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Tag: Buhari Presidency

  • State of the nation: Obasanjo is not neutral, says Presidency

    Despite his letter on the state of the nation, the Presidency on Friday said ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo is not neutral.

    It said since Obasanjo’s has a political position, his opinion cannot be taken as the gospel truth any longer.

    It said political Fulani herdsmen were on rampage to de-market the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He said Nigeria will not break because “it is very solid, it will remain solid.”

    The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina, who faulted Obasanjo in an interview with THE CREST online newspaper, said Buhari’s administration is not failing.

    It was the first comprehensive reaction to the ex-President who raised the alarm that the nation was getting to the brink.

    Adesina said: “Whatever former President Obasanjo says now cannot be taken as neutral. It cannot be taken as something from a disinterested party because he has a political position where he anchors everything he says. His opinion then cannot be taken as the gospel truth any longer.

    “It can only be the opinion of one man and he has the right to that opinion.”

    Adesina insisted that the security situation in the country is better than the case in 2015.

    He said Buhari has made a “big difference” in addressing security challenges nationwide.

    He said: “No doubt, there are security challenges in the country, but are things better than 2015? Yes, things are better than 2015.

    “In 2015, do you know how many bombs went off daily in this country? Yes, daily! And with scores dead in different parts of the country!

    “It happened in the North-East; happened in the North-West; happened in the North-Central. Abuja, the federal capital, was not immune from it. But, that has largely been reduced.

    “You hardly hear of those bombs going off again because the government has made a big difference. Now, we have challenges in other areas-kidnapping, armed banditry, armed robbery, and all that. Yes, there are challenges but government exists to solve challenges. And this government is doing its best to solve the challenges.”

    “People also exaggerate things for political reasons. We are not saying those challenges are not there. Of course, they are there.”

    The presidential spokesman said Nigeria will not disintegrate contrary to predictions.

    He said: “But then to now say the entire country has been taken over, to say that the government is failing, is political. Nigeria is still there, it is very solid. It will remain solid. It will remain one, and the challenges will be overcome.

    Read Also: How Mandela made Obasanjo drop his 3rd term bid — Orji Kalu

    “Government is not the only institution responsible for security. It is a collaborative thing between the government and the governed. Government at the federal level is not the only one responsible for security.

    “But what do we find? You find some people, they will go and cause trouble at the local government (level), and they will be calling President Buhari, who is at the centre, to come and resolve it.

    “You have government at the federal level; you have government at the state level. And you have government at the local level. All of them-federal, states, and local governments, must collaborate to end this security challenge. The people as well as the traditional institutions have their roles to play. It is a collaborative thing.”

    Concerning the menace of herders/ farmers’ clashes nationwide, Adesina said the challenges are being aggravated by those he termed as “political Fulani herdsmen” to de-market the administration of President Buhari.

    He said: “The herdsmen/farmers’ clashes are causing security challenges. There are also political Fulani herdsmen; those ones have been created by hidden hostile hands who want to de-market the government.

    “The Fulani issue is there but it is no way near what has been trumpeted, and what has been claimed. To some people in the media, there is no other criminality in the country except Fulani herdsmen.

    “Even when other criminals strike, it is Fulani herdsmen. It is stereotyping. It is finger-pointing which is not based on facts. I am not saying that there are no challenges about Fulani herdsmen due to climate change, dwindling resources and things like that. Yes, we have those challenges. But it is not every criminality perpetrated in the country that is done by the Fulanis.

    “We have always lived with Fulani herdsmen in this country. They drive their cattle from different parts. When the rains are here, you see them. They move southwest and they get forage for their cattle and all that. And when the rains go and the water recedes, you find them following the water as it recedes. In the process, they drive their herds into farmlands and it becomes an issue. There was a way that problem was settled in this country before.”

    “The problem was there in the first republic, even in the second republic. But it was not as bad as we have it now because climate change has affected vegetation and the water table. Lake Chad, for instance, is ten percent of its former size. That has seriously affected grazing and availability of resources because the herdsmen follow the water. They follow where there is green grass to feed their animals.”

    On the delay in constituting his cabinet or announcing some appointments, Adesina said Buhari has a clear direction of where he is headed in his second term.

    He also said contrary to insinuations, appointments made by the President were not lopsided.

    He added: “No, the direction is clear. If some appointments have not been made, it does not indicate that you don’t know the direction. The direction in which this government is going is very clear. Direction is determined by policy. It is determined by pronouncements.

    “It is determined by things you had done in the first term, which you are consolidating in the second term. It is not the appointment that has not been made that will determine the direction.

    “One thing is to appoint the brightest and the best; another is to take care of the agitations against some members of the President’s first term team. Throughout that term, people were always complaining about lop-sidedness in appointments, about ethnicity, nepotism and stuffs like that.

    “If you look at the entire gamut of appointments, it is not true that there was lopsidedness. It is not true. If you look at the totality of the appointments, you will see that there was a balance in the country.

    “People just decided to believe there was lopsidedness because the security apparatus was like tilted more towards a particular section of the country; and security is not something you play politics with. Security is just where you use the brightest and the best.

    “The president has explained many times that he made the security appointments based on the career records of the people. They were the best in the different services at that time; and he appointed them.”

    Asked why it is difficult for government to apprehend the sponsors of this particular aspect of violence against the populace, Adesina said: “They will not always prevail.”

    “I am sure eventually government will get to unveil who the hidden hostile hands are. They are both internal and external.  Nigeria has possibly the most porous borders in the world. The borders in the north alone are about 1,500 kilometres.

    “The entire border area in the country is about 4,500 kilometres. So, people can come in at will; from anywhere-Libya, Sudan, Burkina Faso, generally; and all these places are awash with small arms which they bring into the country. So, it is a problem.

