It
will be infelicitous for an African to adopt the story of the former United
States of America President, Abraham Lincoln in psyching up a youth or elderly
person to overcome the psychological effects of defeat or failure when we have
President Muhammadu Buhari of the most populous nation in Africa, Nigeria.
After
an infamous military reign of 1983 to 1985 characterized by an iron-hand
rulership that ended prematurely through a coup by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida,
Buhari made three failed attempts to rule Nigeria again as a democrat namely in
2003, 2007 and 2011. Buhari comfortably built his supporters' base in the
northern part of the country with a resounding strength that failed in its
extension to southern part of Nigeria.
As
a youth corper that served in Bauchi state during the 2011 general elections, I
observed the popularity of Buhari among the people in the state under the
banner of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC but when I contacted my
friends in the South-west, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who later carried the
day was more popular. One of my friends jokingly asked if Buhari was truly
contesting again at that point in time.
In
the year, 2014, Buhari at the age of 72 emerged as the flag-bearer of the All
Progressives Congress, APC which was majorly a merger of the Congress for
Progressive Change and the Action Congress of Nigeria. Gradually, Buhari worked
his way into the hearts of the people. Some of those he jailed in the past as a
military Head of State started joining his campaign train which was a strong
statement for the needed and promised 'change' in the Nigerian polity. Buhari
was mocked as a serial loser who was obsessed with the presidential seat.
Buhari's
victory at the March polls in 2015 can be analyzed from the religious
perception screen. His emergence can be likened to a divine arrangement by
Providence and his governance of Nigeria in the face of challenging decisions
and shortfalls without a surmounting outrage from the public.
Nigerians
might have been pushed to the wall to overturn the old political behaviour of
apathy towards politics while the ruling class under the People's Democratic
Party, PDP that planned to rule for 60 straight years out of mere fantasy
looted, looted and looted the commonwealth with no near plan to grant 'looting'
amnesty.
A
Nigerian described Buhari as the best of the worst options in the last
presidential election. Nigerians virtually never wanted to see the 'Ijaw hat'
of Jonathan on the seat of power as well as his wife that created comic relief
at regular intervals. It wasn't all about Buhari, it was all about an escape
route from Jonathan and Nigerians felt it would be more comfortable to pitch
their tent with Buhari following the juicy manifesto of APC, the assumed
integrity of Buhari who was intelligently portrayed as a poor man and the grace
Lai Mohammed enjoyed during his time as the National Publicity Secretary of the
party.
In
fairness, Buhari is nowhere near Jonathan if both parties are to be weighed on
a scale of competence. Buhari looked fragile and tired as he toured Nigeria for
political campaigns. He is a man of a few words who recently learned how to
smile and laugh publicly. Jonathan was energetic and looked more connected to
his people. Buhari's accent wasn't convincing truthfully and most times, one
would use an earpiece to decode his words after putting the sound clip on
playback. Intellectually, Jonathan was far ahead of Buhari with a doctorate
degree while Buhari is still looking for his secondary school leaving
certificate which he never misplaced.
Financially,
Jonathan was better equipped than Buhari as his campaign was thorough and slush
funds rumoured to be in the region of N2.2 trillion which is almost half of the
2014 national budget of Nigeria was invested in Jonathan's re-election. The
power of incumbency stood in favour of Jonathan under an established party that
has cemented its stay in power for 16 years while APC was a mere experimental
project of the harmony and coexistence between the northerners and the
south-westerners while the Igbos (South-east) were the spectators.
Asiwaju
Bola Ahmed Tinubu played a herculean role in marketing Buhari to the Yorubas
who still nursed fears as they voted on the D-day. PDP alleged through the
former Media Director of the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Campaign Organization in
the person of Femi Fani-Kayode that Buhari had strong ties to the Boko Haram
sect filled with ''his brothers'' and they also accused him of a secret plot to
islamize Nigeria. Every loophole needed to be exploited for political
advantage.
Jonathan
embarked on a church tour/campaign tour with eminent men of God laying hands on
him. The Christians were covertly urged by the pastors rumoured to be induced
with N7 billion not to cast their votes for the "son of Esau''. Nigerians
were strategically divided across tribal lines, religious, economic, education
and even age lines. It was invariably the will of the rich against the poor.
The affluent who were benefiting from the old order of 'cut for me' assembled
behind Jonathan while the poor who were sunk in the perceived integrity of
Buhari stood behind him with the hope that he will emasculate the privileged
class when he holds the staff of office.
