BY every stretch of the imagination, 2012 was a horrible year for the ordinary Nigerian. What turned out to be a torrid year began with the subsidy with battle over the sudden removal of fuel subsidy by President Goodluck Jonathan on January 1, last year. That very audacious action on the part of the government at a time when Nigerians were still contemplating how to begin the new year, precipitated anger in the land. It went further to erode the goodwill that the President had earned from the electorate, when he won the presidency in his own right in 2011. It was an ill timed move, that continues to make Nigerians wonder whether a man they had so overwhelmingly given their mandate during the elections actually cares about them.

The argument canvassed by the civil society that what was being subsidised was not fuel but unbridled corruption was validated by the subsidy probe at the House of Representatives. But as if the betrayal of the Nigerian people had become the fundamental objective of political actors, the Chairman of the probe panel at the House of Representatives, Hon Farouk Lawan became embroiled in a shameful bribe taking scandal. What has gone down in Nigeria’s graft prone polity as the Faroukgate, served to erode whatever moral high ground members of the House of Reps had taken, especially by their earlier exposure of the mind boggling looting of Nigeria’s common wealth in the name of subsidy. The tepid state of the war against corruption, under the Goodluck Jonathan administration was apparent throughout last year. Many who felt that the subsidy thieves would have been used as scapegoats to teach a lasting lesson that acts stealing from the public till does not pay, once again had their hopes dashed. What many Nigerians saw in the dramatic arraignment of those involved in the subsidy heist was a charade that has now resulted in most of the suspects walking free, while billions of naira creamed off the country remain unaccounted for.  As such, the war against corruption, which many admirers of the vast potentials of  Nigeria have declared, must be won for the country to make any progress is floundering on many fronts.

On top of this dreary realities, the economy again did not create jobs in a way that would absorb the millions unemployed youths in the country. The result last year of Nigeria’s high youth unemployment came in the upsurge in violent crimes like kidnapping for ransom, armed robbery and other forms of crimes. In 2012, Nigerians saw a Federal Government that was totally overwhelmed by a myriad of challenges that confronted. The capacity of the Boko Haram sect to carry out audacious attacks against soft targets increased. The sect’s activities in the North, which continued to claim the lives of members of the security forces and civilian alike further exposed the fragility of the Nigerian State.

All these notwithstanding, Nigerians welcomed 2013 with a new wave of optimism. They brimmed with renewed vigour that things will get better in spite of the quandary that the nation found itself in 2012. Hopeful as ever, citizens of the world’s most populous black nation have as usual made supplication for divine intervention in the affairs of their nation. Unfortunately, much of the hope is again being invested in the same crop of politicians and leaders that have failed the nation over and over again.

Therefore, it is up to the nation’s leadership to prove in 2013 that it is not a plague of locusts that has been unleashed to make life miserable for the ordinary Nigerian. Nigerians expect that as the new year gets underway, the lords of Abuja, the state capitals, as well as the local governments will begin to take their jobs with utmost seriousness. In 2013, the citizens of this country also want those occupying positions of power, who are also luxuriating in all the benefits that these positions bring, to take their jobs seriously. The people, to whom sovereignty belongs will be keen to see a political class that eschews all forms of primitive accumulation that has now become the directive principle of majority of the political actors.

Although the wish list of the average Nigerian, with regards to specific action he would like to see in the Nigerian polity, is long, below are some of the areas that citizens of Africa’s crippled giant would be interested in seeing concrete actions and quick wins.

Constitution review

Although not many like the piecemeal approach to the amendment of the 1999 Constitution, there seems to be a consensus that aspects of the nation’s grundnorm should be tinkered with for a better polity. Some of the issues of interest to Nigerians include state creation, fiscal federalism, autonomy of local governments, the immunity clause, and a bunch of other issues.

For majority of Nigerians, amendment of the constitution should be done within the context of bringing about good governance. The people are simply tired of the fact that it is their representatives that have been enjoying the so called dividends of democracy.

The people want a constitution that will entrench the culture of service in the country’s leadership, not the current personal aggrandisement that charcaterises leadership in the country.

Security

The orgy of bloodletting in 2012 has got many people wondering whether Nigeria can survive another decade with such disregard for human life. From the Boko Haram killings in the North to other forms of violent crimes in the country, many Nigerians ask how their country degenerated into a jungle where human life has no meaning.

This feeling of unease is about the chronic insecurity in the land.

Security of life and property is one of the very reasons why government exists in the first place. In 2013, Nigerians want to see a nation in which life is protected. The people are tired of seeing fellow human being slaughtered like cows or chickens. The security agencies must do more to ensure that Nigerians feel secure, wherever they may be in their country.

Anti corruption

In spite of the failures of 2012, the people will love to see much more robust action in the war against corruption. All the nation’s anti-graft agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as well the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) buckle up and begin to make corruption a less lucrative business.

Here, the judiciary has a role to play by handling corruption cases with utmost dispatch. If politicians could tweak the constitution to give a specific time for the settlement of election disputes at the tribunal, why won’t they do the same with cases of corruption? As such, the institutional mechanism has to be put in place to ensure that the evil of corruption does not finish off the resources meant for the common good.

Job creation

The army of unemployed youths in Nigeria is one of the greatest threats to its stability. In 2013, the young people of this country want to see jobs being created. For this to be achieved, the current negative trend that has seen industries and factories closing down must be reversed.

Government must as a matter of urgency change Nigeria from being an importer’s haven to a producer’s paradise. The Jonathan administration must realise how grave the unemployment situation is in Nigeria at the moment. There has to be an attempt to theoretically understand the linkage between joblessness amongst Nigerian youths and the national security challenges the nation faces.

The Jonathan administration’s quick win programmes like YOUWIN may empower a few youths, but such will not generate the number of jobs needed to absorb the millions of idle hands in the system. It then means that government must work assiduously to create the environment for the private sector to operate competitively. In a global economic environment, where the likes of China are bent on flooding Nigeria’s markets with goods, government must device a means to change Nigeria’s fortunes from those a dumping ground to a place of opportunities for its young people.

Infrastructure

While the Boko Haram menace claimed many lives last year, the dilapidated state of infrastructure across the land also took its fair share of Nigerian lives. During the yuletide alone, figures by the Federal Road Safety Commission showed that hundreds of lives were lost on the nation’s highways.

From the federal to the states and the local government level, bad roads have been one of the most consistent pointers to irresponsible governance in the country. Nigerians wonder whether road construction and maintenance amounts to rocket science. In 2013, they are demanding better roads to prevent carnage on the roads. This brings to mind the role of agencies such as the Federal Roads Maintaenace Agency (FERMA). This crucial agency should wake up from its slumber and do its job. In 2013, Nigerians don’t want to see craggy and pot holes infested roads. The people are not asking for too much; they just want those in position to affect their lives to do their jobs.