    ”It remains a problem because we have not also tried to study and copy what bigger and better organized countries have done with their borders. There are countries that are three times bigger than Nigeria in terms of land mass, yet, they are well policed. Their borders are tightly controlled.”

  • Igbo not against Buhari presidency – Umeh

    The Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial district, Chief Victor Umeh, yesterday described as untrue the impression that the Igbo were against President Muhammaudu Buhari’s presidency.

    He said the people of the region were rather pushing for equity and sense of belonging in the political space and commonwealth of the country.

    Speaking in Awka the Anambra State capital, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) federal legislator commended Buhari for completing the mausoleum of a former president of Nigeria, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe located in Onitsha.

    Umeh recalled that the project which begun in 1997 had been abandoned by successive administrations, saying that when something good was done, credit must be given to the brain behind it irrespective of his geographical or political affiliation.

    He said, “I’m particularly impressed by the speed at which the mausoleum, otherwise known as Zik Place was completed within three years of Buhari’s administration. What the PDP could not do in 16 years is what President Muhammadu Buhari did and commissioned in just three years. He should be commended for that.” The Senator also called on President Buhari to complete ongoing road projects in the South-East region as well as embark on new ones.

    Describing the Igbo as very progressive-minded and amiable people, Umeh maintained that the Igbo was after equality and fairness to guide the affairs of the country. “What we are saying is that the composition of government and agencies of such government shall be carried out in such a manner as to recognise the diversity of the people and promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the people of the federation,” he said.

  • Buhari presidency shadowboxes political pundits

    Barely three months to the next epoch-making presidential election in February 2019, the two leading contenders are likely to be desperate in clutching at straws of any kind in order to sustain their optimism or, depending on the mood of the day and the tempo of the campaigns, lessen their pessimism. Research findings on the election, scientific and non-scientific polls, and popular opinion polls are certain to attract the attention of the two main parties, the APC and PDP, and influence the direction of their campaigns, while their results, if favourable, are likely to be deployed by the top political parties to shore up the image and chances of their standard-bearers. Caution, at any rate, will yield to desperation on a scale that will be astounding, if not hysterical.

    It was not surprising that early in the week, a special report said to have been produced by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) was seized upon by shadowy forces to engender favourable ratings for President Muhammadu Buhari in the next presidential election. It is not clear who drew media attention to the report, nor why a portion of the report appeared to have been quoted out of context. But two days after the press published both the story and the apparently self-serving and controversial quotation, USIP issued a rejoinder decrying the attempt to drag the institute into partisan politics. It had never involved itself in electoral punditry, it asserted, but had limited itself to assessing the chances of violence breaking out in elections and also to promoting peaceful electoral conduct.

    The USIP special report was published on September 17, 2018. It took nearly two months for the Nigerian media to take a story from it, and they managed to take a portion of it that seemed to counter the conclusions of previous analyses and predictions by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a research arm of the respected Economist magazine. Here is the portion published early this week by some newspapers, but with the first and last two sentences (italicised) apparently redacted: “The first-ever peaceful transition of power in 2015 raised expectations for government performance. Many Nigerians feel their hopes have not been met. Some respondents suggest the electorate is sufficiently disappointed that voter apathy will be greater in 2019 than in 2015, with the unifying narrative of change that helped elect the APC in 2015 much less compelling as a factor in mobilizing the electorate, and perceptions that another defeat of the presidential incumbent is less likely to happen in 2019. Disappointment with the APC that leads to lower voter turnout could have implications for a rise in electoral violence in two possible ways: fearing lower turnout in ruling party strongholds, some posited that violence could be used in opposition areas to deter relatively better turnout. Alternatively, some felt that intimidation tactics to shore up the vote could be used to coerce otherwise reluctant voters to participate.”

    The report was authored by  Aly Verjee, Chris Kwaja, and Oge Onubogu. It is doubly significant that in both the summary attached to the special report on the USIP website (See below) and the tripartite discussions the authors undertook to shed light on it, there was no mention of whether President Buhari was likely to win or lose the 2019 presidential election. The authors had included the aforesaid quotation famously used by the Nigerian media to illustrate the response of some of the people they interviewed. Indeed that response was included to more importantly explain why the responders anticipate voter apathy in next year’s presidential poll. As the excerpted summary below indicates, the USIP report focused mainly on the issue of violence in the 2019 polls and how it can be mitigated.

    There were of course no indications that the misrepresentations published early this week and attributed to USIP was inspired by anyone close to government. USIP put the misrepresentations down to a misrepresentation of their report. It may not be anything more than that. But because it was not exclusive to one newspaper, it was probably the handiwork of someone who wished to do the Buhari presidency a favour. The wordings of the USIP special report and summary, not to say the expatiation by the authors, were explicit enough to prevent any misconception whatsoever, but the last may not have been heard of attempts to fish for reports and predictions on the 2019 presidential elections favourable to the leading candidates. This desperate search for favourable reports is likely to intensify in the coming weeks in view of the fact that two reports already suggest that either President Buhari would lose the election, or that he was undeserving of winning.

    In September, a few days before the USIP report was published, the EIU had made the stunning prediction that President Buhari would not be re-elected. According to the publication, “Intra-party politics would be chaotic ahead of the (2019) poll and we ultimately expect the incumbent to lose power. The 2019 elections will be a close contest between the ruling APC and the PDP. We expect the PDP presidential candidate to win, but for the next administration to flounder against the same problems as the incumbent one. The next government is likely to be led by the PDP, the main opposition, potentially in a coalition with smaller parties, but instability will remain an insoluble challenge.”

