THE race is over, the trophy is won, but the job has just begun. The burden is as heavy and as diverse as the nation in all her complexities. It requires Hercules might, Solomons wisdom and Daniels prayers.It also carries with it the pomps, and circumstance. But no modern day Nigerian had in recent times undertaken the task without smearing his image, and the nation shall have no Angel to bear the rule.The leader must be a Nigerian, however imperfect he is. Then what must this president commit himself to in order to achieve successSecurity All forms of dangers to live and property must be completely eliminated. The state law enforcement agencies must be tutored on the policy of zero tolerance for crime, tolerance, no sacred cow, no bending of the rule and no double-dealings. Boko Haram, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND,) Jos and Niger Delta issues must be resolved through peaceful conflict resolution programmes, with a view to ending all carnages.Power This has been an intractable problem over the years. Several attempts had been made by past administrations but to no avail. The country needs a firm hand to monitor all contracts involving power generation, transmission and distribution. A lot has been said about this. Suffice it to say that Power is the bedrock of industrialisation.Political re-engineering He has to redress the mistakes of the past. He must consider total separation of the tiers of government, as the days of maximum leadership which combined parties and government positions as one are over. He must be a statesman who would allow the opposition to live without intimidation, he must project the nation on the path of true federalism with each state free to determine its own destiny provided it does not conflict with the unity and peace of the nation. He must prevent traditional rulers, the police, armed forces, civil servants, the judiciary and the religious institutions from participating in partisan politics. They had all been involved in politics and it has proved inimical to national development. He must stop the idea of using public servants salaries for political activities. He must be a good thinker, a vast reader and a listener, who will weigh all shades of opinions, before making up his mind on any issue. He should know that to the ultimate boss belongs the blame or the glory. He must shun bad companies. There are a lot of flatterers and idle talkers who may use their tongues to curry favour. He should not enbrace sycophants who live on great men but who sap them of influence, strength and thereby reducing their productivity.The economy - He must fortify the economy in order to improve the lot of all Nigerians. He should take the following steps: Reduce the jumbo pay of the National Assembly members, follow due process in contracts bidding, award, and accountability in execution. The excess crude oil funds should no longer be distributed to the states as is the practice but rather be expended on projects as was the case of PTD of old. In this way, the average Nigerian on the street can enjoy the benefit of the proceeds of the oil more as the subsidy had been virtually removed. The common man should also be saved the agony of the perennial increase in the cost of kerosene due to the profiteering instincts of the various agencies. It is a good time for the country devise an appropriate tax code that will be binding on companies and individuals, and which the civil servants may not be able to sidetrack. The agencies fighting corruption should be encouraged, but not mandated to crackdown on opponents. All things must be transparent fair and just.National unity The unity of Nigerin must be sustained at all cost. He should heal the wounds resulting from the North - South dichotomy, zoning and quota system brouhaha and the various intra-party and inter-party rivalry.He can easily win people over if he runs an open administration which is not based on winner takes all.He should employ the services of the best brains at home and abroad, but he should have clearly set agenda for all sectors and a vision of what he hopes to accomplish, so that he can gauge his performance monthly, yearly and at the end of the term.Agriculture and industrialisation should be encouraged, this is the only way to reverse the monoproduct-economy of the nation. He should encourage entrepreneurship in the form of cottage industries based on individual skills, using simple equipment, readily available raw materials, and which could be established with small fund. This is the sure way to reduce unemployment. Our educational institutions should be re-engineered after indepth research into all spheres of life, not just the parochially narrow-minded, subject-based and certificated programmes. We should broaden our curriculum to enable us adapt to the complex world we live in.He should interact with international community with a view to learning from their past experiences and seeking support for this programmes. He should, however, not become their stooge. We shall look at him as a leader. Pray for him to succeed and occasionally criticise his decisions. He should not be afraid to reach out even to opponents and critics. But he should be careful when men praise him. There is a lot to say and a lot for him to learn. He must be a man, not an Angel, definitely not a god. So, he could make mistakes and he will make a lot. But he must be ready to learn from each mistakes and improve as he moves on. I sincerely pray for his success.Ayilara, a Medical Doctor writes from Ibadan.
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