The points Buhari missed

It was noteworthy that ahead of the 2015 presidential elections, Obasanjo and many other stakeholders of Corporate Nigeria Plc supported Buhari only because the options were either him or Jonathan who obviously was heading the country towards total collapse. The Boko Haram insurgency, which Jonathan failed to handle, was threatening the continuous existence of Nigeria […]

It was noteworthy that ahead of the 2015 presidential elections, Obasanjo and many other stakeholders of Corporate Nigeria Plc supported Buhari only because the options were either him or Jonathan who obviously was heading the country towards total collapse. The Boko Haram insurgency, which Jonathan failed to handle, was threatening the continuous existence of Nigeria as a single entity. So as the main beneficiaries of the investment called Nigeria, they thought it wise to save us from crashing.

They came together and with the rest of us, the nation was saved. The rest as they say is now history. So Obasanjo’s “Special Press Statement” to Buhari asking him not to contest again in 2019 didn’t come as a surprise in any way. The President has served the purpose of saving their company from bankruptcy and it’s now time for him to leave, they feel, so they continue milking us dry. And perhaps that’s why they are busy managing events through time. 

Just look at the timing of Obasanjo’s press release. It didn’t come until Ezekwesili, Utomi and several others announced the formation of a movement to replace Buhari in 2019? It didn’t come until it was the eve of the elections year and when the middle belt has gutted on fire. It came only when ethnic, religious, and farmer/herdsmen crisis in the middle belt have become matters of national concerns. The whole scenario is assuming the dimensions of how Jonathan was sent packing. 

Perhaps, a plan has been perfected by those who feel politically wounded, schemed out of relevance or economically hit by the Buhari administration to ensure that he doesn’t come back. And if this is true, the plot may succeed for two reasons. One, the plotters are financially resourceful and equally committed to the cause and two, Buhari is handling government matters as if he didn’t get to it in a revolutionary vehicle. 

History is there to tell that revolutionaries upon getting to power do things tactfully and with a requisite effectiveness and boldness. They ensure that anyone wanting to prove to be a clog in the wheel of government is dealt with accordingly. They try as much as possible to take along their people to keep them abreast of happenings and aware of the directions of events. 

These, they do after surrounding themselves with not just competent hands but also like-minds who understand the import of the revolution and therefore committed to the cause of effecting a change in the name of a prosperous and therefore a greater society. It is sad to note here that Buhari did virtually the opposite of all this. 

Given the peculiarities of Nigeria, the president was expected to first make strong our institutions of democracy. And of course, the ruling APC, his party, should have been the first port of call. While it is true that by principle and ideology there is no political party in Nigeria, a lot of good would have been done had the APC forced the idea of party supremacy in its fold. 

The party and by extension its government wouldn’t have suffered pains caused by internal debacle. Its state governors would have been serious with issues and think in tandem with the federal government. But here we are with state governments hopelessly in hopelessness and local governments that are virtually none existent. 

Mukhtar Jarmajo, [email protected]