    Similarly, the Global Research Unit, an arm of HSBC, one of the world’s leading financial and banking services organisations, came to the same conclusion shorn of political terminologies. In a report entitled “Nigeria, papering over the cracks”, it had said: “The president’s approval ratings sit near all-time lows, (and) largely reflect the impact of Nigeria’s painful recession in 2016-17 and the sustained economic hardship that has accompanied his presidency, including rapidly rising joblessness, and poverty. A second term for Mr. Buhari raises the risk of limited economic progress and further fiscal deterioration, prolonging the stagnation of his first term, particularly if there is no move towards completing reform of the exchange rate system or fiscal adjustments that diversify government revenues away from oil.”

    It was perhaps in response to these dire predictions, or an attempt by the media to look for other narratives to relieve the monotony of anti-Buhari predictions, that compelled the publication of excerpted news from the USIP special report. Indeed, the Buhari presidency is unlikely to be amused by the insistence of the EIU in publishing for a second time on October 26, more than one month after its initial prediction, that President Buhari would lose to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). When the EIU first thundered in September, it was clear that President Buhari would be the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, but no one knew for sure that former vice president Atiku Abubakar would be the main opposition candidate. By October 7, 2018, it was clear the former vice president had become the PDP champion to face President Buhari in the next presidential election. A little under three weeks later, the EIU forecasted the victory of Alhaji Atiku to the dismay of APC leaders.

    Regardless of any inaccuracies, there will be fresh attempts to look for and publish favourable predictions for the two candidates. In 2015, both the then president Goodluck Jonathan and his challenger, candidate Buhari, fished for fawning polls to burnish their image and credentials and stand them in good stead to win that year’s poll. The outcome, it turned out, had little to do with any ingratiating reports. Instead, Dr Jonathan lost because the country’s power elite and their international collaborators in the US and Britain had determined who their preference was. Rather than set great store by predictions and research findings, President Buhari and Alhaji Atiku should use every subtlety they are capable of to find out what the country’s power elite and their international collaborators are determined to do. Those international collaborators have already made up their minds.

    It was perhaps in response to these dire predictions, or an attempt by the media to look for other narratives to relieve the monotony of anti-Buhari predictions, that compelled the publication of excerpted news from the USIP special report. Indeed, the Buhari presidency is unlikely to be amused by the insistence of the EIU in publishing for a second time on October 26, more than one month after its initial prediction, that President Buhari would lose to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). When the EIU first thundered in September, it was clear that President Buhari would be the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, but no one knew for sure that former vice president Atiku Abubakar would be the main opposition candidate. By October 7, 2018, it was clear the former vice president had become the PDP champion to face President Buhari in the next presidential election. A little under three weeks later, the EIU forecasted the victory of Alhaji Atiku to the dismay of APC leaders.

    Regardless of any inaccuracies, there will be fresh attempts to look for and publish favourable predictions for the two candidates. In 2015, both the then president Goodluck Jonathan and his challenger, candidate Buhari, fished for fawning polls to burnish their image and credentials and stand them in good stead to win that year’s poll. The outcome, it turned out, had little to do with any ingratiating reports. Instead, Dr Jonathan lost because the country’s power elite and their international collaborators in the US and Britain had determined who their preference was. Rather than set great store by predictions and research findings, President Buhari and Alhaji Atiku should use every subtlety they are capable of to find out what the country’s power elite and their international collaborators are determined to do. Those international collaborators have already made up their minds.

  • Buhari presidency wrong on rule of law versus national security

    AFTER scorning many court orders in the trials of Messrs Sambo Dasuki and Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, and keeping them locked up for years, the Muhammadu Buhari presidency has finally found the courage and legal precedent to justify its negative disposition to the rule of law. Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) annual conference in Abuja, President Buhari quoted a decision of the Supreme Court that seemed to approve the subordination of human and individual rights to national security interest. Predictably, the president’s statement has become deeply controversial because it appeared, at first view, to be constitutionally right and legally sound. But the devil is in the detail. Not only has the Buhari presidency consistently acted mala fide on the matter of rule of law and personal liberties, considering that it is a government apparently incapable of differentiating national security from private (government) interest, the legal justification cited by the presidency is jurisprudentially inexact and contextually fraudulent.

    It is not clear why it has taken more than three years for the Buhari presidency to find grounds for its disobedience of court orders. But, well, finally it has found some tenuous reasons, and has deployed them obscenely and awkwardly before the public. Citing both the provisions of the constitution and the decision by the apex court, the president loudly proclaimed that the rule of law must be subject to the supremacy of the nation’s security and national interest. He added: “Our apex court has had cause to adopt a position on this issue in this regard and it is now a matter of judicial recognition that where national security and public interest are threatened, the individual rights of those allegedly  responsible must take second place in favour of the greater good of society.” Even though the president did not attribute the relevant quote to any of the justices of the Supreme Court, and the Justice minister himself who last July flew that dangerous kite of subordinating civil liberties to national security also shied away from direct attribution, the apex court ruling in question was read by Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, Justice of the Supreme Court, in the 2007 bail case between Dokubo-Asari (Appellant) and the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Respondent).

    The presidency’s adoption of that so-called Supreme Court position and citation was dishonest. It was a ruling alright, but it was in respect of the specific bail application by Dokubo-Asari who was detained over allegations of treasonable felony. The self-proclaimed militant had signed a document in company with others threatening to foment armed rebellion against the state over oil politics. It is well known to the presidency that lower courts do not as a routine cite the decisions of appellate courts as precedents in bail cases since bail cases are discretionary and differ from one case to another. So, to cavalierly hurl a quotation from a Supreme Court judgement in the public face and give the impression it should serve as a precedent for all bail cases is awkward and dishonest. In the Dokubo-Asari bail case decided in 2007, he faced allegations of treasonable felony. In the cases the Buhari presidency is apparently retroactively struggling to find justifications, to wit, Col Dasuki (retd.) and Sheikh El-Zakzaky, and in the process unwisely endangering the country’s democracy, one is in respect of corruption, and the other is in respect of murder and breach of public peace.

