TINUBU’S ONE YEAR REIGN AS PRESIDENT
Steadily and surefootedly, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu moves, to complete one year in office. The symbolic day constitutionally scheduled for this event remains May 29, 2024. Instructively, the president’s one year in office looks like 10 years and, even, more.
There are many factors that surround this.
Asiwaju Tinubu has for long been operating as ‘president’ before he eventually assumed power and authority as Commander -in – Chief of Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The doubters of this submission should make spirited attempts to interface and interact with all who matter in the nation political sphere, even including Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi; they would tell the story better.
Of course, the iconic 15 Bourdillon Street, Ikoyi, Lagos for decades, especially since the turn of Fourth Republic in 1999 has been a ‘political power house’ where Nigerian successive presidents, as well as those who have been occupying exalted offices of national assembly leadership, and several governors irrespective of party affiliations, were being identified and chosen.
So, the illustrious and mercurial ex-Lagos State governor has long been divinely empowered with a mysterious aura, clout, influence, power and authority, ever before he ascended the presidency. Indeed, for him, the office of the president is just an icing on the cake.
And, therefore, with that political majesty and royalty, he got inaugurated as Nigeria president after the most tempestuous, acrimonious, ill-tempered and rancorous presidential election that has ever been conducted in the annals of this nation, to begin what is turning out to be an eventful and busiest reign in the country political history.
Unlike in the previous regimes where weeks of ceremony used to follow the inauguration of president, Tinubu didn’t only surprise Nigerians by returning to work in Aso Villa immediately after he was inaugurated. He gave the citizenry so much to think about with his pronouncement of outright removal of petroleum products subsidy, as well as new regime of floating of exchange rate of nation currency, subjecting the naira to market forces; the two issues that have long remained very sensitive and major determinants of direction of the nation economy.
The pronouncement at the inauguration came as thunderbolt rocking all the stakeholders – Nigerian people, business and political leaders, employers of labour, oil marketers, local and foreign investors.
These are two major contentious issues that have been decades, no-go area for the successive administrations, even, with the military regimes with their might. For a new president with zero tolerance for frivolities, indolence and idleness in governance, series of events and policy announcements began to roll in torrents.
The president immediately mandated the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries, with a total rehabilitated sum of $1.58 and $1.45 billion respectively paid, as well as ordered timelines for their completion.
The immediate privatization and commercialization of NNPC was announced, with a new name NNPCL coming into being, with new Board of Directors.
Other subsidiaries were also created from the hitherto behemoth Federal government agency to take charge of gas resources and other petroleum related activities.
Meanwhile, in a bid to stabilize the economy and refocus the monetary system, as well as giving Nigerians a fresh breath of air, the Godwin Emefiele- led Central Bank of Nigeria was swept away out of office. In his bid to ensure the smooth running of government, and having in his consciousness that the executive indeed need legislative and judiciary arms of government to optimally function, the president ensured a smooth and seamless emergence of national assembly leadership, with members collaboratively and willingly elected accomplished, tested and trusted members amongst themselves to occupy those offices.
Kola Amzat (FCA, FCIB), Lagos
