 A transition to prosperity
The real new hope for Nigerians however is the new president, General Obasanjo. He has been a full-time farmer for 19 years and with him, it is like a Daniel has come to judgment.
In the past, his burden had been to protect the Nigerian enterprises against foreign competition, but in his second term Obasanjo's economic perspective has changed from that of an economy enclosed inside the cloak of restrictive legislation's, rather, the 62 years old new president is expected to do the exact opposite. But there seem not to be any cause for worry. Nigeria's history has always been filled with dramas. Obasanjo has also undergone a tremendous transformation just like the economy is setting for better days with series of reforms instituted by government before him. Therefore, for both Obasanjo and the Nigerian economy, for the next four years, it will be all systems go.
For the last twenty years, General Obasanjo has been a major character on the global scene, rubbing shoulder and mind with world leaders in search of a more peaceful and prosperous world. On the local scene, he set up an African Leadership Forum in his Ota farm and the forum has made several contributions and suggestions to leadership problems in Africa, while he also has been able to live above tribal primodiality, a problem hindering Nigeria's forward march to stability. It is believed that the military class both serving and retired provided strong support for his candidacy in the last elections which makes the country's hope for an enduring democracy real high.
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He no doubt possesses the right credentials to govern a country just emerging from political crisis which has trailed its history since independence and which climaxed with the annulment of the presidential elections of June 12, 1993 regarded as the Nigeria's freest and fairest poll. And the resultant death on June 8 last year of late Sani Abacha, Nigeria's maximum military ruler who died while preparing ways for his own transmutation from a military Head of State to a civilian president and as well as the death of Abiola after four years in military custody.
Indeed for Obasanjo, the country offers a new hope for a new beginning. The economy is also witnessing a new rebirth with the various ambitious and positive measures being taken by the government. The transition train of Nigeria that just delivered the series of elections that produced the present civilian dispensation has a lot more 'passengers' than it is delivering. These include privatization, diversification, infrastructural development, restructuring of financial institutions and flushing out of bad eggs from the industry and provision of incentives for foreign direct investment. |
NIGERIA