    When Justice Muhammad gave his ruling in 2007, a decision horribly quoted out of context by the Buhari presidency, he never gave the indication that it was applicable to all bail cases. He couldn’t have. But apparently Justice Muhammad’s ruling strikes a chord in the heart of the Buhari presidency. Notwithstanding, the judgement in question in the Dokubo-Asari case, even though not universally applicable, was irreproachable. (See box 2 for excerpts). It is only being mishandled and cruelly dragged into the wrong, suspicious cause.

    It is one thing for the presidency to find justification for flouting court orders, latching on inelegantly and dishonestly to the Justice Muhammad ruling; it is quite another thing to show why that disobedience must ineluctably lead the presidency to indulge in self-help. Whether in the Justice Muhammad ruling or any other ruling whatsoever in any Nigerian court, there was never a time the authority to determine what is in the national security interest was ceded to the presidency or the executive. Never. So, even if the Buhari presidency read the Justice Muhammad ruling accurately with all its nuances and legalisms — and it didn’t anyway, because it couldn’t — there was nowhere in that judgement that the right to abridge or abrogate the rights of an accused was left in the hands of the agents of government or the government itself. The president’s address read before the nation’s judicial experts was most unfortunate. It lacked rigour, is short-sighted, does not envision a great and powerful future, and cannot and must not be defended by any legal mind whether working in government or outside of government. What is most disturbingly true is that the Buhari presidency is instinctively autocratic and has struggled unsuccessfully for many years to exorcise itself of that dangerous antidemocratic instinct that seems fated to negatively define this presidency. It tried the Col Dasuki matter in the media, found him guilty, labelled him a serial killer of hundreds of thousands through corruption and criminal negligence, and expected that the gullible public already suffused with emotions and hysteria would embrace its quaint judicial procedure. It has half succeeded, undoubtedly, but there are still enough Nigerians in possession of their minds to question and caution the Buhari presidency’s lurch towards dictatorship.

    In sum, President Buhari is wrong on his reading and understanding of the quoted Justice Muhammad judgement, and wronger still on assuming that only the executive should decide what is in the national security interest. The courts now and in the past never abdicated their responsibility to determine who fouled the law. They will not abdicate that responsibility in the future. Nor will the constitution, even in its ambiguous worst, ever cede that right to the executive. As the excerpts below indicate, especially during the golden age of the Supreme Court, there are enough judgements to illustrate why the rule of law must never be subordinated to the arbitrary whims of the executive, regardless of the threat to national security.

    It is shocking and disturbing that the Justice minister, Abubakar Malami, in July flew this horrifying kite of subordinating the rule of law to national security at the behest and say-so of the executive. Because he was not vigorously challenged at the time, and conspiratorially knowing that President Buhari was instantly and eagerly amenable to any thought, law, or precedent that promotes his general disposition to autocracy, he obviously convinced the president that the unlawful and unconstitutional actions against Messrs Dasuki and El-Zakzaky were tenable under the law as presumably interpreted by the apex court. It is disgraceful that there are no longer enough men of conscience in the country to pressure the government to obey the law. And if a few months to the next polls President Buhari can openly embrace a hideous interpretation of the law, the country must wonder what other legal monstrosities he would embrace after he must have been endorsed a second time.

    It is clear that little debate is being undertaken in the presidency. If the president’s position on the rule of law is a collective government decision, then the country is just a hair’s breadth away from dictatorship. Neither the law nor the constitution permits the president to judge with finality when a citizen has breached national security. That the president has appropriated that right and is seeking validation should shame the country into finally seeing the Dasuki and El-Zakzaky affairs as nothing more than the boondoggle the presidency wants them to be. If the National Assembly did not have a legitimacy deficit in the eyes of the public, if legislative leaders lived and operated above suspicion, it would have been far easier to determine that the president has breached the constitution he swore to protect and defend. But regardless of this little difficulty, Nigerians must rise as one to demand unquestionable adherence to the rule of law. It is Col. Dasuki (retd.) and Sheikh El-Zakzaky today; who can tell whose turn it will be tomorrow?

  • ‘Igbo better off with Buhari Presidency’

    A group, the Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum, has urged the Igbo to support the re-election bid of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    It said the Southeast would fare better with the All Progressives Congress (APC) in power.

    The group said while the Igbo made a political “mistake” in the past, it must avoid a repeat in 2019.

    Yoruba Ronu, in a statement by its Secretary General Akin Malaolu, said President Buhari deserves the support of the Igbo because of his integrity.

    It said the President has ensured that development spreads across Nigeria, including Igboland.

    “The Igbo must hold the present leadership in high esteem because of his probity and requisite caliber.

    “The government today and with its present leadership has modernised the rudiments of administration and has departed completely from the attitude of ‘we’ as against ‘others’.

    “Developments are today springing up everywhere in the Igboland and that must not be discouraged. The nation needs the Igbo people just as the Igbo also need Nigeria completely,” it said.

    The group urged the Igbo not to repeat what it called the mistake of the past when it voted massively for Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

    “The Igbos made some bad moves during the Jonathan era of ugly opportunism that gave rise to division both from religion and tribe. All of these must be forgotten and we must make Igbos partners in all affairs of Government at the centre.

