The Nation Newspaper

Tag: President Buhari

  • Back on the beat

    Back on the beat

    A week, it has been said, is a long time in politics. Applied to Nigeria, that is an understatement. A week there is almost like an eternity. How then do you catch up even on a slice of the most noteworthy events that have occurred in the two weeks this column was on recess?. I have chosen to follow the path of extreme randomness, infact random musings.

    Returning from his long medical trip to the UK, all primed up to zip through the mountain of files requiring his attention, President Muhammadu Buhari found that he could not work from the Executive Office, because it had been trashed by a colony of desperate rodents that have no respect for constituted authority.

    Fortunately, they did not carry their brigandage near what President Buhari once called “the other room,” in a display of delicacy and circumspection that few credit him with.

    Those who are forever kvetching over funds in the Federal Budget earmarked for exterminating rodents in the palace owe the Presidency an unreserved apology.

    Now that the infestation seems to have developed resistance to whatever was being used to check it, no one should cavil at any request from the Executive Branch for emergency funds to fumigate the areas affected with the most potent rodenticide in the market.

    On a happier note, just as the president was settling down to work from his office at the residence, the recession ended or bottomed out or petered out — or whatever.  But why split hairs over the matter? The important thing is that the hard times that have been with us for some two years are about to make way for the return of the good times of the good old days.

    So, watch out for a huge increase in the volume and intensity of industrial disputes.  Now that the recession is ended, what excuse can any state government put up for not paying salaries for months on end, or for paying only a fraction thereof?  What excuse can Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello in particular rake up for importuning doctors in the state’s medical service to settle for one half of their salaries?  Will he settle for their rendering only one-half of their services?

    Watch out for a huge increase in the volume of domestic disputes as well.  Heads of households who think they can unilaterally cut the housekeeping money by a third now that the recession has ended should be prepared to have only two-thirds of their recession-era meals to put up or go to the market to do all the cajoling and the haggling and the bluffing and absorb the vulgar abuse that often comes with buying stuff.

    The one group that is decidedly unhappy that the recession has ended, even if only in a technical sense, comprises the stragglers of the Jonathan Administration’s discredited PDP flailing and thrashing to find their feet in the political terrain they dominated for 16 years and drove to    the edge of ruin.

    All the indications of a recession were manifest at the time the Jonathan Administration was dismissed by the people.  I say nothing of the looting that was the fundamental objective and directive principle of its tenure. Yet, the PDP, per its national chairman Ahmed Makarfi, says it was under the Buhari Administration that the economy “nosedived” into recession.

    Haba, PDP!   Where are you, Olisa Metuh!

    Finally, a response from Yusuph Olaniyonu, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Senate president Dr Bukola Saraki, to my August 15 column, “A preface to the silly season.”

    Olaniyonu sent it as a “private letter.”  But since it raises issues that belong in the public sphere, I sought his kind permission to publish it herewith, slightly edited:

    “Dear Prof:

    “I have just read your article titled “A Preface to the Silly Season” and I find it very interesting and really surprising.

    “I have a lot of respect for you and I usually feel happy the way you treat everybody you come into contact with respect. My reverence for you was the reason why I refused to join issues with you publicly despite all the blackmail and intimidation I was subjected to in my last job with the Ogun State Government in Abeokuta when your article on Chief Olusegun Osoba and Governor Ibikunle Amosun was published.

    “This letter is to tell you privately that the column under reference was wrong and unjust in its reference to Saraki.

    ”I know you as a man with great conscience and who dwells on facts. However, I find it surprising that you were repeating the line of lies created and concocted by Sahara Reporters’ Omoyele Sowore in your article mentioned above.

    “Sir, where on earth did Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki ever refer to Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as “ordinary Commissioner”?

    “When Sowore created that lie as part of his wicked vow to single-handedly bring Saraki down as Senate President, I had not even joined the staff of the Senate President but I read the latter’s public denial of that claim.

