General Muhammadu Buhari He has been faithfully chanting his political party’s slogan of change for the last two years. However, if and when General Muhammadu Buhari makes it to the Presidency in May the former Head of the Federal Military Government will see many changes of his own before Nigerians get to see any of the changes promised by APC. He will see a change beginning from his swearing- in. The last time he was sworn-in as Nigeria’s ruler in 1983 nobody saw it because the soldiers never showed us the swearing-in of the Head of State. They instead showed the Head of State standing ramrod stiff as Supreme Military Council members, military governors and ministers took their oaths of office before him. This time around he would be sworn-in at the Eagle Square with thousands of people in attendance and with live television cameras rolling. Buhari will see another change because the seat of power has moved from Lagos to Abuja. Any ruler will welcome this change because Abuja is much less crowded; much better planned and has a less humid climate. There is also a change from the cramped quarters at Dodan Barracks to the spacious State House in Abuja with its sprawling lawns and a private forest. When a President Buhari opens his wardrobe and reaches for his familiar heavily starched, sharply pressed Army uniform he will instead find a heap of flowing babbar riga. He could ask for simple or heavy embroidery but he must remember that Nigerians love gaily dressed rulers. No wonder we love traditional rulers. Where his Army beret once perched, Buhari will now see a row of kubbe caps all of them shorter than the ones that Alhaji Shehu Shagari wore. He will need a diverse wardrobe because the next time he is to appear at a RCCG function he should remember to wear a jacket so that he does not have to remove his cap, an act which could backfire with conservative Muslim supporters. Buhari will see a big change in his deputy’s chair. Where the stern, unsmiling, no-nonsense Major General Tunde Idiagbon once sat, an erudite law professor and part-time priest will now be sitting. Buhari and Idiagbon instantly saw eye to eye on every Draconian measure. His new deputy and himself hardly know each other and Osinbajo is likely to raise points of law at every turn. Buhari will see a sea change in his ruling circle. Thirty years ago all he had to contend with was a 22-member Supreme Military Council [SMC] which he dominated using the military’s strict seniority system. This time around he must reckon with the party caucus, the party’s national executive committee and National Assembly principal officers. In addition there is party leader Bola Tinubu; party national chairman John Odigie-Oyegun; campaign director general Rotimi Amaechi angling to become the Umaru Dikko of the new order; plus the also-runs Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Rochas Okorocha and Sam Nda-Isaiah. Heavily robbed judges will also be scowling on the sidelines, waiting to “interpret” the constitutionality of any action. Buhari will wistfully miss his old Attorney General Chief Chike Offodile who died recently. Anytime he wanted a decree, Offodile produced one within hours and backdated it if necessary. Buhari will see a sea change in today’s law making process. If he wants a law passed quickly his Special Adviser to the National Assembly will say, “Sir, the Ministry of Justice has prepared a draft. It was sent to the SGF’s office. SGF has written a letter to the Senate President and House Speaker. The House is on recess and will resume in three weeks’ time. I have lobbied the House Leader to urge the Speaker to instruct the chairman of the Rules and Business Committee to list it in the order paper so it can undergo first and second reading...” Even the way ministers are appointed these days would be a sea change for Buhari. In 1984 a newspaper reported that Chike Offodile was sitting in his Onitsha law chambers when soldiers arrived in a Landrover, whisked him away to Enugu and flew him to Lagos. He was trembling because he thought he committed a grave offence, only to be made AG. These days President Buhari must wait for ministerial nominees from state party chapters. Then there will be a Tinubu list, an Amaechi list, a Kwankwasiyya list, governors’ nominees and TBO nominees. He will see a change in the Federal Executive Council. Thirty years ago he had only 22 ministers but today the constitution says there must be at least a minister from each state, i.e. 36. In addition, during its 16-year rule PDP created the tradition of appointing an additional minister per each geopolitical zone, for a grand total of 42. This makes a FEC meeting twice as crowded as a football match. Buhari will see yet another change when he summons the Council of State. Back in 1985 this council was made up of the head of state, chief of staff, 19 smart military governors and a few others. Today this council is made up of many octogenarians, some of them barely able to walk. Buhari’s inheritance in 2015 will however be very similar to his inheritance in 1983. Thirty years ago the ruling NPN had so devastated the economy that rice, soap and detergents had completely disappeared from shops. PDP has been every bit as destructive as NPN and Buhari would wish to lock up its leaders but the State Security [Detention of Persons] Decree No. 2 of 1984 was repealed by the 1999 Constitution. The economy that he inherits in 2015 is very similar to the one he inherited in 1983. Back then Buhari told a visiting diplomatic delegation that he did not know how bad things were until he studied the books. This time too, he wouldn’t know how bad things really are until he takes physical custody of the books because Mrs Okonjo-Iweala has been painting a rosy picture of things. He wouldn’t know what happened to $20 billion until he can see NNPC’s accounts. When Buhari left in 1985 petrol sold for 20 kobo a litre; it was recently “reduced” to N87 a litre. The naira in those days was more valuable than a dollar. In those days Buhari allowed travellers to get only $100 as Basic Travelling Allowance, BTA. Now the dollar is in every politician’s breast pocket. With the dollar exchanging for 208 naira today, Buhari may want to do another sudden currency change as he did in 1984. That time he secretly printed new naira notes abroad and secretly flew them into the country aboard Airforce planes. It was done so secretly that the family of a Supreme Military Council member were caught off guard with a lot of old money in their Kaduna house. These days he cannot change money without the online media spilling the beans. Buhari will find that the face of corruption has changed beyond recognition. Thirty years ago public officials notoriously took 10% kickbacks from contractors. These days Latin American- style 100% is more like it. Buhari will see another sea change around Nigeria’s borders. Most of the neighbours he knows are gone. Colonel Seyni Kountche is gone in Niger; Mathieu Kerekou is gone in Benin; Hissene Habre is gone in Chad. Only Cameroun’s Paul Biya is still there. Buhari’s old External Affairs Minister Ibrahim Gambari is still around but the African and world scenes have changed completely. He will be surprised that even though he recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1984, the Western Sahara problem is still there. Across Africa he will see a sea change; Jerry Rawlings, Muammar Gaddafi and most familiar leaders are gone. There is even no OAU today, only a pretender called AU. Buhari might look at the Nigerian scene today and he might wish to launch the Sixth Phase of War Against Indiscipline [WAI], but there is no WAI Brigade today, only a pretender called NSCDC with an Oga At The Top. Oga Buhari will however see one familiar thing. Many “Andrews” will line up at the airport to check out if he wins this election.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 12:07:16 +0000
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