    “Igbo people must do well to accommodate our differences in diversity. They must play politics with obvious intention to contribute to the growth of first the Igboland and secondly Nigeria.

    “The prosperity enjoyed by the Igbos in their participation in previous administrations shows clearly to be individualistic in nature and not generally for Igboland as compared to today.

    “2019 is around the corner and we feel it necessary to plead to the Igbos that the APC has enough space and heart to give the Igbo people equality and respect which they rightfully deserve.

    “It is only in APC that the Igbo prosperity can be enriched with comfortable speed. Igbos should come on board the APC train and take their rightful positions in the affairs of our nation.”

  • One year of Buhari presidency

    One year of Buhari presidency

    Whose fault is it that the government of President Muhammadu Buhariis increasingly being cast negatively, despite his best efforts to bring sanity to our national ethic in the past one year? Could it be that the majority of our political and economic elites, within and outside the parties, really want Buhari to fail, so that the nation would continue on the usual trajectory of acrimonious movements without any progress? Or could it be that the enemy is within, such that Buhari and his trusted aides, in an effort to be in charge of the presidential project, are inadvertently derailing his presidency?

    While it may be difficult to place a firm handle on what is exactly demystifying PMB within his first year in office, except the obvious national economic crisis, I guess that even the most ardent supporter of the Buhari presidency would agree that the din of negative vibes spewing across the country is increasingly overwhelming the echo of achievements the regime may have accomplished in the past one year. For instance, it is very strange that despite the significant and unprecedented effort to expose and recover our common resources from those who flagrantly abused their public office, many Nigerians act as if that achievement is of little import.

    Perhaps, it is the common saying that a hungry man is an angry man that is at play in the assessment of the Buhari presidency in the past one year. For indeed, Nigerians are very hungry and any discussion outside the realm of the economy do not resonate with many. While this column had joined others to raise the alarm earlier than now about the economic challenges faced by Nigerians, particularly since the Buhari presidency started the tortuous journey to bring sanity into our national life, I do not agree, as many prefer to say, that the Buhhari presidency has failed.

    Without doubt, the Buhari presidency urgently needs to change tact with regards to managing the national economy. Perhaps, it is time for the president to cast his net further afield, in search of those who have the competence to manage the national economy. Part of the game plan should include creating clusters of economic activities across the geopolitical zones. Also, as presently constituted, some parts of the country, particularly the South-east and South-south, feel alienated from the Buhari presidency. The mistrust may be mutual, for while the zones did not predominantly vote for the president, the president in turn has neglected them, substantially in key appointments.

    The president would have been able to tell them to go to hell, as many had suggested at the beginning of this presidency, but for the grave challenges that has come with it. First, is the resurgence of the so-called Niger Delta Avengers, who is taking advantage of the disaffection in the Niger Delta to wreck more havoc to an economy that is already crawling. Of course, those urging the president to crush the criminals fail to see the correlation between crushing the criminals and his first budget, with the dwindling oil income, even as negotiating with them, may give away a huge chunk of the budget to placate the criminals. A case of two evils. Of course, ignoring the South-east has also thrown up a new wave of separatist movement for Biafra with all the security challenges for an already overstretched national security apparatchik.

    As if all that is dangerous has aggregated in Nigeria, the support of the South-west and the North-central for the Buhari presidency is increasingly getting tenuous with the zones roiling in the rage of meddlesome cattle herdsmen, who instead of bringing succour to their kinsman’s presidency, have foolishly opted to exacerbate an already troubled presidency. Even more worrisome is that the South-west power elite, which travelled on the unchartered course of aligning with the north, to berth the Buhari presidency, now appear to be in a quandary, with what is obviously a wrong prescription for our troubled economy.

    But regardless of its many challenges, the Buhari presidency has the needed moral clout to stir up a new Nigeria. The real challenge is how to debrief the retired General from his old economic prescriptions and convince him on a modern trajectory for a national rebirth. If that can happen, PMB has the required single-mindedness to forge a new nation from the disparate nation-states and divergent forces that has held us down. But, part of the learning curve should be the decentralization of the economy. For instance, the so-called national grid is a minus. The same with so many other unified misadventures.

    Yet, without a conscious change in our national ethic, particularly as it concerns the public reaction to the variants of abuses of our national patrimony; our country would not likely make the needed progress. Surprisingly, even when glaringly, the abuse of public power is at the root of many of our failures; for instance, the obvious rise in insurgency, while the misuse of the funds earmarked for arms lasted, many educated Nigerians talk glibly, and argue as if the billions of naira stolen does not concern them. So, if this most recent scenario of abuse of resources and its direct impact does not make any meaning to many vocal Nigerians, how would they appreciate that the perennial bad roads, inefficient hospitals, poor electricity supply and the hordes of our national challenges are substantially the direct result of a malignant corruption, which PMB has avowedly set his mind to battle.

    Before the federal government through the ministry of information, released the interim report of the billions of recovered assets in naira, and several millions in pounds, dollars and other currencies last Saturday, I had listened to many Nigerians taunt and mock the Buhari presidency about the recovery efforts. For these group, the failure of the president to announce as promised, the recovered funds during his first May 29, democracy day, anniversary broadcast, was a more serious offence than the allegations against those put in custody of our public resources, but who rather took undue advantage of the trust and stole to their heart’s desire. Even as the news of the huge sums and assets so far recovered broke, some were still taunting the government for the ‘small recovery’; without any form of angst against the looters.

