26052018 - Buhari battles the challenge of CHANGE

C
M
Y
K
The knives came out from the
young and old—and from some
unexpected quarters— immediately
President Buhari made his desire to
contest for the presidency in 2019
official. Some of the criticisms against
his eligibility were true. Some were
false. Many were exaggerated. All of
that is to be expected as they happen
even in more advanced democracies.
But in Nigeria, the sad part is that
many of the commentators betray their
ethnic and religious biases in their
presentation of ‘truths.’ I find it
amusing for example when the
Christian Association of Nigeria
(CAN) goes on and on about the
Islamisation of Nigeria. It forgets the
uses and abuses of religious leaders
during the last dispensation. It forgets
that CAN almost became another arm
of government. It forgets when pulpits
became political platforms and
churches became campaign rallies. Or
when people talk about the economy
and try to lay all the blame at the feet
of Buhari without recognising that our
prostrate economy was partly caused
by the profligacy and recklessness of
the last government. A fact that it’s
Finance Minister had admitted more
than once publicly. Or when they talk
about the high handedness of Buhari
and forget what led to the division of
the Governors’ forum. Or how the First
Lady in the last government thought
she was the Prime Minister and talked
directly to—and often down at—
elected high Government officers.
Thanks to the whistle blowers, we also
now know how Fayose won the Ekiti
election. But for the antics of the
National Assembly, one could say
we’ve had more decorum in
governance in this administration than
the previous one. This article however,
is not about Jonathan.
The reason Buhari made a decisive
inroad into the southern part of the
country during the last election was
because Nigerians were desirous of a
change from what Jonathan and PDP
represented. We were willing to put
the halo of a messiah around the head
of whomever would promise that
change. It was our fault that we didn’t
query the vehicle that brought the
Some leading lights of the
Muhammadu Buhari 2015
presidential campaign were
undoubtedly taken in by emotion last
Tuesday when some of their
compatriots converged for a meeting
with their patron at the presidential
villa. At the head of the team was Col.
Hameed Ali, rtd. the scary but yet
organised former military governor of
Kaduna State who served as Buhari’s
chief of staff until the presidential
inauguration on May 29, 2015.
Ali did not continue in that job after
the presidential inauguration as he
was moved to the Customs Service. He
as such did not become the
clearinghouse for the president as he
had done previously as many had
supposed.
Suppositions on what value Ali
would have added to the Buhari
agenda as encapsulated in the
campaign manifestos remain a matter
of speculation. Whether he would have
done a better job of coordinating the
affairs of the president and helped in
truly effecting the change that the
Buhari campaign promised is indeed,
one of the most engaging issues of
analysts of the Buhari presidency.
After being shoved from the heartbeat
of the Buhari presidency, Ali has had
an engaging time trying his best to
reform the Customs Service against
institutionalised corruption that the
agency has been well noted for.
When Ali gave his assessment of the
progress of the change agenda of the
Buhari administration last October at
What if Buhari doesn’t run in 2019?
change. It was our fault that we didn’t
feel any responsibility towards seeing
how the change would be effected.
Maybe because we really didn’t want
to know. We wanted scrambled eggs
without breaking any egg. We wanted
life at its corrupt, undisciplined,
owambe usual. It was our fault that
we expected so much from this
dispensation without any logical
But it must be said of him
that no one has found him
wanting in terms of
corrupt enrichment
justification. It was Buhari’s fault
however, that his government came
to power without an economic blue
print or a socio/political road map. The
claim that he met the economy in a
worse shape than he imagined
doesn’t hold much water. It was his
fault that he tarried in forming his
cabinet. It was also his fault that he
has not held his ministers to any high
standard of performance and
professionalism. The country has paid
dearly for this. It was his fault that
his body language, his selection of
trusted aides and his comments in
foreign lands during the earlier part
of his administration, caused some
disaffection in the southern part of the
country.
The Bible tells us that Eli, a good
man and a prophet, fell because his sons
were corrupt. Buhari’s ‘children’—those
he entrusted sensitive positions to—
have also been found wanting. The
NNPC is as opaque as it was three years
ago when he came in if not more so.