    “Also, I have never seen anywhere where Sowore produced a tape recording of that statement attributed to Saraki and neither did anybody come out to claim he witnessed when the statement was made.

    “With due respect, sir, even though you are free to choose what to believe and which camp to propagate their view points, however, I am sure you have no evidence and nobody else in this life has an evidence of Saraki mouthing such nonsense as attributed to him by Sowore. I wonder why it was only Sowore who heard that, not even The Nation and Punch, despite their constant searchlight on Saraki and their unrepentant mischief against the man.

    “Back to another aspect of the article, how come, sir, that when you chose those who, in your own personal calculation would be interested in running for the Presidency in 2019 even when such persons have not openly and covertly indicated interest and you brilliantly tore them apart, you also carefully evaded writing about an aspirant who has categorically declared that he would join the race if Buhari does not contest?

    “That candidate whom you chose to protect is Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, owner of The NATION, in which your article is published.

    “This error of omission or deliberate decision not to mention Asiwaju Tinubu gave an unmistakable impression that the article in question is part of the ploy by the Bourdillon media/Intellectual Think Thank to which you are widely believed to belong, to quickly take  out the other potential rivals long before the race commences.

    “However, I believe The NATION and its columnists will not have the last say on who becomes the next President after Buhari, either in 2019 or 2023.

    “I want to assure you that, contrary to the propaganda by Sahara Reporters and its collaborators in The NATION, Dr. Saraki has a lot of respect for Acting President Osinbajo. I have seen the two men discuss face to face and on phone and I know Dr. Saraki relates to Prof. Osinbajo with all the respect due to the office and person of the Acting President, Vice President, a distinguished Professor of Law and older brother.  You may personally check this fact with the Acting President.

    “Well, I know that even those who want the Sahara Reporters lies to be entrenched in the psyche of Nigerians know the truth but they believe in Goebbel’s dictum that a lie often repeated assumes the status of the truth.

    “Sir, my respect for you and the good relationship we have cannot be affected by this article. I just feel I should let you know my opinion and give a different perspective on some of the statements contained in the article.

    “Prof, do have the assurances of my highest regards, sir.”

    Yusuph Olaniyonu, Abuja

  • President Buhari: Why constitute boards and councils you won’t inaugurate six months after? – A Dirge

    With a party in almost total disarray at the leadership level, where exactly does the APC expect to draw its support from come 2019?

    Roared the public announcement from the Federal Ministry of Education, April 22, 2017:, ‘President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the reconstitution of the boards of 19 agencies and parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Education for a period of four years. In doing this, continued the announcement by Mrs Chinenye Ihuoma of the ministry, the President took into cognizance provisions of the respective legislation with respect to composition, competence, credibility, integrity, federal character and geo-political spread”. Of course, as has become usual with this administration, the second part of that statement is not true. Miffed with himself as much as the columnist is writing this, facts are facts and they are sacred. The same motive that could make Biodun Jeyifo, a professor and colleague columnist on this newspaper who has been very supportive of the president’s anti-corruption programme, railing ceaselessly at some senior lawyers trying to hamstrung it write as quoted below, is what inspires some of the things you would be reading in this piece. Wrote Jeyifo in his column of Sunday, August 27, 2017: “I suggest that what we are witnessing is the fact that with the coming to power of Muhammadu Buhari as President and the APC as the new ruling political party at the centre, all the lies, all the deceits and all the delusions of our political elites in all the ruling class political parties proffering themselves as the champions and standard bearers of our country’s unity and corporate existence have been exposed in a way that had hitherto had been impossible.” He wrote further: “On the personal level, without descending into insult and calumny, I cannot but say with all the emphasis that I can muster that Buhari has turned out to be one of the most parochial, sectionalist and nepotistic rulers we have ever had in this country. This is a man who enjoyed – and probably still enjoys – respect and even sedulous followership all over the country, well beyond his own regional and local neck of the woods. But now, it is an understatement to say that his blatant and even arrogant sectionalism has caused a deep crisis of credibility.”