    With such a suspect national ethic, it is doubly difficult for the Buhari presidency to arouse the needed national consciousness to start the journey to building a modern society. Of note, the judgment of many Nigerians with respect to matters of state first get sieved through the prism of ethnicity, religious bigotry and now the gravest of the handicaps, economic adversity. So, when the Buhari presidency boisterously announces that over N2 trillion in cash and assets has been recovered from looters in his first year in office, the first reaction of many is to check the names of those involved. From their names, a sizeable chunk of the cynics would try to dismiss it as a witch-hunt, depending on the predominant group in the list, with ethnicity and religion as the lynch pad.

    And now added to the mix a doddering economy that is excruciatingly hurting many Nigerians. For now, the tribe of supporters for the Buhari presidency is decreasing.

     

  • The Buhari Presidency: Behind the scenes

    The Buhari Presidency: Behind the scenes

    Since President Muhammadu Buhari took over the reins of power on May 29, his governance style has been a major discourse among citizens. His traducers, especially the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have turned fault finders overnight and won’t give him a breathing space. In this piece, YUSUF ALLI, MANAGING EDITOR, NORTHERN OPERATION explores the ‘slow and steady’ pace of Buhari and his unsung silent initiatives which may turn the nation around.

    Contrary to the awkward and uncomplimentary claims of a governor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the countdown to the March general election, President Muhammadu Buhari is waxing stronger by the day. His capacity to cope with the workload has remained amazing to his aides, friends and associates. And in the last two months, it is becoming obvious that a new dawn is imminent for the nation. There can be no better testimony than that of President Barrack Obama, who lodged Buhari at the famous Blair’s House meant for philosopher leaders, and gave Nigerians a lot to cheer about their president. Obama said: “President Buhari came into office with reputation for integrity and a very clear agenda that is to make sure that he has been bringing safely security and peace to his country.”

    Trailing Buhari in the last two months has revealed many dimensions of the new President and the how he is laying foundation for a robust future for the country.

     Buhari’s unusual schedule causes stir in The Villa

    Apart from going through some discomfort (through a make-shift life) before packing to the Presidential Villa, the President lives an austere life. He works from 7am to the wee hours of the night with intermittent time for his five daily prayers. He consults with few underground advisers (close and old associates of many years) in House 7 and aides on daily basis to weigh options. Talking on the tight schedule of the President, the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu said: “Maybe because of his military background, the President wakes up early and he is an avid listener to radio stations. Before he reports for work by7am, he must have listened to all the talk shows on radio and you will be amazed how he picks you up on some national issues discussed on radio. Most times, he starts his day by 6am.

    “The President works from the early hours of the day till 1am and 2am. In fact, there was a time the team around him had a meeting and expressed worries that the President was having only three hours of sleep. They therefore redesigned his schedule by saying no more appointment by 9pm. The new policy did not last more than one week. After that, the President worked till 1am.” Responding to a question, Shehu said: “I think it has to do with his military training because it got to a point that one of the youngest staff working with the President could not cope with his schedule.”

    Unveiling Buhari’s moral curtains

    Coming into power with a hard-earned reputation, Buhari has changed the face of Aso Rock – the seat of government. Unlike in the past administrations, loafers, busy bodies, political heavyweights, multi-colour businessmen masquerading as investors, chieftains of banks seeking to influence financial policies, portfolio investors and money bags do not have easy access to the Presidential Villa again. Instead, they now loiter around the corridors of the Senate and House of Representatives to have a peripheral feeling of what Buhari or the Federal Government is up to. This is the first time since 1999 when those who usually alter the fortunes of Nigeria at night over champagne have been shut out of the Villa. They can no longer drive in and out of the Villa at will; they cannot have gossip dinners with the President and have no access to every file signed by the President or a privileged knowledge of appointments and government policies again.

    The situation got to a ridiculous stage under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua that a businessman was always getting the copy of policy statement even before Ministers or Permanent Secretaries knew of the government direction. While ex-President Goodluck Jonathan was in charge, some businessmen and money bags could influence policies within minutes after a shuttle to the Villa. They sought monopoly of everything in the country, they wanted waiver to direct the economy as they like or determine how Nigerians breathe, and some of them manipulated the oil, industrial and financial sectors from the tip of their fingers. At a stage under Jonathan, Ministers feared these money bags and Presidential friends than the ex-President himself. All the luxury is gone with Buhari in charge. A source said: “To Buhari, any businessman, political heavyweight or money bag visiting the Villa must come to add value and not to diminish or deplete the system.”

    These men of means are unhappy being on the same pedestal with the poor but Buhari is unruffled. Besides having quality time to meditate on the state of the nation and plan, the Vila is saving huge cost often spent on accommodation at state expense, choice foods and exotic champagne like Vodka which was the delight of some people in the last government.

    Instead, Buhari runs a tight administration with a code of conduct for his immediate family and aides. Aides must live above board and keep sealed lips on official secrets, especially crucial policies and itinerary. Once you cross the border line, you are either redeployed or isolated or ejected from the Villa. To the shock of every staff in the Villa, Buhari woke up one day and relieved his Chief Security Officer, Abdulrahman Mani and Administrative Officer Widi Liman of their jobs. Although the government has kept mute on the removal of these confidants, findings revealed that Mani might have been redeployed for allegedly “leaking Buhari’s itinerary to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke who strove to travel on the same flight to London in May. It was also learnt that Mani was sent out of the Villa following power tussle between him and the Aide-de-Camp of the President, Lt. Col. Muhammed Abubakar Lawal over the security changes effected in the seat of government. Another source said Buhari was unhappy with Mani and Liman on how they mismanaged the ‘opportunity’ to take care of his appointments. He suspected some connivance when unwanted guests or some corrupt elements were placed on appointment list.

    Also a desperate businessman looking for an oil block had attempted to bribe a brother-in-law, Musa Yola, to get access to the President but the in-law paid dearly for it. The dubious transaction was not only busted, Buhari ordered the arrest of his in-law in handcuffs. He ordered the State Security Service (SSS) to investigate the scam.

