Mr. President, it’s time for in-country tour
As an ardent follower of news items in both conventional and social media in Nigeria, I came to the conclusion that whenever he is in Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari mostly stays within the Presidential Villa during weekends. Hardly have you seen the President attending official functions or embarking on visits on those days. Different from […]
As an ardent follower of news items in both conventional and social media in Nigeria, I came to the conclusion that whenever he is in Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari mostly stays within the Presidential Villa during weekends. Hardly have you seen the President attending official functions or embarking on visits on those days. Different from other past Presidents and Heads of State, President Buhari appears not keen on attending social functions – weddings, burials, royal-turbaning, etc. – that are mostly held on weekends, so the President remains largely away from public view during weekends.
Mr. President, in view of the ongoing security challenges in the country, it is time those quiet weekends should be over. The President should instead, utilize his weekends on an in-country tour of the nation to see things for himself and hear directly from the people what is happening to them. Because from what can be gleaned from his remarks whenever the President speaks on the security issues, it is apparent that he does not get the entire gist. There are obviously many things that are being kept away from the President.
A presidential in-country tour could be arranged during weekends. I would suggest that the President’s team should be as lean as possible, with only relevant aides, service chiefs and Inspector-General of police accompanying the President. In fact, to signify the seriousness of the tour, the President should not wear his signature babar riga (agbada) for such visits but may be the kaftans he normally wears on foreign trips. He should also ban state governors, other than his hosts and of contagious states, from the visits in order not to reduce it to political visit. At each stop, Mr. President should insist on meeting representatives of various affected communities, visit IDP camps and speak directly to security forces on ground to hear their complaints.
Of course, for a start, I will recommend Borno State. The state governor is already doing wonderful things but he is frustrated by the resurgence of the terrorist attacks. The President should be ground to find out why the technical defeat of Boko Haram is under the threat of being upturned. For North-West zone, the tour stop should still be Katsina, the President’s home. But this time around, the presidential chopper transit to Daura should wait a little for the President to meet people from other parts of the state who are worst hit by cases of kidnapping, cattle rustling and other forms of banditry. In fact, after an eventual private stopover in Daura, the chopper should take the president to communities along the tributaries of River Niger down to Shiroro and Kuta in Niger State, where the inhabitants are also at the receiving end of the bandits.
Across the Niger, there is need for the president to sit with the stakeholders in the South-West and get first hand information on what led to the establishment of Amotekun. Similarly, a brief stopover at the construction site of the Second Niger Bridge would afford the president to understand better, the multiple contracts on the bridge, being regularly presented at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings by Mr. Fashola. In such a tour, Mr. President could also inspect the ongoing Ogoni land clean-up project and interact with the people of Niger Delta.
Mr. President, my humble submission is that the honey moon is over. Current situation in Nigeria does not allow for any quiet weekend rest. Mr. President needs to come all out and take full charge of the nation’s affairs.
Ahmad Tijjani Ahmad, Block D, Brickcity Estate, Kubwa, Abuja.