By Ade Oluwafayosokanmi

If there was any  doubt that the inauguration as Nigeria’s fifth democratically elected  President of Muhammadu Buhari, a  former military head of state, famed for his integrity,  would not lead to a substantial departure from the way Nigeria has been misruled in the last 30 years, such doubts have started melting.

Buhari

Without prior  relationship, Buhari appointed a new Chief of Defence Staff  (CDS) and Service Chiefs for the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Airforce. If it were to be under a different dispensation, Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin, a Major General and the new CDS would by now have been pulled out of the military into retirement. Olonishakin has had  opportunities in life to enrich himself as commandant of  Army formations but he chose the path of moral rectitude.

A story was told of  Olonishakin  as Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Signals, Apapa  and  as  suddenly, the students realized that their food rations had tripled and they were befuddled. Olonishakin reportedly told them that he didn’t do anything other than to ensure that the money budgeted for the students’ welfare was judiciously utilized. When many of his colleagues have mansions in different parts of the country, Olonishakin has only one bungalow at the Redemption Camp on  Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Olonishakin combines these virtues with his exceptional brilliance and passionate dedication to duty. He is always the best graduating student in the schools he attended.

Those were the sterling qualities Buhari saw in Olonishakin; the Chief of the Army Staff, Major General T.Y. Buratai; the Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas; the Chief of the  Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar; and the new National Security Adviser,  Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.). Monguno,  the son of Alhaji Shettima Ali Monguno, a former Minister for Internal Affairs, Mines and Power, hails from Borno State.

A retired Army officer said about Monguno on TV  following his new appointment that he (Monguno) was the military officer every other officer aspired to become.

Just last week, Buhari appointed another brilliant Nigerian,  Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, as the  Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Virtually every public commentator hailed the appointment because of Kachikwu’s honesty, integrity and excellence.   Prior to his appointment, Kachikwu was the Executive Vice Chairman and General Counsel of Exxon Mobil (Africa). He is a  first  class graduate of law from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the Nigerian Law School. He also holds masters and doctorate degrees in law from Harvard Law School. He is a dye-in-the-wool philanthropist who has touched the lives of many indigent students.

Like the generals, he did not know Buhari, neither did he have any strong tie that could have swung the appointment in his favour. He is another beneficiary of the era of meritocracy Buhari has enthroned. As the aphorism goes, morning shows the day. There is every reason to believe that most of the almost 5,000 key federal appointments Buhari will still make will be based on merit. Buhari is putting an end to an era where you can only serve the nation if you have a  godfather.

Millions of other Olonishakins, Buratais and Kachikwus in any field of human endeavour across the country can now believe that, without knowing Buhari, Bola Tinubu, Kwakwanso, Bukola Saraki, Ogbonaya Onu or Rotimi Amaechi, they can be appointed into important national positions on account of the impact they have made in their chosen careers. This singular step will inspire millions of Nigerians, young and old, to work hard. Buhari is leading the revival of the age-long philosophy that hard work and integrity are hugely rewarding. This will have enormous multiplier effect on every aspect of life in the nation. Coupled with the onslaught against graft, indiscipline and extreme corruption spearheaded by Buhari, there is a wave of optimism sweeping across the nation that the era of impunity we witnessed, particularly in the recent past, could be dead  if Buhari sustains the momentum.

It is now clear that if  the President succeeds in this endeavour, the whole nation wins and, if he loses, God forbid, the nation will suffer the consequences while the oligarchs will continue to ride roughshod over all of us. It’s time to rally round this unusual leader who has clearly shown his intentions that all he wants to do is to restore the pride and glory of the Nigerian nation.

Oluwafayosokanmi is a Lagos-based public affairs analyst.