Yar'Adua. Hope For Tomorrow?

Six days ago Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, handed over the reins of office to his successor President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, the man who was announced as the winner of the elections 36 days earlier. Those 36 days have been packed with events. There's been lots of drama in the news and beyond. There's been issues and societal tension. There's also been humor in the form of e-mails which include the "Lords Prayer" and the "Yar'Adua's Presidential speech". Governors have been reported to be on standby for flight be it by Jet, Plane, Car, ABC transport, Molue, Okada, Horseback all in a bid to escape Mallam Nuhu ... and the EFCC. Atiku decided to stay in the U.S. and watch proceedings on TV. OBJ rounded up his regime by giving us some farewell gifts including but not limited to Sale of the PH refinery to persons with no track record in refining (which has caused discontent for NUPENG and PENGASANG), increment of fuel pump price by 15% - N65-N75 (a move that'll ultimately increase inflation) and an increment of Value Added Tax (VAT) by 100% (5%-10%). What better gifts can Santa provide? But I digress, that's a story for another day.

I want to focus on the man Yar'Adua and the great task ahead of him. Now that he has been sworn in, there are three schools of thought among Nigerians.
1. He'll be an extension of Obasanjo's government, be controlled exclusively by Obasanjo and consequentially the Nigerian situation will remain the same.
2. He'll break away from Obasanjo's hold, and rule Nigeria his own way which will be worse than Obasanjo's regime.
3. He'll call Obasanjo's bluff, and lead Nigeria in a positive way without fear or favor of anyone, develop the economy and make Nigeria a much better place.
I am a product of the 3rd school of thought, and I advise everyone to do the same. It's time to forget our predictions and our magnifications of Y'aradua's supposed weaknesses. Let's look on the bright side. Let's magnify the good things that come with him. He is educated (something that has been lacking in our presidents past), his origins are well respected (the Yar'Adua family is known and respected), the fact that he declared his assets during his governorship (suggests honesty and transparency).

President Yar'Adua himself know what Nigerians think of the electoral process that put him at his current position. He knows what Nigerians think of his predecessor. He also knows the state of the country's economy and most importantly, he knows what needs to be done to move the nation forward. He knows that Nigerians think he will be no better than OBJ, but this will be a good time to prove them all wrong. I really hope and believe that this will be the break Nigeria has been waiting for. It is known that any man will work better where there's less "Negative Criticism". Therefore, let's hold down the Critics in us and allow Yar'Adua to do his job. Let's refrain from grading the script before the start of the exam. Yar'Adua has committed himself to honesty, accountability, transparency and an absolute fear of God. Let's give him a chance to bring action to his words. Nigeria shall be great.