From soji oseni... BUHARI PTF DAYS !!! Perhaps, how Buhari carried out his PTF assignment provides the best vista into his person, and the psychoanalytic contents of his character. Three things stand out irrepressibly in the Buahri harrowing PTF days, namely: 1) his concentration of over 70% (in some cases, 100%) of all the PFT projects in the north regardless of the fact that the regions in the south might have greater needs for the PTF intervention; 2) the massive frauds that went unsupervised under his watch, which he publicly acknowledged but claimed ignorance and no benefit; 3) Buhari’s nepotic choice of consultants who were used to siphon the PTF funds that were uncovered by independent investigative committees. The Abacha regime created the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) in 1994. When, in 1994, the late General Sani Abacha, invited Buhari to serve as head of the newly created Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund (PTF), Buhari gave conditions for this acceptance: He must be given the title of Executive Chairman, and he must have a free hand to run the Fund as he deemed fit, without any interference from anyone, including the head of state. In the end, was a story of massive and clinical looting of the public treasury, favouritism and nepotism. Gen. Buhari was Executive Chairman of the Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund from its inception in 1994, to its disbandment by the Obasanjo administration in 1999. According to the report of the Interim Management Committee, which was set up in that year to investigate the affairs of the Fund, the total income accruing to the Fund from mid-1994 to July 1999 was in excess of N181 billion. There were six major areas in which the PTF intervened directly during the period. They were: - Roads and waterways; - Supply of educational materials and rehabilitation of educational infrastructure; - Food supply; - Health; - Water supply; - and what was curiously termed other projects. Buhari ensured that over 70% of the projects in the 6 categories were done in the north. What a tribal minded man. Figures from PTF Situation Reports (Vol. 2 Dec. 98) show that the PTF carried on as if there was no Southern Nigeria, as well over 70% of projects were taken to the north by Buhari. For the avoidance of doubt, let us analyse. Of all the roads rehabilitated by the PTF, only 24% were carried out in the entire South; from where the bulk of the PTF revenue came since the south consumes over 70% of refined petroleum products. Out of this figure, South West got 10.5% South east and south south combined, got only 13.5% of all the roads, despite being ravaged by erosion and swamps. What this means is that all the Southern States had 24 per cent of road rehabilitation as against 13,870.47 kms or 76 per cent in the Northern States. The North-West States of Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara had a lion share of 5020 kms, because the Fund’s Chairman, Buhari is from there; The North-East States of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe picked 23.48 per cent. This is the zone where Salihijo Ahmed, the late Chief Executive of Afri-Project Consortium (APC), the sole consultants of all PTF projects came from Afenifere group, submission further showed that the Figures in other sectors were even more callous. Under the National Health and Educational Rehabilitation Programme (NHERP), the entire south had zero allocation in the tertiary programme, while the North picked 100 per cent. In the vocational programme, the entire South had 3%, while the North had 97%. In the primary area, the South recorded 12%, as against 88% for the North. In the secondary area, it was 14% for the entire South, and 86% for the North, all these are courtesy of Buhari the tribalist. For health clinics, it was zero for the entire South, against the North’s 100 per cent. Under the food supply summary, the South had 17%, compared with 83% for the North, Buhari’s zone having 60.54 per cent to itself. Figures do not lie. Is Buhari seeking votes to return to power to wreck more. On the massive fraud discovered when PTF was disbanded in 1999, Buharis defence was that he was not aware that such massive frauds went on, under his watch, but that in any event, he could not have benefited personally. What manner of defence! And of course he claims he has remained poor ever after, and had to take a loan from banks to purchase APC 2015 nomination form. Buhari must believe Nigerians are a bunch of idiots to tell such a story, despite driving a fleet of armoured jeeps, with the mouth-watering huge N10.6 million nsira pension that he receives every month. For a moment let us assume that Buhari was not aware of the massive frauds of over N28billion naira at the PTF, and the dis-empowerment of the entire southern Nigeria in his PTF days. This poses even a greater danger, because it means a cabal would naturally run the country, if Buhari becomes President, which most unlikely. If a much younger Buhari could not stop fraud and dis-empowerment of the entire southern Nigeria in the PTF, can an old-frail-ageing Buhari do any better? The tragedy of the PTF recounted clearly shows that Buhari is an unrepentant dictator. Aside torpedoing democracy in 1983 for no just cause, and being an unapologetic Islamic fundamentalist, Buhari is, by nature and training, anti-democratic. He abhors the press and press freedom. He just cannot bear the fact that all human beings are born equal. To him, there are blue-bloods and talakawas whose place in life is hewing wood and drawing water from the wells. The world has moved from such a atavism, and Nigeria will not be dragged back to it, in fulfilment of Buhari’s inordinate, selfish, and desperate ambition.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 16:05:00 +0000
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