BUHARI: The Evil Waiting to Befall Nigeria It has always been a convenient argument that Nigeria needs discipline and firm leadership to see it out of the mismanagement it finds itself in today. Several accusing fingers have pointed towards the laxity and half-hearted attitude towards governance and complicity of the ruling party, PDP, in perpetrating acts of indiscretion and unwholesomeness in the handling of the nation’s commonwealth. Suffice it to say that indeed, most of the activities of the current Nigerian government have not only been untoward, but also strongly self-destructive to the Nigerian entity. I have thus lent my voice in the condemnation of these actions (and inactions) of government. President Jonathan has also not helped matters by some of his actions which stand questionable. Security has left much to be desired, while the economy continues to tank dangerously towards a massive depression. Power supply has gotten worse and several graft-related incidences have continued to go without apprehensions, prosecutions and convictions. Questions have continued to arise as to the governments compass towards steering this nation. The apostasies of the Jonathan-led PDP government have gone without answers. On the above premise, it is not at contretemps with the natural man, to seek solutions and alternative. Quite irrationally I must add, there have been spirited calls to oust a fixed term government, tenured for 48 months, at barely 6 months into its term. I refused to join this call on the account that it was too premature to determine if this government was indeed not performing. However, after May 29, 2012, I haven’t seen much progress either and thus, started becoming more receptive towards the call for drastic measures (which still, by the way, excludes the removal of the sitting government). But for those who seek alternatives and strongly believe such a change, the name General Muhammadu Buhari has become a mantra of sorts. He has been seen (or believed) to hold the panacea to all of Nigeria’s current woes citing his past record as the military head of state from December 1983 to August 1985, as basis for this call. His government was famed to have shown zero- tolerance for disorderliness and misappropriation of public funds. He also embarked on foreign policy that were considered fair and while holding on austere measures and partial trade restriction on the importation of certain items in order to stimulate productivity in the nation’s economy. All these without doubt, would normally have seen Nigeria out of the red were it sustained, considering the economy and global trend at that time. Granted, General Buhari was able to restore some discipline in the system in 1983, this is 2012. We are a democracy now and the global demand on trade and policies have not just evolved but advanced beyond 1983. There are global partnerships as per foreign policy vis-à-vis global economy, global security, e-Commerce and human rights and a plethora of other considerations. These are issues Buhari will have to face if perchance he finds himself at the helm of affairs. Now it will be important to look closely at Buhari’s antecedents and why he doesn’t even nearly fit the bill of the desired Nigeria’s messiah. Buhari ruled Nigeria as a military head of state. There was no legislature, no popular representation, constitution in place and no checks on government’s activities. All the actions for which he is credited and praised do not represent the people’s wish. It was a rogue government procured at the barrel of a gun and owed its legitimacy to brute force. There were repression of dissenting voices and an era of horsewhip justice. Human Rights abuse was the only way discipline was enforced. One would wonder what sort of a leader will put his fellow human being in a crate, nail it shut and put him in a cargo plane for a flight not less than 6 hours from London to Lagos just to come and face a kangaroo court. Yet this man had not been found guilty of any crime at the point of this inhumanity. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti spoke out and was clamped shut in prison. Journalism was only permissible if it was praise-singing for the military junta. Who would dare challenge a man with a vengeance with a a gun and power! The prison terms he meted out to political prisoners were neither constitutional nor popular. They were also ludicrous and were based on military decrees which by the way are merely personal opinions of the Supreme Military Council as Headed by Buhari. With such sadistic tendencies and such inhumanity, there was little wonder there was thunderous cheer from all corners of Nigeria when IBB took power and released Buhari’s prisoners. He continued to hold out policies that were merely playing to the gallery, creating the illusion of a serious government. The question Nigerians should ask are these, what exactly did Buhari achieve in terms of infrastructure provision that he so much impugns President Jonathan about? What did he do to Nigeria’s microeconomy? Did