Former military governor of Lagos State, Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to consider new ways of tackling Nigeria’s problems if concrete results must be achieved in the next four years.
Marwa made the call at a lecture he delivered yesterday at an event organised by Muslim League for Accountability Initiative, a body made up of 54 Islamic organisations across Nigeria.
Highlight of the event which held at Arewa House, Kaduna was the presentation of ‘Award of Excellence’ to the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega.
Speaking on the topic ‘My advice for Muhammadu Buhari’, the two guest speakers, Marwa and Prof Idris Bugaje of the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria, listed some priority areas which the newly inaugurated president must work on if he must succeed.
In his presentation, Marwa said though he is not qualified to advise Buhari “because he has seen it all having been GOC, minister, governor and head of state, I will nonetheless fulfill my obligation to the organisers of this lecture and do the needful since I have been asked to.”
The retired army General identified the fear of God, sense of justice and equity as issues that Buhari must not forget. “All Nigerians know these are his qualities but all those who will work in his government need to share these qualities”, he stated.
On security and insurgency, Marwa said he could not give detailed advice on such sensitive issues in a public forum, adding that as a former head of state, Buhari knows exactly what to do. He assured the gathering that the president will in no time tame the Boko Haram insurgency in the North, stressing that the moment the military is provided with the right tools and wherewithal, they will do a good job.
He also identified discipline as a major issue that must top Buhari’s agenda.
“We all know that discipline is his second name. He has done it before, he will do it better this time. Even though this is a civilian regime, he will find another way around it to ensure that both government and the citizenry imbibe the culture of discipline”, he added.
Speaking on the complex power supply problem in the country, Gen. Marwa said “the new administration has to devise new ways of doing things. One of the areas that require new approach is the power sector. All the while, our nation has not really considered the coal option in the generation of power, whereas industrialised nations like the US, Russia and many others rely on coal. So, we have to look that way this time around to get out of this perennial problem.”
He equally said that though there is need to cut cost in view of the nation’s economic reality, the Buhari administration must consider the creation of a Ministry of Wealth Creation and Poverty Alleviation as well as that of Railway.
He said, “This is essential because no past Nigerian leader has received the kind of support from the poor masses like President Buhari. So, the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Poverty Alleviation must be created to take care of this critical segment of our society. Apart from this, for a population like Nigeria, our mass transit should be railway, hence we need a Ministry of Railway Transportation like in India. Railway transit will move millions at a time; it will move goods and even petroleum products. It will move more people than the airlines. If the airlines can have the Ministry of Aviation, then we need Ministry of Railway.”
He further said that the Buhari administration will need “effective monitoring mechanisms”. “This system will have men and women of integrity who will move round the country to monitor projects and give the president independent feedbacks. This will check a situation where officials will be telling the president lies about realities out there.”
On the fuel scarcity problem, Gen. Marwa said “new refineries have to be built here and there, the old ones need to be repaired to function effectively, and then we need to build a fuel reserve that can last for 90 days to take care of emergency situations like industrial strikes and the rest”. He added that the new government will also need to review the fuel subsidy regime and reintroduce the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), once headed by Gen. Buhari.
While suggesting that the administration should also consider building a port in the North to take some stress off the Lagos port, Marwa said the government should mobilise to get a malaria vaccine for Nigeria and also endeavour to treat the ailment free.
In his own presentation, Prof Bugaje called for the review of the cases of military officers recently convicted by courts martial in addition to addressing the Boko Haram insurgency without delay. He also asked Buhari to deal with the fuel subsidy mafia, support agriculture and employment creation for Nigerian youths.