Fuel subsidy is threatening our
economy. Change is yet to come to the
refineries. Those who say the country
is ruled by a cabal that does not believe
in inclusiveness or fair play probably
have their reasons. Some people along
the corridors of Aso Rock are not exactly
smelling of roses. The spate of strikes
caused by disaffection and impunity
goes on as usual. Insecurity, a pillar of
this administration, is still very much
with us though I personally don’t
believe, despite the hysterics, that it is
the worst we’ve ever had. In the past
decade, we have had cycles of violence
from Boko Haram in the far north to
Niger-Deltans in the south and
Herdsmen in between, all laying claim
to swathes of land at some point and
generally threatening our security. Two
years ago, IPOB which has now become
relatively benign, had threatened the
psychological unity of the country in a
way that no non-violent group has ever
done.
We can analyse Buhari’s candidacy
and state that many things go against
him. His age; his health; his
understanding of the problems of the
country; his conservative approach to
governance; his blinkered view of
Nigeria; his penchant to over delegate
leading sometimes to abdication of
responsibilities; his aloofness and lack
of communicative skills. All of these
have led to ‘business as usual’ for a
country that needs to be fundamentally
restructured and shaken up for
Why Buhari needs help
a ceremony to open an office complex
for the BSO in Abuja, he gave what
was at that time considered to be a
very harsh appraisal. Not only did he
say that the administration had failed
in its set goals, he lamented that
several positions in the Buhari
government had been taken by the
bad guys who crossed over from the
PDP.
At that time some imagined that
Col. Ali may have spoken out of
malice, having not been appointed
chief of staff. However, those who
know him say that the man is more
broadminded and perhaps so loyal to
Buhari as to wish him harm
irrespective of the very harsh
assessment he gave of his
government.
So, when Ali led a delegation of the
BSO to Buhari last Tuesday, it was not
surprising that the occasion would
inspire nostalgia from those fans of
Buhari who were at the heart of the
2015 campaign.
Those who were in the delegation
would have been elated at the sight of
their beloved general finally taking his
place in the seat of power after many
failed attempts. However, for many,
many others, a lot of water has passed
under the bridge. Many who were at
the beginning of the struggle, especially
those in the defunct The Buhari
The president as consoler
in chief should not have
been seen playing extreme
politics when a significant
number of victims of the
violence in the land were
being buried
SATURDAY Vanguard, , MAY 26, 2018—31
We really do need a
younger, more
visionary and fiery
leader
performance. A country that needs to
be fired up by rhetoric as well as
actions. But it must be said of him that
no one has found him wanting in terms
of corrupt enrichment. We should at
least be proud that both the President
and his Vice have been found to be
above this corrupt fray so far. And
despite the noise about hate speeches,
the Nigerian space is as free as ever.
There is merit though, in saying he
should go to Daura and take care of
his health. We really do need a
younger, more visionary and fiery
leader. But there is merit in those who
think the country still needs him for
stability. Heavens won’t fall if he
decides not to run but APC might. And
if APC falls apart, the centre called
Nigeria might not hold. There are
people with the arsenal—figuratively
in terms of money and literally in terms
of arms—to fight to finish should Aso
Rock be declared vacant. All is overtly
quiet at the war front now but until his
decision, interests were being
expressed at a frantic pace by people
who are not big enough to rally the
party around them but are probably big
enough to break the party.
A week is said to be too long in
politics and I am looking forward to
the emergence of an Obama like
candidate who will wake up this
slumbering giant called Nigeria. Until
then, time will tell whether the
calmness and stability that Buhari’s
declaration has brought to the polity
is for the country’s good or we have
merely postponed doomsday. An
alternative is probably for him to
identify a younger, more liberal
minded successor whose acceptability
he can use his cult like followership
and power of incumbency to promote.
Organisation, TBO and those who
have been displaced from Buhari’s
court by those who crossed over from
the PDP, that solidarity visit was
another reason why Buhari needs
help.
The day the BSO called was also the
same day that Vice-President Yemi
Osinbajo represented Buhari at the
burial of 19 priests and parishioners
killed by herdsmen in Benue.
In lamentation of the killing and
several other killings in the land,
Roman Catholic faithful across the
country organised protest marches to
draw the attention of President Buhari
to the issue.
It was as such shocking that it was
on that same day that the president
chose to approach the taunts of his
former ally, Dr. Olusegun Obasanjo.
Better reasoning should have
prevailed despite his hurt at
Obasanjo’s assertions.
The president as consoler in chief
should not have been seen playing
extreme politics when a significant
number of victims of the violence in
the land were being buried. Imagine
the newspaper clippings of the
president attacking Obasanjo
competing with space of the burial.
It is possible that as a human being
that it may have slipped the president
that last Tuesday was not an
appropriate day to launch his salvo on
Obasanjo, but unfortunately there was
no one to tell him. That is another
reason our president needs help.