    For this article, I am expecting a rather well-deserved roasting in the social media. Even though I have severally criticised the president for his very insensitive appointments, especially the in-explainable architecture of the country’s security apparatti which has guaranteed  that murderous Fulani herdsmen have roamed , uncensored,  on their killing forays into other peoples’ lands, and not forgetting  my criticising him for narrowing key and very sensitive appointments  to Hausa/Fulani and Kanuris, my traducers will, very conveniently, forget all that but remember, without fail, the ringing support I have always  given the government in the sure belief that President Buhari is an unmatchable, incorruptible patriot. And please, don’t go telling me his appointments corrupt the system as I am zero-ing in here on a comparison between him and the Presidents we had during the massive looting of our common patrimony during the PDP’s  16-year stranglehold.

    They are, of course, incomparable.

    What therefore rankles  the most about the constitution of boards of agencies and parastatals under the ministry of education is not only that the ministry, under a minister of northern extraction, could gloat uproariously about being sensitive to federal character  in the appointments even with 15 out  of the 21 Chairmen in the colleges of education, 10 out  of  25 in the Polytechnics  and  12 out of the 19 in the mostly regulatory agencies and para-statals under  the ministry all going to the north, is that six months after that announcement, nothing has changed as none of the supposedly brand  new boards has been inaugurated. And let nobody ascribe this to President Buhari’s indisposition as examples are legion, even on You tube, of ministers inaugurating boards of their respective ministries.

    I do not see any of these appointments as doing anybody a favour since the boards and councils are meant to guide and assist the administration of these various institutions by putting in place policies and ensuring their compliance in running the institutions since, as we recently saw in the case of the National Health Insurance Scheme, many are they, who believe they can run them like their fiefdom.

    As in the case of the ‘lost and found’ Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act 2003, otherwise called the Universities Autonomy Act, which was ferreted out by ASUU and Femi Falana SAN, when the Education Minister was performing some abracadabra within the universities, I am sure there is also a document setting out the constitution and functions of these various organisations which, by failing to inaugurate the boards, the minister has, curiously, put in limbo for six months. Without a doubt, and as is usual with Nigerians, the respective heads of these organisations must have been acting like sole administrators, though all reporting to the all powerful minister.

    How can officials of state be this arrogantly disrespectful of not only persons, but institutions of state too?

    But it is not only disrespect that is motivating this; rather, it is crass opportunism being used to disguise ethnicity. As you read this, literally all the executives running the core agencies in the ministry,  like TETFUND and UBEC, are under the headship of northerners whilst southerners are consigned to those agencies which require real hard work like the National Library of Nigeria and others in that category. It is obviously in order not to upset the apple cart that Adamu Adamu, who is being assisted as minister of education, by a highly experienced professor from the south, is not keen about inaugurating the boards. It is beyond him to realise that most of these appointees, especially those from the south, are reputable and very busy people who, put in the lurch in this highly arrogant manner, are stopped from properly planning their schedules and itinerary. This becomes more ingratiating when you realise that these people were appointed either for their competences and past service to the country, like Professor Bayo Banjo, or for their expertise and contribution to the Buhari victory which some people now see solely as theirs.

    I am also reliably informed that this is not limited to the ministry of education because as you read this, I am told that not all the boards of Nigeria’s 12 River Basin Development Authorities have been inaugurated. One can only hope this is not true. The question then is this, if constituted boards are not inaugurated, six months after,  how can this government even remember that more than two years of  assuming office, the president is yet to constitute the boards of most of the government’s enterprises? Is it too much to expect that high ranking party members, who gave of their best to ensure that Buhari smelt victory the fourth time trying, are given appointments in appreciation? With a party in almost total disarray at the leadership level, where exactly does the APC expect to draw its support from come 2019? Incidentally, not even the president can claim that this is a cost saving device because, apart from the ministry of information, appointees of former President Goodluck Jonathan are allegedly sitting spat at their posts and how APC expects them to shift their loyalty is beyond me.

