will retain 17 Buhari ministers, and he should investigate all the loans acquired by Buhari administration and do justice to the country over these loans. Infact, if there is a window to reject the loans, he should reject them".
He said Tinubu needs prayers so that he can be surrounded by people who also mean well for Nigeria.
Al'ameen, the former Assistant Director, Grassroot Engagement and Orientation of Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council PCC, said: “I am confident that our President-elect, a talent hunter, will take Nigeria to the promised land if he followed good advices he received from well meaning Nigerians..I think Tinubu can transform Nigeria into a world class economy, only if he is supported by those who mean well.”
Al'ameen urged Tinubu to implement his reform to move the country forward faithfully, diligently as a man of honour and integrity by developing one Nigeria". NNL.
