"If I Were Buhari..."

This piece was written by Dr Nura Alkali. He is an outspoken Nigerian who passionately shares his views about the issues that plague Nigeria and practical solutions to them. He has once again shared his candid view, but this time around, he speaks on what he would do if he were Buhari, in other words, his personal advice to Buhari. Read on after the cut.

If I were Buhari, I'll employ an emergency program within my 1st week in office, when I will:

1. Not remove the so-called fuel subsidy, because like him, I don't believe there is even a subsidy in the first place. I will sack the entire management of NNPC, PEF and PPPRA, and revoke all oil import contracts except those signed with the oil majors.

2. Negotiate a contract with the majors (Total, Mobil, Shell, etc) to supply Nigeria's daily needs of refined petroleum products from their overseas refineries, in exchange for Nigeria's crude at a reasonable profit margin.

3. Hire a foreign and a local audit firm to independently audit NNPC, PEF and PPPRA accounts from May 2007 to May 2015.

4. Replace the heads of DSS, EFCC and ICPC, and charge the new heads with concluding the trials of fuel subsidy thieves within 6 months. They will also scrutinize the bank accounts and assets of Federal High Court, Appeal Court and Supreme Court Judges, as well as management staff of all "lucrative" agencies, such as the Nigerian Customs, NPA, etc.

5. Judges and officers who can't explain their wealth will be investigated further, and if found corrupt, will lose their jobs and face prosecution.

6. Revisit the cases of Abdulrasheed Maina and John Yusuf, and trace the whereabouts of the 225 billion naira pension funds looted by these two and their accomplices.

7. Trace and recover at least a third of the 2.3 trillion naira subsidy scam perpetrated in 2011 within 1 month. With a trillion naira already recovered, the FGN needs not borrow again to pay workers' salaries.

8. Raise another 2 trillion naira by the end of the year by selling 8 of the 11 aircraft in the presidential fleet, selling some of Nigeria's lucrative oil blocks to the oil majors, and blocking wastages, such as import waivers, Aso Villa and National Assembly overhead costs, etc.

9. Inject 1.5 trillion of that amount into the power sector by building 2-3 coal-powered stations per geopolitical zone, with a long term view of decentralizing power supply. The other 500 billion naira will be used to reactivate all 4 refineries to 110% capacity. If as head of Warri refinery you can't meet that target, you have no business being in my government. After audit, break NNPC into four separate entities (as already promised) and scrap PPPRA and PEF.

10. Replace the NSA, IGP and all defence chiefs, and constitute panels to investigate their activities from 2010, especially regarding military and police budgets and the Boko Haram insurgency. All the panels must air proceedings on live TV, and those found culpable will face prosecution.

11. I will then get down to the business of running Nigeria, which of course, will include a new law on child abuse (to prosecute parents of almajiri children), an enforcement of PHCN sale agreements (which stipulated DISCOS will make substantial investments in the power sector), etc.