    This is the first time that the First Family will be under some restrictions. Buhari has listed no go areas for his wife and children in order to avoid abuse of power. When his wife and children went for lesser Hajj (Umrah) a few weeks ago, he made sure they travelled on Emirates Airline, a commercial flight with a caveat that they must not receive any gift from wealthy Nigerians who are usually using the pilgrimage to curry favours. A top source said: “President Muhammadu Buhari has adopted a strict policy on the use of presidential aircraft in order to save cost. His wife and relations have been restricted to the use of the aircraft in the presidential fleet.

    “A situation where the aircraft were used anyhow by some friends, associates of the President during the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan can no longer be applicable in this dispensation.

    “For example, the Wife of the President, Hajiya Aisha Buhari and three children travelled for lesser Hajj in Saudi Arabia on Emirates Airline instead of using presidential aircraft.

    “Buhari is determined to ensure the judicious use of the presidential aircraft to save cost. He is also setting a new template for governance. Do not be surprised if you see the President using commercial flights.”

    Findings also revealed that Buhari is blazing another moral trail as a leader because his wife still cooks for him. While hosting some children to Eid-el Fitr festival, the wife of the President, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, made the unusual disclosures. She said: “I’m going to leave you soon. I want to go back home to cook for my husband. Because my children are here playing with you, nobody is at home, only my husband. I want to go back home to be with him and also cook dinner for him.” As at the time of filing this report, Buhari is yet to acquiesce to pressure to make his wife to go about with the appellation of the ‘First Lady’. A source added: “I think the President does not want the Office of the First Lady hijacked by vested interests as the case between 2010 and 2015 when Jonathan was in charge. So far, Hajiya Aisha Buhari is known and addressed as the ‘Wife of the President.’

    Awaiting the fate of presidential jets

    Going by his level of contentment, it was apparent that the President does not need all the aircraft in the Presidential Fleet but he is yet to make up his mind on what to do. During the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, about N9.08billion was spent annually to maintain the 10 aircraft in the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF). The aircraft are two Falcon 7X jets, two Falcon 900 jets, Gulf stream 550, one Boeing 737 BBJ (Nigerian Air Force 001 or Eagle One), and Gulf stream IVSP.

    Others are one Gulf stream V, Cessna Citation 2 aircraft and Hawker Siddley 125-800 jet.

    A presidency source said: “Do you know that it costs about N747 million to fuel the aircraft in the presidential fleet per annum. President Buhari said his administration cannot afford such a luxury. He has limited the use of presidential fleet by his wife, immediate family and friends.

    “The US President, Barrack Obama uses only two Boeing jets and one helicopter. So, Buhari is determined to cut cost. In any case, he lives an austere life. If he can ask his wife to fly on a commercial jet, then other public officers must emulate his standard.”

    How he is running government without ministers

    Gradually the President is restoring the old glory of the nation’s civil service in line with the 800-page report of Ahmed Joda Committee, which was submitted on June 11. Ahead of his appointment of ministers next month, the President is running the government with the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Danladi Kifasi, Permanent Secretaries (who are the accounting officers of ministries) and the Chief Executives/ Directors-General of parastatals and his key aides like some Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants. The Permanent Secretaries and the CEOs of agencies are enjoying every bit of freedom because for the first time since 2007, they can now make suggestions, rub minds with the President and implement without anyone breathing down on them. The Senior Special Assistant on Media, Shehu said: “The Permanent Secretaries are there to assist him and he has given them independence to take decisions (including financial ones) unless it is something extra-ordinary.”

    Reforms/ the coming structure of government and new ministers

    Sources in the Presidential Villa confided in THE NATION that the report of the Ahmed Joda Committee and the 2012 document of Steve Oronsaye panel will go a long way in shaping the surgical reforms which Buhari will carry out. These reforms may include merger of ministries and agencies, cutting waste in public service and putting in place a culture of transparency and accountability. In its report, the Joda committee said:  “There is no direct relationship between the number of ministries and efficacy of service delivery. The US with a population of 316million and with GDP of $17, 328 trillion (30 times Nigeria’s GDP) has 15 ministries. India has 24 ministries while the UK has 17.

    “The current structure of the Federal Government of Nigeria with 28 ministries and 542 agencies (50 of which have no enabling laws) results in very high cost of governance. The portfolios of ministries are not responsive to all the major critical national challenges such as family and child affairs; religious affairs; vulnerable and elderly group affairs as well as the North-Eastern crisis.

    “There is an apparent conflict between the desire of reducing the cost of governance through cabinet downsize and the constitutional requirement of a cabinet-level ministerial appointment from each of the 36 states of the Federation.”

    More than any group, the new ministers coming into Buhari’s cabinet may not enjoy the same luxury like some of  their  reckless predecessors in the administration of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. Shehu said: “The President has said he will cut wastes everywhere. He used to tell us that as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, he was always applying to the Federal Executive Council for estacode each time he was going for OPEC meeting. You can predict his policy.”

    But the only challenge Buhari might have is about his plans to reduce the number of ministers from 42 to 18 or 19 because it will amount to a violation of the 1999 Constitution unless the relevant Section 147(1-3) is amended.

    The section says: “There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.

    “Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President.

    “Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution:

    “Provided that in giving effect to the Provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state.”

    When contacted, one of the strategists of the new administration said: “The President is still keeping the list of ministers to his chest; he has not disclosed any list.”

    What has changed in the past few weeks?

