The actions of the President in the past one month have portrayed in the minds of Nigerians a picture of a president with uncommon resolve, speed, boldness and strategy, very much different from his two immediate predecessors.
However, beyond it and beginning from next week, the President will be faced with defining decisions from which Nigerians will discern the long term picture of his administration. We will be looking for answers to three questions.
1.Who will be the drivers of his operating system—the first line of people who will head government ministries and parastatals and on whom he will squarely depend to succeed? To what extent will he rely on merit in deciding their appointments beyond what politics and familiarity offer him?
2.How effective will be his leadership style and what effects shall we begin to see on the momentous economic and administrative decisions he took during the first 30 days? Will they translate into the abundance he promised or if they bite us harder than we can permit, can he handle us with empathy and relief or confront us with stubbornness?
3.To what distance can he maintain this tempo in the four year marathon of his administration, without being overwhelmed as it happened to his predecessors, such that Nigerians will give him, with reasonable comfort, a pass mark to continue beyond 2027?
The President must not be distracted by the ongoing accolades but keep his eyes on the ball. Nigerians are not an easy folk to lead especially given that he does not have the resources of Jonathan to throw around or the massive goodwill that Buhari enjoyed in 2015.
Asiwaju must assiduously fight his way as he has done all along and finally carry his own cross. In that mission, there are infinite Nigerians who wish him and the nation good luck.