As President Muhammadu Buhari is sworn in, Nigerians took to social media to offer their “to do” list for the new president’s administration.
In the capital of Abuja, crowds gathered beneath gloriously sunny skies en masse in Eagle Square to witness Buhari take the oath of office.
As with the elections, once again social media was front and center during the buoyant and optimistic celebrations. Thousands took to social media to voice their opinions for Buhari, who won the election in March.
Buhari and his team again embraced available social media tools. Using Periscope, his office “scoped” the ceremony for those unable to attend. And within an hour of taking office, his official accounts, handles and social bios had been updated.
Using the hashtag #BuhariFixThis, we asked for your top picks for Buhari’s priorities, many of which he reflected in his inaugural speech.
1. Historic, peaceful and democratic transition
There was an overarching feeling that today was when Nigeria was a truly free and independent nation in his inaugural speech which commended the country’s democratic process. Many took to Twitter to share their pride in the way the transition took place.
2. Illuminate the nation
During his first address, president Buhari highlighted the importance of tackling the nation’s power supply challenges. Citing it as a cause for poor economic performance, he said: “It is a national shame that an economy of 180 million generates only 4,000MW, and distributes even less.”
This will come as great news for the many who tweeted electricity issues as a top priority for the incoming administration.
3. Economy overhaul
Another priority voiced by many contributors on Twitter was the need to overhaul the economy and education.
And it seems Buhari has been listening to what his nation wants as these sentiments were echoed clearly in his speech.
He said: “With depleted foreign reserves, falling oil prices, leakages and debts the Nigerian economy is in deep trouble and will require careful management to bring it round and to tackle the immediate challenges confronting us, namely; Boko Haram, the Niger Delta situation, the power shortages and unemployment especially among young people.
“For the longer term we have to improve the standards of our education. We have to look at the whole field of medicare. We have to upgrade our dilapidated physical infrastructure.”
4. Tackle corruption
Corruption was always going to high on the list of priorities for the nation and the new president made it clear in his speech that he would tackle this issue “head on.”
5. Renewed vow to defeat Boko Haram
It was no surprise that defeating Boko Haram was high on the president’s list of challenges. In his speech, he reassured the nation that rescuing the Chibok girls and other hostages is of immediate importance.
This was also something people on Twitter were imploring president Buhari to fix right away and his defiant stance was met with admiration online.