The euphoria of Xmas and the New Year is gradually wearying out, and the grind of daily life of hard-hitting hardship, suffering, and poor service deliveries of basic amenities has resumed in full swing.
There have been promises by political actors in government at all levels, of renewal, of restoring hope, of reversing the economic meltdown and soaring inflation and of mitigation of the hardship the citizens are currently facing in their daily lives.
Nigerians are used to this ritual of annual promises, they are equally used to their breach, and this merry go round attitude of politicians at the federal and state levels have widened the chasm between them and the people, creating high level of mistrust and frustration.
In the new year, the citizens expect nothing but good governance, responsible and responsive behaviour from our leaders. They expect better healthcare anchored on affordable drugs, well equipped government hospitals, amity between government and health sector personnel, they equally expect a stable tertiary education calendar steeped in resolutions of various contending issues between the federal and state governments and the academic unions, Nigerians expect stable electricity, and security of lives and property, to say the least.
The expectations are numerous, but resolutions depends on how responsible governments at all levels have chosen to be in the new year.
The mark of legitimacy of leadership is marked principally by how responsive the leader has become to the yearning of the people.
President Tinubu’s New Year speech has received praise and condemnation in equal measure, but what matters is how the president responds to the challenges of hunger, unemployment, insecurity and social dysfunction in the society of which the core of it is massive corruption in government and the public sector in general. The New Year is yet another opportunity for Tinubu to write his name in gold, time will tell!.
