The President Muhammadu Buhari administration has come under criticism,
especially from his own supporters and party men who feel he has disappointed
them. From all indications the president does not seem to be in charge of the
country as there is no clear path being taken.
There is confusion everywhere. The
government lacks direction. There is no clear policy on anything be it
economic, security, foreign, aviation, environment or any other issue of
importance. Everyone is virtually doing what he or she likes with nobody to
call anyone to order.
President Buhari is not in touch with the party that gave him a platform
to contest and come to power, even though last week he suddenly realize that he
needs the party which necessitated his caucus and NEC meeting almost belatedly.
He appears not be in charge of anything, even admitting that he gave directive
for boards to be reconstituted since October 2015 but that directive is yet to
be carried out! He appears to not only over delegate his presidential powers
but apparently abdicates his responsibility too. Obviously, this is not the
Buhari we knew.
Soon after he was sworn in as President, General OlusegunObasanjo
released his first appointments on the same day of May 29, 1999. And no one
could fault Obasanjo’s choice of key aides: General Mohammed as Chief of Staff;
General Gusau as NSA; Chief Ekaette as SGF; Col. Areh as DGSSS, among others.
Buhari took three months to appoint his own aides and ended up appointing some
of the worst officials in Nigeria’s history. It took 166 days for Buhari to form
his cabinet. Does it mean for more than ten years that he was contesting to be
president he did not have a plan let alone a team to help him carry out his
plan? Clearly, this is not the Buhari we knew.
General Buhari was voted for, basically to do two things: fight
insecurity and fight corruption. There is an appreciable progress with regard
to fighting the Boko Haram insurgency no doubt but the level of kidnappings and
killings going on across Nigeria is simply scandalous. It is not restricted to
the highways anymore. Last two weeks, a brother of the Chief of Staff to the
governor of Kaduna state was kidnapped right inside Zaria city. And no one has
yet been held responsible to account for this high level of insecurity. Indeed,
this is not the Buhari we knew.
With regard to the fight against corruption, it is simply funny that the
only place that was investigated in the last two and a half year is the Office
of the NSA. The Ministry of Petroleum, where Buhari is the Minister and where
most of the past corruption was perpetrated has been shield from investigation
by those around Buhari. The CBN, the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the
SGF are yet to be held accountable for their past misdeeds. All the
billionaires created by the last regime are still keeping their loot, or even
making laws for us as legislators thanks to those shielding them in this
dispensation. In fact, this is not the Buhari we knew.
Since he joined partisan politics, Buhari’s main political base has been
Kano which has been consistently voting for Buhari. In 2015, Kano was delivered
one hundred percent to the APC thanks to the consistency and commitment of
Senator, then Governor, RabiuKwankwaso and his associates. Buhari did not find
it necessary to visit Kano since he became President. Kano is the oldest and
second largest commercial centre in Nigeria. The city’s market got burnt but no
one commiserated with them let alone gave them any support from the Buhari-led
federal government. Truly, this is not the Buhari we knew.
Almost three years into this administration’s tenure, many, indeed most
parastatals are still being run by those appointed by the last administration.
No less a person than Col Hameed Ali, the CG of Customs had to say recently
that 50 percent of Buhari’s government is PDP. Boards are yet to be constituted
for almost all the federal agencies. Is it that the President doesn’t know or
doesn’t care? For over two years even ambassadors to various countries are just
reporting. What does it take to make appointments in Nigeria, a country that is
full of talents across virtually local government in the country? Really, this
is not the Buhari we knew.
President Buhari swore to an Oath of Office holding the Qur’an “to do
good to all manner of people, without fear or favour, affection or ill will”.
Two years on, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway is the best road in Africa while the
Abuja-Kano expressway built by President Babangida thirty years ago is still a
death trap even though one minister collected N1.8 billion to “repair” the
Abuja-Kaduna segment when the Abuja Airport runway was being repaired. Buhari
has identified those he appears to favour and he has chosen those he cannot
sack, apparently because he fears them, all contrary to his oath of office.
This is not the Buhari we knew.
As a General who served in one of the most national of institutions, the
Nigerian Army, we expected Buhari to create a national platform where every
section of Nigeria will feel a sense of belonging. Instead, this is one of the
most exclusive governments in the history of Nigeria. From Jigawa state, for
instance, virtually every appointee is from Kazaure – INEC National
Commissioner; DG, NYSC; SCOP; Ambassador; and Minister are all from that single
town. Is the President not aware of this? This is not the Buhari we knew.
Buhari came with a pan-Nigeria mandate enjoying enormous goodwill across
Nigeria and indeed around the world. From that national, in fact international
pedestal, Buhari’s constituency is now the two to five people who appear to
exclusively have his ears. The party is aggrieved; chieftains like Tinubu are
alienated; the National Assembly is feeling side- lined; in fact, everyone is
feeling marginalized. His government is a disappointment to Nigerians; a
disgrace to those who insisted on him, particularly northerners; and indeed, a
disaster to the Africans who saw in him a hope which has now been dashed. This
is not the Buhari we knew.
The wife of the President had reason to complain in public about the
cabal that caged her husband; many well-meaning individuals both high and low
have been complaining too. The verdict is that President Buhari is surrounded
by very bad people who are destroying him, his government and even the country
he loves so much. Is it that the President does not know or is not listening?
We really love Buhari and we want him to succeed. That is why we have to
complain loudly, before it is too late so that he can take necessary actions
immediately. The verdict of history awaits him and he should know that. After
all, history is on the side of the oppressed.
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