Then
God showed his interest in the political climate of Nigeria. He wanted to halt
the storm and generate sunlight to initiate a photosynthetic reaction.
In
December, 2014, He reportedly spoke to the Catholic Priest and founder of the
Adoration Ministry in Enugu, Rev. Francis Ejike Mbaka that Buhari was the
chosen one.
Prophet
Joseph Oladipupo, the founder and General Overseer of Faith and Victory Church
in Akure, Ondo state capital who initially predicted the postponement of the
election date from February to March, 2015 revealed God spoke to him that
Buhari was his anointed.
In
March, 2015, 6,000 pastors were mobilized in the South-west to pray and fast
for 7 days for the ascension of Buhari. According to the pastors under the
aegis of Christians for Governance, Pastors for Change held a news conference
in Ikeja, Lagos reiterated they were acting on a divine intervention from God
who had chosen Buhari to be the next President of Nigeria. Initially, this was
sounding blasphemous, but gradually the electorate began to realize that the
social contract is only focused on the representation of the general will of
the people. Voting preferences on the basis religion, personal economic
benefits, social strata, educational background, family ties, geographical
ties, party affiliation, tribalism, gender and other standards raised by people
are alien to the contract as propounded by Thomas Hobbes.
In
summary, President Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the leader of the Nigerian
people on May 29, 2015 and it hasn't been a rosy path for Nigerians who for
once thought they voted for a magician vast in the abracadabra politics. The
goodwill from God's endorsement of Buhari seems infinite in the face of massive
pitfalls and a debatable 'trial and error administration'.
Nigeria
has witnessed more of negative changes than the positive ones since Buhari's
emergence but we all hope it’s a bearable sacrifice for a greater future. The
highlights of Buhari's rulership since May 29, 2015 could convince a reader
that it takes a heavenly approval to undertake such changes and still remain in
power owing to support or quietness of a large section of the populace.
Buhari
seems to be basking in the goodwill of the people which shields him from the
magnitude of outrage that could threaten his tenure as the president Nigeria.
One wonders when Buhari's honeymoon will be over but public trust seems
unflinching.
Below
is a summary of the negative changes witnessed by Nigeria over the last one
year of Buhari's rulership:
(1)
Delay in appointment of federal ministers:
This
culminated in the snail-speed of Buhari's change agenda as several ministries
of government were like headless bodies without an architectural framework to
achieve specified goals.
(2)
Dramatic padding of the budget:
It
took Buhari 6 months to assemble a cabinet of 'saints' in a fantastically
corrupt country which facilitated the ugly and protracted saga of budget
padding as the ministers prepared the blueprint of Nigeria's development for
the year in less than a month.
(3)
Lack of synergy between the executive and legislative arms of government:
This
led to the national budget of change being tossed between the governmental arms
like ping pong till it went missing.
The
crisis of Senate President Bukola Saraki's trial at the Code of Conduct
Tribunal over a 16 count charge of false declaration of assets and corruption
while serving as the governor of Kwara state isn't far from the antics of the
executive arm coupled with the trial of Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu for
the forgery of the Senate Standing Order at the Federal High Court in Abuja as
initiated by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice,
Abubakar Malami.
(4)
Buhari's partial anti-corruption war:
Buhari's
anti-corruption war abhors the 'umbrella' but spares the 'broom'. This accounts
for why smart politicians have jumped ship to the APC so that they could enjoy
their loot without harassment. It saddens that heart that only the PDP members
are corrupt when over 70% of former PDP members are in the APC currently. One
wonders the reluctance of Buhari in unravelling the Halliburton bribery despite
the interest of the international community. Apart from this, the anti-graft
war is applaudable as gargantuan amounts of money are being recovered from
corrupt politicians and office holders.
(5)
Shiites massacre:
Over
700 unarmed Shiite members were allegedly killed by the Nigerian army in a
fracas in Zaria, Kaduna termed as a superiority battle. The leader of the
Shiites, Sheikh El Zakzaky alongside his wife have been incarcerated without
fair hearing in court for months. An investigative panel set up by the
government has struggled to live up to purpose and the avoidable holocaust has
gone unanswered in a country where the rule of law is supreme.
(6)
Reported killing of Pro-Biafra protesters and detention of the leader of the
Independent People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu:
Harmless
Biafra gatherings and lawful protests have been thwarted by security operatives
with several civilians killed, injured and others arrested in a bid to silence
the separatist ideology and agitations. Nnamdi Kanu who seems to have seen the
court room more than a lawyer is being charged for treason with the president
stating equivocally clear in the maiden presidential media chat that he is
unprepared to grant him freedom.
