By Kayode Oluwa                      
 
In order to overcome the dilemma of striking a balance in effecting the change, two critical challenges will be faced by the Buhari presidency. The first one is the need to put long term future considerations ahead of demands for short term relief.

In this regard, an important factor will be whether the leadership and the people can together focus on the long term and persevere over a long haul with policy changes which are right and correct but slow acting, or will they become impatient for quick results? My candid advice to the Buhari administration is “don’t dance so fast”. What do I mean by this? The new government should tread cautiously and hurry slowly by adopting a gradual, calculated, step-by step process, rather than a quick fix, in effecting a ‘seismic shift’ so that it does not boomerang. The truth of the matter is that, in order to have a sustainable and enduring positive change, the change process may even take longer than planned.

 While Buhari should ensure to put his foot firmly on the throttle and fire on all cylinders, in order to fulfil the yearnings and aspirations of the people as quickly as possible, he should be circumspect in speaking or acting on the spur of the moment. In this respect, he must be cautious in making promises he cannot deliver and refrain from unduly raising the hopes and expectations of the people by exaggerating what can be achieved in the short term.

In order to avoid failure of expectations, he should take his time to settle down in office so as to assess and evaluate the realities of the situation on ground before making promises and assurances as to what he can do and what the people should expect in the short, medium and long terms. Considering the already high hopes and expectations of the Nigerian masses, Buhari should be open and brutally honest to let the people know that he is not a ‘miracle worker’ and does not possess a ‘magic wand’ for the situation to be put right overnight. He should let Nigerians know that the desired change is not going to be an easy ride or a quick fix but ‘a slow burn’.

The temptations of quick, immediate results or short term relief may prompt the new leadership to short-circuit the change process by taking decisions piece-meal, rather than to proceed strategically and holistically in accordance with more encompassing priorities and longer term interests. As Dr Christopher Kolade, former Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the UK, once noted, “It is natural that we should be anxious to get out of our present economic predicament as quickly as possible. We must beware of solutions which appear to offer sure relief in the immediate, but have doubtful viability thereafter. Crisis-driven decisions and measures taken in a panic often involve short-cuts which may compromise or frustrate continued success. While we must adopt some emergency policies and may even resort to shock tactics to solve pressing problems, we must keep a keen eye firmly fixed on the medium and long term, and ensure that the present measures do not jeopardise the future”.

Towards this end, the leadership should avoid the tendency of resorting to defensive, panicky, ‘fire brigade’ short term measures and policies in the reform process as this makes future adjustment much more difficult. At the crux of the issue is the willingness of both the leadership and the people to make required sacrifices and necessary adjustments for the change to work. It must be realised that ‘an omelette cannot be made without breaking the egg’. Sometimes, before the change begins to yield the desired benefits, it puts stakeholders through the wringer! But the change must go on, nonetheless. The change process requires concerted efforts, commitment and collaboration of all stakeholders for it to succeed.

Accordingly, the people should be effectively involved, consulted, assimilated and carried along in the government policy making mechanisms so that they can buy-into and be part of the reform process. In this context, the new leadership should embark on sustained public advocacy, mass mobilization, orientation and enlightenment campaign to sensitise and re-orientate the people on the complexity of the issues at hand and enormity of problems involved and what is being done to surmount these challenges. The people must be made to appreciate the issues at stake so that they can be ready and willing to make the required sacrifices and submit to the pains and discomforts which are the concomitant effects of change.

On the other hand, Buhari and members of his cabinet/government must live by example by exhibiting self-discipline, decency, modesty, simplicity, honesty, transparency and accountability in all their actions-both public and private lifestyles- for the people to believe and support the change programme. While the leadership should be compassionate and strive to mitigate the adverse impacts of change on the people, the people themselves should endeavour to exhibit a sense of understanding, cooperation and support with the leadership to persevere over a prolonged period, if need be, in order to have a successful and an enduring positive change.

Finally, for the change revolution to succeed, Buhari must get rid of the monkey on his back! In this respect, one of the hard realities that Buhari must be prepared to confront is the fact that he will, inevitably, have to step on toes and hurt people, including his closest aides/inner circle, associates and friends, as well as his political benefactors and godfathers, party leaders/stalwarts and top members of his own party, especially in the fight against corruption, irrespective of the ‘obligations’ or ‘pay back’ he owes them. He too must be ready to be hurt, criticised and lampooned.

Buhari must realise that change is not a fine music to the ears of some people, particularly those vested interests entrenched in the system who, expectedly, will want to fight back since they have been profiting from the old order. He must be ready to ‘ruff some feathers’ and ‘be in the doghouse’. If he is not ready to hurt or be hurt then he may end up only fantasizing about change! Change is rewarding but hurtful. There is hardly any change or radical transformation that is pain-free or without its harmful, side effects. Change is likely to inflict some temporary pains and hardships on the people. Even well-intentioned changes or reforms, wittingly or unwittingly, may end up hurting the same people for whom the change is meant! But the pains and sacrifices will ultimately pale and inconveniences and costs discounted, in comparison to the benefits the eventual transformational change will engender. In instituting a people-oriented change that will bring relief to the citizens, the Buhari presidency faces a critical challenge of ensuring that the change does not constitute too much of a burden to the people by devising some coping and adaptation mechanisms in form of palliative measures and programmes to cushion the harmful side effects and inconveniences of the change on the masses. All said and done, Buhari certainly needs the support, understanding and prayers of all Nigerians, as change agents in their individual spheres of influence, in order to succeed in the gargantuan task ahead. In the end, I believe that with patience and perseverance, all the pieces and jigsaw of the ‘change puzzle’ will gradually fit together and fall into place and the leadership and Nigerian people can finally heave a sigh of relief and gleefully celebrate the success of the change revolution.
 
                       I see a new beginning.
                        I see a new Nation;
                       A Nation of peace, progress and prosperity.
                        God bless Nigeria.

Concluded.
 
Oluwa, a Leadership and change management expert and former Secretary-General, Nigerian Council of International Chamber of Commerce, wrote in from the Executive Business School, Lagos, via kooluwa@ebsng,com.