Ayorinde OluokunAbuja

A new dawn beckons for Nigeria as Muhammadu Buhari is sworn in as the new President

Even as momentous as the occasion was, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s new President, did not fail to note that his inauguration as the 4th head of government of the largest black nation on earth since the country’s return to democracy in 1999 last Friday was but an opportunity for a new beginning.

Quoting Brutus who in Williams Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, urged his comrades to take advantage of a momentary opportunity to deal with the enemy, Buhari, in his inaugural speech as the President, urged Nigerians to take advantage of the window of opportunity of change of government to finally bring into fulfillment the nation’s much talked about potential as a great nation.

•Preident Buhari on Parade

And there was no doubt that Buhari’s ascension to the position of Nigerian President last Friday represented “change,” for the country in several ways. Incidentally, “change” is the major slogan of All Progressives Congress, APC on which platform the retired General won the 28 March 2015 presidential elections.

Apart from bringing to an end the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s 16-year dominance of Nigeria political scene, it was also the first time a ruling party was transferring power to an opposition party since Nigeria gained independence in 1960. Nigeria’s efforts at the practice of democracy at independence was terminated by the military in 1966 while another opportunity at civil rule initiated in 1979 was also abruptly brought to an end in 1983 through a coup d’état. The military takeover in December 1983 was led by Buhari who later became the Head of State, though he was in turn overthrown barely one and a half years later.

Thirty years after, Buhari was sworn in at about on 10.50 am at a business like inauguration ceremony last Friday, by Justice Mahmud Mohammed, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, as the new civilian President. Many Nigerians believe that the swearing in ceremony will mark the end of maladministration associated with successive PDP-led government, which had nearly run the country aground in several sectors in the past 16 years.

•Buhari taking his oath of office

The fact that the ceremony held under tight security deployed in and around the vicinity of Eagles Square which has been the venue of ceremonial event since 1999 was devoid of the unnecessary fanfare and chest thumping associated with the PDP itself was reassuring of the seriousness the new administration intends to infuse into the act of governance.

The leadership of APC had earlier requested for a low-key ceremony in tune with security and economic challenges the country has been battling with. Absent at the ceremony were a retinue of musicians, comedians, entertainers and all sorts of political jobbers who were regular fixtures at previous events involving presidents elected on the platform of PDP. Even, members of the international community who have watched as Nigeria relapsed into a basket case from its position as leader of Africa under President Jonathan were also enthusiastic about the change that was about to occur in the country last Friday morning.

The roll call of foreign leaders and representatives of foreign countries who graced the inauguration include President Jacob Zuma of South Africa who was actually the first foreign leader to arrive Eagle Square. Other presidents present at the venue of the inauguration include Malian President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta; Alpha Conde, the President of Guinea, who arrived Nigeria few days before the event.

•Osinbajo taking his oath of office

Secretary of State John Kerry led the US delegation. President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, John Dramani Mahama of Ghana, Yahaya Jammeh of Gambia were also in attendance.

Buhari took his oath of office and oath of allegiance, in the presence of his predecessor, Jonathan. Buhari and the outgoing President subsequently performed the official handing over ceremony by receiving and releasing the National Flag and the Defence Flag, to give authority to the new President’s office as the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.

Professor Yemi Osinbajo who replaced Namadi Sambo as Nigeria’s Vice President had taken his oath of office about 12 minutes before the new President. The President and the Vice President were accompanied to the podium by their wives.

Buhari later released white pigeons and balloons, a symbol of peace to commemorate the momentous occasion. This was followed by a 21-gun salute by the Nigerian military, which mounted the parade.

Jonathan and Sambo departed Eagle Square immediately after the handover was over, thus indicating that Nigeria has successfully transitioned with Muhammadu Buhari and Yemi Osinbajo officially now the President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the next four years.

Speaking after he was sworn in, Buhari said that his inauguration signified the triumph, celebration of freedom and sustenance of Nigeria’s democracy. According to him, the successful conduct of the 2015 general elections has further entrenched democratic culture in the country.