    This situation is worse off in states where the APC is in opposition and many uninformed people, believing their local political leaders have been compensated by their party still approach these unappreciated politicians, asking for one favour or the other.

    I am at a loss as to how the APC intends to counter the rampaging PDP which is today leaving nothing to chance with its interim chairman, Senator Makarfi, personally leading an aggressive reconciliation campaign. At a personal level, as readers of this column know only too well, I have done my utmost to de-market the PDP, drawing Nigerians’ attention – since we have short memories – to how rapaciously the party ruined Nigeria in those 16 years of the locust. But what is this government’s unique selling point to a people who continue to say they have seen no change while APC itself remains uninterested in winning back, and equipping its loyalists and supporters, to mount an aggressive Risorgimento, imbued with a new determination to win back the love that propelled Buhari to victory?

    And one can only hope it is not getting too late.

  • NEMA DG in Benue to inspect flood affected areas

    NEMA DG in Benue to inspect flood affected areas

    The Director General (DG), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Mustapha Maihaja has arrived Makurdi to inspect the flood affected areas in the state.

    Maihaja upon his arrival told newsmen that he and his team were in the state on the directives of President Mohammedu Buhari to assess the flood situation and find ways of assisting the victims.

    He disclosed that trucks of relief materials were on the way from Abuja to Makurdi and in the next three days more materials will arrive the state.

    He explained that Federal Government was concerned with the devastation the flood has caused and as responsible government decided to quickly intervene.

    Gov Samuel Ortom, while receiving Maihaja, commended President Buhari for his prompt action to bring relief to the affected people.

    Ortom said that the prompt response clearly showed the people the love the president had for them.

    He appealed to residents to continue cooperating with the government by moving away from all flood prone areas until the situation subsides.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that more than

  • Pictures: Buhari meets Adeosun, Udoma, CBN governor

    Pictures: Buhari meets Adeosun, Udoma, CBN governor

  • A note for President Buhari

    A note for President Buhari

    Time to consider a new template

    It is a general sense of euphoria and good feeling to have President Muhammadu Buhari back at his desk. The spontaneous reception accorded him in Abuja and around the country by Nigerians upon his return last weekend was a pointer to the fact that he was missed.

    His sojourn in England for over three months on medical rehabilitation no doubt set the country on a knife-edge, with many fearing the worst. His return was therefore salutary and a huge relief for a tottering polity.

    Without taking anything away from Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo who held forth in acting capacity, President Buhari’s absence surely left a vacuum. The economy which had lapsed into deep recession since early 2016 has not been helped by the president’s protracted ailment either.

    Though the economy has returned to positive indices marginally, the negative effects still linger. Naira exchange rate is still quite high at N365/$ compared to pre-recession rate of less than N200.00. Inflation remains double digits and retrenchment has not quite abated. Even though both oil output and price have improved, civil servants across the country are still owed salaries while pension payments are now a rarity in nearly all the states.

    But more troubling in the economic front is the fact that the country remains import-dependent;  from raw materials to petroleum products and sadly, staple food items like rice, wheat, poultry, fish, cooking oil, to name a few. This suggests that productivity is still quite low and all the talk and initiatives about diversification last year have not yielded much so far.

    Notably too is the fact that the Buhari administration has not been able to impact on the massive petroleum products import which is the hugest source of foreign exchange outflow. One would have thought that building refining capacities would be a short-term priority of the government considering its deep-reaching import on the overall economy. But refineries have remained comatose, with no clear-cut policy on whether to dispose of them or reactivate them. Government’s hope on this critical issue seems to hang only on on-going private initiatives which are out of its control.