(7)
Fulani herdsmen invasion:
Fulani
herdsmen have been wrecking havoc before Buhari's advent but their increased
spate of attacks across the geopolitical zones in Nigeria coupled with the
non-committal statements made by the President on the mayhem in his first year
almost confirms the strong rumour that he is their grand patron. In retrospect,
Benue state seems to be the worst hit as people in local communities are
constantly raped, kidnapped for ransom, physically attacked, maimed, properties
destroyed and killed without any concrete investigation by security agencies to
forestall the crisis.
(8)
Abuse of fundamental human rights and dictatorial ruling:
Its
crystal-clear Buhari isn't comfortable with fighting corruption within the
ambit of the law. Buhari cuts corners using a lacuna in the judicial system to
re-arrest and detain individuals already granted bail by the court. The cases
Sambo Dasuki and former Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration
and Safety Agency, NIMASA; Patrick Akpobolokemi could fit into this description
perfectly. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's latest affront on the
immunity of Governor Ayodele Fayose through the restriction of his personal
Zenith Bank accounts over suspicious of fraud is a flagrant mockery of the rule
of law in a democratic system.
(9)
Public asset declaration and Buhari's certificate:
Buhari
and his Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo have failed to publicly declare
their assets as promised Nigerians before the presidential election as the
first test of trustworthiness and accountability. The full addresses of landed
properties declared and other details are far from the pages of newspapers
which is the norm and the Code of Code Bureau has failed to hand a copy to any
media house in fulfillment of the freedom of information act in Nigeria.
Buhari's school leaving certificate has also been more elusive than the leader
of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau but the truth is, Nigerians are more
concerned about the results of his tenure than that of his educational status.
(10)
Problem of insecurity:
The
problem of insecurity in Nigeria has its roots in many factors and can't be
solely attributed to Buhari's administration alone. Boko Haram has been proudly
decimated but armed banditry has increased across the geopolitical zones. Cases
of armed robbery have continued, kidnappings have skyrocketed with humongous
ransoms paid. A disturbing account is the emergence of an armed group in Kaduna
that kills freely with the police left with many questions and no answer.
Cultism
and militancy in the Niger Delta area is on the increase with the government
losing count of militant groups emerging by the day. Even the most guarded man
in Nigeria made a U-turn for safety on a scheduled trip to Ogoniland due to
death threats. My brother, God is the greatest security man in Nigeria oh!
(11)
Bad economy:
Buhari
has suffered colossal failure in managing Nigeria's economy. Under his regime,
naira was exchanging at a record high of N400 to a dollar in the black market.
Even the flotation policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria has refused to
ameliorate the situation thereby angering the President. This administration
recorded the longest fuel scarcity in Nigeria which left Nigerians at the mercy
of black marketers selling fuel at cut throat prices. Inflation has hit a
record high of 15.6%, over 60% increase in fuel price, 45% increment in
electricity tariffs amidst sharp decline in supply, death of thousands of Small
and Medium scale Enterprises, 1.5 million Nigerians lost their jobs in Buhari's
first year, food insecurity, record low Gross Domestic Product (-0.36) and
unconvincing diversification of Nigeria's economy with over-reliance on crude
oil.
(12)
Buhari's ear and medical tourism:
Medical
tourism that incurs financial losses ranging from N1 billion to N3 billion
yearly for Nigeria has continued with Buhari failing the test of change by
traveling two times to the United Kingdom amidst the scarcity of foreign
exchange. It seems Buhari is of the notion that Nigerian doctors can't be
trusted with any part of the human body.
In
conclusion, amidst this string of challenges faced by the Buhari
administration, there is no meaningful outrage among the people except a few
sponsored protests for common political interests. Even the industrial strike
action by the Nigeria Labour Congress to protest the fuel price hike by the
Comrade Ayuba Wabba faction ended up as a mere holiday and physical exercise
for the civil servants.
An
outcome of an opinion poll conducted in the six geo-political zones of the
country by the International Republican Institute (IRI), an arm of the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) showed participants passed
a vote of confidence on Buhari's administration despite the biting hardship,
political tussles and uncertainties. What manner of man is this?
Does
this confirm the saying that when God is with you, nobody can be against you
using the religious perspective which is not given full recognition in
political science?
I
leave my readers with these rhetorical questions as I drop my pen.
Source: Osayimwen
Osahon George
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