•L-R: Buhari and Jonathan

And like he has done in the past few days, the new President also lauded his predecessor for displaying statesmanship by accepting the outcome of March 28 presidential elections. He received wide applause when he declared that contrary to the belief in certain quarters that certain political and regional interests may hold him captive, he said he would be President to all Nigerians.

“I belong to everybody and belong to nobody. There is no settling of old score, the past is gone”, Buhari said.

He then moved on swiftly to identify the major problems confronting the country, which his administration will begin to tackle right from its first day in office.

No doubt, the biggest problem confronting the country now is insecurity as reflected in Boko Haram insurgency. The President appreciated the contributions of Nigeria’s neighbours- Cameroon, Chad and Niger to the fight against Boko Haram insurgents in the country’s northeast and other parts of the West African sub-region.

While appreciating the recent successes that have been recorded by the Nigerian armed forces in the fight against the terrorist organisation, Buhari noted that the country could not claim to have defeated the insurgents until it is able to rescue the Chibok girls and other innocent people in the sect’s enclave. And in what is unarguably the first action of his administration, the President directed that the military command centre should be relocated from Abuja to Maiduguri, Borno State, the epicentre of the insurgency while noting that the “centre cannot be in the Federal Capital Territory and we expect victory over Boko Haram.” He added that: “The military centre will not be situated in Abuja, but Maiduguri until Boko Haram is defeated.”

•L-R: Osinbajo and Sambo

The new President also promised that his administration will respect the principle of separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government as defined in the Nigerian Constitution as all his actions will be within the confines of the law. But he was quick to ask the judiciary to clean itself “from its immediate past,” while it should also adopt a more serious attitude to the war against corruption through quick handling of corruption cases.

Buhari also added that his government would work on the quickest and safest ways to bring electricity to Nigerians. “The prevalent power situation in Nigeria will not be allowed to continue. It is a national shame that a country of 170 million generates only 4, 000MW of electricity. Over $20billion has been expended on that sector since 1999 and darkness and frustration has been what Nigerians get.

On unemployment, the President who noted that he is taking over government at a period of grave economic difficulties said his government will explore opportunities in the mining and agricultural sectors to ensure more Nigerians are provided jobs.

Buhari defeated former President Jonathan of PDP in the 28 March election, polling 15,416,221 votes to the incumbent President’s 12,853,162 votes. For Buhari, it was luck at the fourth attempt as his previous efforts in 2003, 2007 and 2011 to rule the country through the ballot box had ended in failure.

Buhari who first tasted power through a coup d’état in 1983 contested to return as the Nigerian civilian president on the platform of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party, then one of Nigeria’s main opposition parties in 2003 against former President Olusegun Obasanjo, but lost to the PDP candidate.

The alliance enabled Buhari to win elections outside of Northern Nigeria in the 2015 elections, the first time he would do so since he started contesting for the presidency.

Buhari had based his 2015 presidential bid on the need to correct the maladministration of PDP’s 16-year government. He had specifically identified insecurity, unemployment and corruption as areas that his government will devote attention if voted into power. He went on to win the election in spite of the vigorous; no expenses spared campaign of PDP, which focused on the APC candidate’s authoritarian rule and draconian actions as military Head of State. Many Nigerians had voted for Buhari on the premise that war against indiscipline and corruption as well as personal examples of incorruptibility and integrity were the essential qualities needed to bring the country back on the path of sanity.

As military President, Buhari had implemented austerity measures which involved introduction of belt tightening measures like temporary ban on employment, suspension of capital projects, and embargo on borrowing by states, among others to cushion the collapsing economy he inherited from the then Shehu Shagari-led government. Analysts believe that in his second coming, the economy the President is inheriting from the Jonathan administration is not better and thus, he may have to reach into the inner recesses of his being again to overcome the problems.

Born in 1942 in Daura Katsina state, Buhari served as the military governor of the old North-eastern State from 1975 to 1976. The Northeastern state governed by him is now broken into six: Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe.

He was appointed federal commissioner for petroleum and natural resources in 1976 and was also the chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund under the late General Sani Abacha.