ABUJA, Nigeria
Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu has been sworn in as president of Africa’s most populous country at a period of unprecedented challenges, leaving some citizens hopeful for a better life and others sceptical that his government would perform better than the one he succeeded.
The former governor of Lagos,
Nigeria’s economic hub, Tinubu, 71, was sworn in as Nigeria’s president in
Abuja, the capital city, in the presence of thousands of Nigerians and several
heads of governments.
He succeeds President
Muhammadu Buhari to lead a country that by 2050 is forecast to become the third
most populous nation in the world, tied with the United States after India and
China.
He has promised to build on
Buhari’s efforts to deliver democratic dividends to citizens in a country where
deadly security crises, widespread poverty and hunger have left many frustrated
and angry.
And with his election still
being contested in court by opposition parties and among many young Nigerians,
Tinubu has also pledged to reunite the country.
Symbolic of a transition of
power and loyalty to the new president, Gen. Lucky Irabor, Nigeria’s chief of
defense staff, presented old national and defense flags of Nigeria to Buhari
and received new ones from Tinubu, who is also the Chief of the Armed Forces.
Following the national
elections in February, newly elected governors also took their oath of office
in many Nigerian states on Monday.
At the inauguration venue,
neither of the two main opposition candidates challenging Tinubu’s election in
court was present and many Nigerians tweeted in protest to Tinubu’s
inauguration.
The outcome of the court
challenge is due in about three weeks. If the opposition challenges are upheld,
it would be the first time a presidential election would be nullified by the
court in Nigeria’s history.
Tinubu’s manifesto of “renewed
hope” prioritizes the creation of sufficient jobs and ramping up of local
production of goods, investing in agriculture and public infrastructure,
providing economic opportunities for the poorest and most vulnerable as well as
creating better national security architecture to tackle all forms of
insecurity.
However, Tinubu’s ambitious
plans could be threatened in his first 100 days in office by a mountain of
challenges, from insecurity to a fiscal crisis, poverty and deepening public
discontent with the state, said Mucahid Durmaz, Senior West Africa Analyst at
risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
Some analysts also say the
promises made by Tinubu and the hope they bring are reminiscent of when Buhari
was first elected president in 2015 as a former military head of state.
His priorities were to fight
insecurity and build the economy but he ended up failing to meet the
expectations of many.
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