BY JIBRIL TURE

Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu took the oath of office as the new president of Nigeria a few hours ago amid fear of violence stemming from his election being viewed by a large segment of the population as flawed. Hence the tight security that surrounded the inaugural ceremony held in a 5000-capacity stadium in Abuja, the nation’s capital. The electoral commission has denied the allegation of rigged election, but the challenges are pending in court.

The 71-year-old new president of the world’s largest black nation brings to the high position a long resume that includes his services as two-time governor of Lagos and a senator. He has earned praise for revitalizing the important hub that is Lagos. A trained accountant, Tinubu is known as a competence-driven leader who surrounds himself with competent people regardless of their religious or ethnic backgrounds. But he faces huge challenges, starting with the dissatisfaction of some voters, particularly the millions of young people who did not vote for him.

In the face of lingering economic woes, insecurity, and a future with no apparent hope, the young generations were hoping for a president from a party other than the two traditional parties, Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress, and The People’s Democratic Party. Thus, they voted for arguably Tinubu’s best opponent, Labour Party’s candidate Peter Obi, whose supporters claim their candidate has won the election. Overall, only 37% of voters cast their ballots for Tinubu, the lowest score of any president since Nigeria returned to multi-party democracy in 1999 with the election of Olusegun Obasanjo, after 16 years of military rule.

The rancorous election of last February brought out, once again, the demons of religious and ethnic antagonism. While Tinubu’s track record speaks in his favor, some of his critics say he has lost the vigor of his days as governor of Lagos, to which candidate Tinubu replied by saying that a president’s job does not require the fitness of an Olympic athlete.

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In his inaugural address, Tinubu said: “My supporters, I thank you. To those who voted otherwise, I extend my hand across the political divide. I ask you to grasp it in national affinity and brotherhood.” Pointing to his record as a bridge-builder, analysts say the sixteenth president of Nigeria will extend an olive branch to his critics, bringing some of them in his cabinet.

In addition to his election being described as flawed, Tinubu faces the enormous challenge of resurrecting Nigeria’s economy which is in free fall—despite the country’s huge oil revenue—characterized by record debt, the weakness of the local currency (the naira), skyrocketing inflation, anemic power supply, and, strangely, falling oil production.

The new president has made some bold announcements, one of them being the removal of the costly fuel subsidy. Addressing foreign investors in his inaugural speech, he said:  “I have a message for our investors, local and foreign: our government shall review all their complaints about multiple taxation and various anti-investment inhibitions.” His promise of “thorough house cleaning” monetary policy will target “[directing] funds away from arbitrage into meaningful investment in the plants, equipment and jobs that power the real economy.”

In addition to the above, Tinubu faces the daunting task of fighting the endemic insecurity in the country prone to kidnapping and assassination.

Many longtime observers of Nigerian politics, including some who know the new president very closely, point out his ability to meet the challenges facing him, despite his…not-so-young age.