PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI SWORN IN, THE NEW HELMSMAN OF NIGERIA.

Icheoku says Nigeria defiled all odds and permutations of the world, especially those Western countries who do not mean well for Nigeria and successfully transferred power from one president to another. Icheoku says congratulations to Nigerians, their erstwhile President Goodluck Jonathan and the new man on the block at Aso Rock, President Muhammadu Buhari. Icheoku says every Nigerian should congratulate him or her self for this milestone as against all odds, they proved the naysayers wrong and did not go the way of uncivilized, failed states. Way to go Nigerians and may the good example set and sacrifice made by the now gone President Jonathan never be lost in all subsequent occupiers of that exalted seat at Aso Rock; starting with the its first beneficiary and now new President Muhammadu Buhari, when eventually his term comes to an end.

Icheoku listened to the inaugural address delivered by President Muhammadu Buhari and read it all over again to make sure that a full grasp of it was first got before writing this piece. It was a well crafted speech with specs of his Washington DC minders and benefactors, cleverly sprinkled and infused in it; such as "share in increased prosperity/productivity?" Icheoku also noticed the reference to "Medicare", an American social medical program to its indigents and elderly; except that Nigeria has no such medical services in the country. However it is an acceptable practice all over the world of letters, for speech writers and speech givers to periodically assimilate good contents from elsewhere and as a result, Icheoku will not devote much time on this observed foray into Obamanism in the speech delivered by President MB. 

Overall the speech was well written and delivered; and its contents and aspirations, upwardly optimistic too. But that's where the fork on the road really forks off because talk is cheap, especially such lofty sugar-candy mountain type-talk. Icheoku says the world similarly witnessed such patronizing speech with America's President Barack Obama during his hay days, whose advent in the American political stage as the highest political office holder in the land has not productively, economically and socially, transformed or benefited black people of America; who instead, have for most part now, ended up as the new endangered species of that once new world. Such lofty speeches are usually what they are - hot air baloney, tailored for a feel-good effect; but which in actuality and reality, never usually equalizes the paper and ink they were written in and on, at the end of the day. They are usually good as sound bites but putting them on the reality convoy-belt of actually midwifing them to fruition, is the heavy-lifting arduous task, which never leaves their drawing table. 

The president spoke, among other things, his determination to fight impunity headlong in Nigeria. Icheoku will now throw some light on this question and speaking of impunities in Nigeria, there cannot be any greater impunity in the country than the born to rule mentality of Miyetti Allah Northern Nigerians. A people who believe in their inalienable right to perpetually stride over the power structure in Nigeria without yield or compromise. A people who are convinced that their position is always right and that other's are always wrong and that it is always going to be either their way or the highway? That it is either they are in power and dictating to every other Nigerian always or the blood of baboons and dogs will soak the land? This is one grave impunity threatening the continued existence of Nigeria which President Muhammadu Buhari should try and tackle for the long term survivability of Nigeria. By reason thereof, Icheoku was expecting to hear and would have loved to hear the new President Muhammadu Buhari clarify and affirm that he would have himself accepted the result of the presidential election in good faith, had he lost; without plunging the country into an irrecoverable political armageddon, regardless of his pre-election signed peace initiative? 

Icheoku says how about the other grave impunity of Northern Nigerians debit dads, who are by necessary implication, helping with funneling thousands of street fighters to Boko Haram; by reason of their uncared for children whom they bring to this world without taking care of them, now finding solace in whatever Boko Haram has to offer to them amidst their abject hopelessness? Icheoku says these debit-dads create the sociological problem of almajiris by recklessly impregnating under-age teenage girls who they take as wives and without adequately caring for them and their resulting children. As a result of this absent father syndrome, these children end up as streets urchins and social miscreants wherein Boko Haram finds an endless stream and supply of fighters and mischief makers with whom they terrorize Nigerians? Icheoku says how about that, Mr President Muhammadu Buhari, as a very needful impunity which is plaguing Nigeria and deserving your government's readily attention, among other things? 

Icheoku is emphatic that the problem of almajiris which breeds fighters for Boko Haram is the worst form of corruption as it attacks the very social fabric of the Nigerian society, wearing its productivity ratio drastically thinned down. The problem of these jobless and homeless youths of Northern Nigeria, a riveting social menace of the Nigerian society, must be frontally addressed by President Muhammadu Buhari, if indeed he means well and wants to wholesomely fix those things that are broken in Nigeria. Sometimes when Icheoku sees the pile of bodies of Boko Haram fighters killed, Icheoku wonders which families lost these so many people; don't they feel the pains of such loss and what are they doing about preventing it? Are they indeed doing something proactively to safeguard any future occurrences by corralling their non initiate children out of Boko Haram and out of terrorism? 

