Another broadcast

Another broadcast
Disclaimer: The following is entirely a product of its author’s imagination, not the address last Monday by Mr. President. And the author isn’t even me. I picked the text from a post on Civil Society Hub WhatsApp chat group, and have only edited to fit available space here. Make of it what you please:
“I am happy to address you all today on my return from medical treatment in the United Kingdom. It is by the grace of Almighty Allah that I am here with you.
“Let me begin by thanking every Nigerian who prayed for my recovery. I also wish to thank those who lost patience with me. I understand your feeling: we have so much work to do in this country that every minute lost is a disservice to our people.
“My special thanks go to the Vice President. He held the fort in my absence, despite the difficulties our political structure imposed on him. He did the job of leading this nation so well that I have renewed confidence in our leaders of tomorrow.
“I also thank the National Assembly, my ministers, the Judiciary, our security forces and civil servants across this nation who go to work everyday and look up at the picture of their leader who had been absent for long, and still dedicate themselves to the task of the day.
“Being sick is human. While we pray that sickness does not befall even our worst enemies, it is one of those life experiences that ‘will come when it will.’ For those concerned about the financial burden my illness may have posed, let me dispel your fears. Though as your President, I am entitled to receive medical treatment anywhere my doctors deem best, I’m waiving that right. My family and friends will underwrite the bills.
“Leaders must lead by example. I promised to end medical tourism if elected president. Two years after, that has not happened. You do not have to go far to know. It is my personal failure. I own up to it, the same way I own up to all that we promised but have not accomplished. As part of my renewed commitment to this country in my remaining days as president, I will make sure that no president of Nigeria will again have the need to travel abroad for medical treatment. We have done greater things in the past. We can do this.
“In the last two years, we have opened the window of opportunity for tens of thousands of our young people through the N-Power entrepreneur scheme. We have children in 13 states receiving free lunch at school as part of our Homegrown School Feeding Programme. In nine states, over 26,000 are receiving N5, 000 stipend a month from the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme. We have stabilised the Naira and the economy. No matter how raw and uneven it may have been, we have taken a stab at the fight against corruption. Though it is still with us, its wings of impunity have been clipped. And instead of relenting on this fight, we are reloading and refocusing.
“We have made strides here and there. But for many, the change we promised has not materialised. In some cases, the change has taken many of our people two or three steps backwards. To them, it’s hard to understand that stepping back is part of what is needed for a forward push. They may have seen rams do it, but they would not readily embrace it when it means doing with less meat in their soup pot."

'Our unity lies in our creating an equitable and just nation…All voices matter in negotiations for advancement of the Nigerian project'  

“For me, my medical leave has been an opportunity for great reflection. If I had any illusion I would always be with you, that illusion is gone. I will not always be with you, but Nigeria will always be. I, therefore, return with fresh commitment to leave a better and more united nation for all. And our unity lies in our creating an equitable and just nation.
“In re-committing myself to the Nigerian project, I am determined to listen to, and understand people at the fringe of our society. More often, we fail to give them our ears and assume that what they have to offer has little or nothing to do with our lofty dreams for the nation. That, I now understand, is untrue. All voices matter in negotiations for advancement of the Nigerian project.
“Moving forward, balancing the Nigerian project to give it a sense of equity and justice is paramount to me. I want all that are committed – those at the forefront of the fight for restructuring Nigeria – to come to us with proposals and blueprints on how to make things better.
“I want to balance the seats in the House of Representatives to make them fair to all. I want the number of states in each geo-political zone balanced. I want to see resources of this nation shared in such a way that those from areas where these resources come do not feel cheated. I want to devolve power from the centre and free the regions to stand on their own. I want the geopolitical zones enshrined in our Constitution. I want the presidency rotated among the zones; the number of local governments in each zone should be fair so that LG allocations will not be lopsided.
“We need to sit down and articulate a blueprint on how to make Nigeria great. I want a master plan on what to do IN SPECIFIC TERMS on my desk in six months.
“With the remaining time we have, we want to set things right to make it easy for those coming behind. All along, the military have been the one putting in place constitutions and structures. Our democracy is mature enough to do these ourselves in line with the aspirations of our peoples. If we can accomplish that, the rest of the task of governing this beautiful country should be a lot easier – not just for this generation, but for generations to come.
“It is unfortunate that we have been programmed to believe that in a family, injustice to one does not impact the cohesion and commitment of others to that family. But it does. That is the reason for all the rumblings we hear in our dear country today.
“To address these, in a few weeks we will convene a meeting at the Rock with all the youths who are so dissatisfied with the Nigerian project that they seek to opt out. We want to listen to them and forge a way to regain their trust. The youths are the most important resource we have. That should not just be a mantra given mere lip service, it is a statement of fact we need to hold sacrosanct.
“My generation has played its part. We must have the courage to begin a systematic disengagement so the next generation can take the lead. I have seen them in technology hubs across Nigeria, on the streets hustling, in schools and in markets. I am confident they can take this nation to greater heights. If this present malaise is a spell, it has run its course. Our mumu don do!”

To be clear, foregoing is sheer opinionation on what could be, but was not.

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