he build roads, bridges, schools, hospitals? Was there an increment in the economic fortunes of Nigerians under his watch? It is all but obvious and as a matter of fact that Nigerian were at their poorest direst under his administration. There was a spiked level of religious intolerance which he crystallized by his uninformed decision to enroll Nigeria in the Organization of Islamic States in a blatant disregard for other religious persuasions in the country. Can he name one physical legacy he left as head of state other than his horsewhip discipline? Would Buhari be able to function in a system where there is a legislature? Where there is rule of law and where his say may not be final? Can he honestly produce results with the absence of his side-kick Tunde Idiagbon? Can he be patient enough to fit into a democratic system where his horsewhips are not needed and discipline is not in the form of military regimentation? Buhari did not build or renovate one university in Nigeria. The average worker’s pay was neither increased not reviewed despite the “huge savings” he brought to the country in the face of spiraling inflation. Salaries were owed for months on end despite having such a “prudent” government. Things got so bad under his leadership that at some point my own mother had to use her personal car as a taxi to make a little bit more money for ends to meet. (Attempt to picture a woman taxi-driver in the 80s…) Buhari was assumed to have “cleansed” the civil service and saved money for the country yet there was no evidence there were spendings to better the life of Nigerians. Power supply was at its lowest and there was nothing done about building new power plants, even if just on paper as were also every other type of public utility. Schools continued to be exactly the same way he met them, except of course those dedicated to Islamic studies. This last point being the same principle Boko Haram is known for in Nigeria today: an abhorrence of western education development and propagation. Now while I am not saying he is the sponsor or patron of this wicked and dreaded sect, it is very striking to not have seen a nexus in intents here…I hope am wrong though. Now the worst of the reasons why Buhari is evil is his diabolic ability to convince the youth population in Nigeria that despite his antecedents as such a vindictive and self- righteous leader, that they weren’t yet ripe to lead the nation. Now I am aware that men and women who are 50 years old today were merely 21 years old when he took power. By his standards, after 29 years, they still don’t have what it takes to lead the nation; thus they are inexperienced or seriously wanting. Now a man who thinks in this way for his nation is not just dangerous but a cancerous leech on the nation’s psyche. A man who did nothing for Nigeria but create a perpetual terror believes that the continuation of that terror is the only way to see Nigeria progress; what a joke! A man who repressed freedom of speech in his heydays today speaks freely against other governments and expects sympathy. Now I ask, if he really is a crusader of freedom of speech, how many people were allowed to criticize his government and why was there a celebration of his ouster in 1985? Will his government back in the days have tolerated his attacks on government as he does today? Can the prisons tell their tales of those of the thousands he vindictively punished for not being his pawns? Let us spare Nigerian’s his religious bigotry for a moment because that chapter can fill a book. Buhari as an aspiring leader manages to make most of his controversial and pivotal statements in Hausa Language, just as his campaigns are mostly confined to the north. He makes comments threatening the unity of Nigeria and only turn around when arguments heat up to claim that he has been misquoted. Questions are, if he wants to rule Nigeria, isn’t the South part of Nigeria? Why must he be the only one constantly “misquoted” when he could have spoken in Nigeria’s Lingua Franca and avoid such misquotations? Where is CPC in the South- East, South-South and South-West? On what premise does he claim nationalism and national unity in his party? As serious as he goes around parading as a messiah, it is not too difficult to show that by his choices and antecedents, he is simply propagating a sectional agenda which is not difficult to see despite his hooding of the truth. I am aware that he has successfully brainwashed some of our youth to believe that we can’t lead Nigeria to a better life. He has completely debased and polarized the north that they are probably going to tear Nigeria up if he is not installed as president. He is showing even as the day passes by why sort of a draconic leader he is going to make and that his hatred for the youth, the south and for progressiveness is visually palpable. He is the biggest disaster waiting to befall Nigeria and the more the Nigerian
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 22:19:42 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015