Finally whether or not President MB delivers on all his campaign promises as he further re-pledged during his inaugural address, Icheoku does and will not care nor will be bothered. Icheoku knows that politicians are usually filled with garbs and often heavy on hot air and very little on performance; and without a commensurate will or resources to effectively transform their words into actionable developments on the ground. Icheoku therefore urges Nigerians to curb their enthusiasm as their great expectation will soon default to the usual despondency and forlorn dreams that were not fulfilled. This will not be lack of trying or the absence of intention to see them through,  no; but a lot of unforeseen  things that often aggregate together to conspire to let out the steam and take the wind out of the sail. Icheoku says even if President MB has the best intentions, scant resources, volatile world oil market, internal sabotage as well as foreign conspirators' machinations will likely put spanner in his wheels. 

Therefore as Nigerians tame their expectations as they  should reasonably do and are expected to do under the circumstance; they should focus more on the sincerity of purpose of the president to run an all inclusive Nigerian government, for Nigerians and by Nigerians. Provided he is steadfast in working as a Nigerian president, for all Nigerians, regardless of region, tribe or religion, then President Muhammadu Buhari would have earned Icheoku's admiration as well as every other Nigerian. The president must therefore work for the unity of one united Nigeria and not one mortgaged to only the Hausa/Fulani core North or some special interests groups or blocs, including foreign meddlesome interlopers, who do not mean well for Nigeria nor would like to see Nigeria attain its true natural status in the world. These people are already gnashing their teeth that their prophesy from hell that Nigeria will be disintegrated in 2015, which they assiduously worked to see come to fruition, did not pan out or materialize as they projected, and now they would find other ways and means to continue to further subvert Nigeria. Icheoku is not being a Hezekiah, the prophet of doom; but as a student of world geo-political calculations and permutations, knows that the jury is still out about the future of Nigeria and its march to greatness and therefore, states that it is not yet uhuru for Nigeria, President MB being in charge now, notwithstanding. 

Icheoku emphasizes that once President MB governs like a president of Nigeria and not president of Northern Nigeria only and not allow the feudalistic cabal or a member thereinto to hijack his government, like President Shehu Shagari allowed Umaru Dikko, then Nigerians would have reason to hope again. So on this note, Icheoku welcomes the new president of Nigeria and wishes him all the best. Lets keep the faith and help the new government stay focused in a narrow straight line of accomplishments, without any frolic or veering off the course. Icheoku prays that the Nigerian media including the social media will not visit on the new president the nightmare they dumped unto the now former President Goodluck Jonathan; and not needlessly so rattle him that he loses his focus and instead of governing, just spends his presidency fighting to hang in there, to survive, by treading waters until an opportunity to bail out equally presents itself. Icheoku says former President Goodluck Jonathan was a victim of the anti subsidy-removal protests which nearly torpedoed his government and he never truly recovered from the shock until he finally took a bow out of Aso Rock and out of power. May President Muhammadu Buhari not share a similar fate nor any other convulsing shocks to his government that will deviate his focus. 

Anyway, thanks to a man who is very squeamish President Goodluck Jonathan, President Muhammadu Buhari has now been sworn in as the new president of Nigeria. However the now gone President Jonathan did Nigeria one heck of a good by what he did, yielding power, a very good precedent he has meritoriously now set in place. Icheoku says one good thing about setting precedents is that if respectably followed by subsequent beneficiaries, it helps greatly in creating and ingraining functionality and foundational growth in any given political entity, leading to a more well stabilized and lasting polity. It now behoves on President Muhammadu Buhari to dutifully, as expected, similarly pass on the torch or baton, whenever his time comes, to the next guy without any let or hesitance. 

Hopefully too the dog eat dog disposition of Northern Nigerians Hausa/Fulanis that saw then Muhammadu Buhari overthrowing President Shehu Shagari, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida overthrowing Muhammadu Buhari and Babangida killing Mamman Vasta etc for attempted overthrow of his government, will not lead to a Northern coup against Muhammadu Buhari or even a Sokoto State officer overthrowing President Muhammadu Buhari to avenge President Shehu Shagari's experience in the hands of the same Muhammadu Buhari. On this final note, Icheoku now pours libation for the new President Muhammadu Buhari as follows:- May his presidency be without anyone making the country ungovernable for him. May he have the clarity of mind and oneness of purpose to now begin to wrought all the promised miracles he made to the Nigerian electorates during his presidential campaign, in anticipation and expectation of their fulfillment, they massively gave him the mandate. Icheoku says congratulations to President MB of Nigeria, admitted that the funereally pall now cast over the country with the change of batons at Aso Rock will take sometime to dissipate, if any time soon.