    Nothing sums up the turn-around being championed by Buhari than a confession by one of the immediate past ministers who said: “I don’t believe that everything can be done in an orderly manner as presently the case. Buhari’s personal leadership qualities, including hard work, have made a difference. Former President Jonathan said he was caged but I have realized that we were all caged.”  Without firing any shot as a military General or visiting any establishment, the President’s body language has done much magic in the past few weeks. The system is working in every Ministry, Department and Agency because public servants and government officials know that Buhari will not take nonsense. Since no one wants to incur the president’s wrath, civil servants now report at their desk on time.

    The same body language charm afflicts the electricity generating, transmission and distribution companies such that the nation’s power supply is reasonably stable since May 29 when Buhari only inherited a “historic low” of 727 megawatts (mw). According to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on Wednesday, the National Transmission Grid has recorded another peak of 4,662 megawatts (mw) of electricity. The TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs. Seun Olagunju said:  “Power generation and transmission have been recording new peaks above 4,500mw following improvements in gas supply to the generating stations as well as equipment/ infrastructure upgrade and enhanced human capacity of system operators.”

    Revving up anti-corruption agenda

    Contrary to the posture of his predecessors who used to receive brief from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies, Buhari has only left these agencies to “read his lips and be on the same page” with him in fighting corruption. A presidential aide, who spoke with our correspondent in strict confidence, said: “Do you know that Buhari has not asked any of the anti-corruption agencies to arrest anyone? He has not called for the file of any suspect or given them a list of the untouchables.  Suddenly, these agencies increased their pace because Buhari does not place any inhibitions on their way, no presidential interference at all.” In the last few weeks, some heavyweights either quizzed or arraigned in court were ex-Governor Sule Lamido and sons;  ex-Governor Martin Elechi and son; ex-Governor Ikedi Ohakim; Mrs. Oluwatoyin Saraki (the wife of the Senate President); Hajiya Zainab Dakingari (the daughter of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua); ex-Governor Murtala Nyako and son; a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Patrick Ziakede Akpobolokemi and Mrs, Ifeoma Nwobodo, who was the Chief of Staff to the former Governor of Enugu State, Mr. Sullivan Chime.

    Asserting the principle of separation of powers

    For 49 days, the National Assembly was on the verge of brinkmanship because the President refused to interfere in the internal affairs of the Legislature. There were conflicting reports on whether or not ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo prevailed on Buhari to intervene, it was however obvious that the President took a constitutional risk which almost overshadowed  his victory and the electoral gains of the All Progressives Congress (APC).  In the end, there was light at the end of the tunnel. Speaking on a live interview chat with NTA on Monday, the President explained why he refused to interfere. He said: “I have to be very sensitive to the Constitution of the country. I do not like to be told by anybody, especially the legislators that I am interfering in their matter. There are three arms of government: the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. Over the years, they have developed the system of choosing their leaders.

    “There is no way I can directly interfere. All I can do through the party is to appeal to their conscience that what I already observed, we should go over it as soon as possible. When I say we, I mean the APC.”

    Corroborating his claim, the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun said Buhari stuck to his stand till the end. He said: “Mr. President made it once again clear that everybody has no alternative but to listen to what the party says. He emphasized the fact that all of us were what we are thanks to the platform that the party provided for everybody. I think this message resonated very intensely with all the members of the House. He still did not interfere and his parting words to us were that the leadership of the House and the party should go and resolve whatever issues that were militating against a resolution.”

    Buhari’s unique visit to the US

    This trip was a major breakthrough for Buhari because it came early in the day of his administration and he can now settle down for work. Besides mending the strained diplomatic ties between the US and Nigeria, Buhari was able to seek support for  the nation’s war against Boko Haram and anti-graft campaign which may lead to the repatriation of about $6billion looted funds.  The shuttle also fetched a commitment of $2.1billion loan from the World Bank (through its International Development Agency) to rebuild the insurgency-ravaged North-East. While the first 10 years of the loan will be interest free, additional 30 years would attract interest “lower than capital market rate.” On its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) might invest about $300million on immunization against malaria. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is expected to work with Dangote Foundation for a zero polio free system in the country. A former Deputy Minority Leader in the Senate, Sen. Olorunnimbe Mamora told THE NATION’s correspondent during the week that the gains of the trip were significant. He said: “It is a measure of goodwill Obama and the United States have for President Buhari and his administration. That goodwill goes beyond America; it also extends to international community especially the Western world.”

    Giving anti-terror war a new bite

    Since the appointment of new Service Chiefs, the nation’s counter-insurgency campaign has heightened. Troops have seized many camps of Boko Haram, killed more than 300 insurgents and set free hundreds of captives including a six-day old infant. Buhari has also initiated a military alliance with Chad, Niger Republic, Cameroon and Benin Republic. A military source said: “With the way we are going about the campaign, we will rout out Boko Haram in the next six months if we sustain the tempo.”

    Bail out for states

    Worried by the collapse of the economy of most states, the President has reeled out some bail out measures including the release of N713.7billion intervention funds for states; N413.7billion represents special intervention funds; and the balance of about N250billion to N300billion as a soft loan to states. While about N413.7b ($2.1b) was sourced from the recent LNG proceeds, the remaining N300b came from a Central Bank-packaged special intervention fund. The Debt Management Office (DMO) is expected to assist states to restructure over N660billion commercial loans crippling their economy.

    What should Nigerians do?

    National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu during the week asked Nigerians to be patient with Buhari to effect the much desired change. He said: “Change is not by magic, it is driven by the people… You see, we have had so much problem in this country in the past because we run into policy blindfolded without adequate and effective planning. You don’t have results unless you plan well. The time it takes you to plan, examine, re-jig, re-evaluate is more important than the time you just rush into taking action because you are either being sentimental, being emotional and being driven by forces that are not expected.”