President Muhammadu Buhari
Guardian
newspaper columnist, Emmanuel Ogundele has appealed to President Buhari
to pack his bags and leave the Aso Rock villa in 2019 for the good of
the country.
For those who have watched the direction of President Muhammadu
Buhari and his administration for well over two years now, there is no
doubting the fact that we have made a wrong choice. Not that there was
anything to choose from between a weakling called Goodluck Jonathan who
allowed free stealing to go on in his government unabated and, at that
time, a serial loser at presidential elections since 1999 called
Muhammadu Buhari.
However, little did we know then that it was a choice between a
present disaster and a would-be tragic figure. The facts don’t come out
in good time and so people were quick to paint a future devil in a
Saint’s colour. While the drive to choose anybody but Jonathan among the
political elite which eventually percolated down to the people, was so
pressing at that time, it was not a well-thought out choice. For while
Nigerians act as if they operate a two-party system, we actually run a
multi-party democracy.
To blind our eyes to the true state of things and elect an
uninformed and acutely incompetent president is a dent on our political
judgment and general intelligence. Truly we got rid of Jonathan and look
at what we have. I am not sure that when Nigerians were going to the
polls they had bargained for what they have at the moment: a highly
nepotistic leader, insensitively religious and deeply incompetent
person. We have today sitting as president of this country, the worst we
have ever had, one who has beaten all records in terms of poor
governance.
Many have argued that Buhari was voted for because in his first
coming as military head of state in conjunction with the late Tunde
Idiagbon, ran a fairly credible government even though it was an
authoritarian regime. What was however hidden from many at that time was
that Idiagbon was the engine room of that government because of the
quality of his grey matter. Buhari was more of a ceremonial head of
state. Our seeking to please the Fulani power elite as a collective has
not helped us at all as a country.
Now that Idiagbon is no longer
available and even though Osinbajo is vice president, he is only there
at the pleasure of the president. I believe that Osinbajo is more
competent that Buhari, but the 1999 constitution weigh very heavily on
the side of the President to the utter disadvantage of the vice
president. What it means is that what Buhari did not do in his first
coming, he has now come to do during his second coming: total dominance.
This nation has never been this divided and never has anyone
governed Nigeria with total disregard for the principle of Federal
Character like Buhari. He behaves very much like an ethnic purist as if
Nigeria is meant for a particular race alone. As former President
Obasanjo has said, Buhari is lacking in the requisite knowledge of the
internal dynamics of this country. We therefore have as president a
different person from the one that was elected. Truth be told then,
Buhari was elected in error. As a country, we have to live with the
grave error till 2019 and at a great price.
The reinstatement of the ex-executive secretary of the NHIS,
Professor Yusuf is clear statement of Buhari’s blindness to competence,
integrity and decency. This is not the first time. Maina was reinstated
with the full knowledge and approval of the president. I am almost sure
he would have reinstated the ex-DG of Securities and Exchange Commission
if not because of the wrong signal it would send to foreign investors.
What is clear from the running of the Buhari administration is that
“there are different strokes for different folks”. An ethnic chauvinist
like him cannot see anything wrong with someone from his own ethnic
group stealing anything. After all, “it is their time” having been out
of power for so long.
We have heard how much Yusuf was boasting that the Minister for
Health who is Yoruba is helpless against him as he would soon be
reinstated by the president.
This is what we witnessing. If I were the Minister for health, I
will tender my letter of resignation immediately. I always think this
would not happen because people have compromised themselves. To steal
919 Million Naira from this agency and regard it as nothing is a proof
of how corrupt Buhari and his government is and this is part of why we
have dropped on the corruption perception index of Transparency
International. While you can fool people locally, you cannot fool the
world.
What has landed us where we are today is our uncritical admiration
of yesterday’s men. We shall continue to pay a high price for this until
we have the uncommon wisdom to look for a truly Pan-Nigerian leader
within some of the marginal parties and vote for such candidate and not
his party. This is the only way our democracy can succeed and make a
meaningful impact on the lives of our people.
Otherwise, it is better to have a referendum as to whether we
should go our separate ways which I believe is the best option for us. I
have often wondered if Nigeria will ever live up to its dreams so long
as we remain only on the optics a united country though a highly and
bitterly divided one.
With killings all over the land and poverty increasing through
every length and breadth of this country, if I were Buhari, I will leave
the rest of my presidential tenure for Osinbajo to complete. This is
what he should do if he were a true patriot. Time is not on the side of
Buhari to do what is right. But Nigeria itself is on its last lap.
Source: Guardian
0 comments:
Post a Comment