    But beyond the economy, the political environment seems never to have been more fractured and divided than now. Apart from the subsisting violent uprising of the Boko Haram terror group, the land seems suffused with anger and bloodshed. As many ethnic groups as are in the country seem to want to get away from the Federal Republic.

    The Fulani cattle rearers act as if they found a new impetus to damage farmlands in their trail and trample farm owners when they dare to challenge them. A new breed of malevolent cattle rustlers is now on the prowl. The Niger Delta militants are like a standing enemy force while agitators from the south east have forced themselves into official reckoning. And of course, the sustained quest for a restructuring of the polity has gained such momentum that can no longer be ignored.

    These issues, or indeed troubles, are on President Buhari’s table to chew upon as he returns, still frail, from a medical holiday. What is to be done?

    First, we must state unequivocally that the president’s national address of Monday fell short of required panacea for present ills. If anything, it actually touched even raw nerves and downed expectations.

    Nigerians expected a little more information, if not openness about the president’s ailment. Not a mention. Though he is back on the beat now, he cannot seem to muster enough energy to drive even routine functions of state. That has grave implications for managing the myriads of matters raised above.

    Nigerians expected a more fatherly understanding of the much aggravated political situation in the land; but instead, he seemed to have fuelled the fire: “Nigeria’s unity is settled and not negotiable.” This singular statement is particularly galling to many Nigerians who think the nation must be re-tinkered and structures unclogged in order for her to progress.

    We urge the president to reset his mind and be a bit more open-minded on this issue; in the making of nationhood, nothing is cast in stone, nothing is settled.

    President Buhari must come to terms with the fact that there is indeed a need to devolve power a little bit more from the centre. Some of the ministries and departments under the Federal Government are mere drain pipes adding little value to the nation’s development. For instance, what does the Federal Ministry of Agriculture produce other than grow a burgeoning bureaucracy? There are dozens of such federal institutions which must be re-imagined.

    And it is not enough to leave this crucial discourse to the National Assembly or the National Council of State as suggested by the president; for one, these institutions are inequitably skewed against the south of the country.

    We urge the president to review some of his actions and policies which have proved irksome and worrisome to some sections of the country; issues like lopsided appointments and outright inaction towards killer herdsmen.

    The president must act fast to turn things around, there is little time left.

  • Buhari’s Return: End to controversies – Abaribe

    Buhari’s Return: End to controversies – Abaribe

    A member of the National Assembly, Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari’s return from his medical vacation in London, saying it will end controversies surrounding his long absence.

    Buhari left Nigeria on May 7 for medical attention in England and returned on Saturday after 104 days.

    Although he handed over power to the Vice President in compliance with the Constitution, his long absence elicited varied commentaries and protests, with some urging him to “resume or resign”.

    Abaribe, who is Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the president’s return was good news for Nigerians, and “will end the controversies that trailed his stay in London”.

    “All Progressives Congress (APC) can stop blackmailing Nigerians who ask questions about the president’s ill health and face the serious governance issues bedeviling the country,’’ he said.

    The lawmaker congratulated Buhari for his “full recovery” and expressed optimism that he would resume to continue with the business of governance.

    On his part, Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, prayed God to make the president stronger by the day now that he had returned.

    He said, “we thank Almighty Allah for making the president’s return possible. I pray he continues to get stronger and stronger in the days ahead.

    “Now that the father of the land is back, all the prophets of doom are now put to shame.’’

    Sen. Yusuf Yusuf said that the president’s return called for celebration.

    “I feel wonderful and great and I thank God Almighty that our president is back.

    “I feel this is what every Nigerian should be happy about and we look forward to seeing him resume fully so that he can continue with the good works he has been doing,’’ he said.

    Yusuf described Buhari as a man of integrity, adding that he followed the rule of law before travelling by transmitting power to the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

    He said that Osinbajo did quite well as acting president and that he didn’t see any reason for the tension that built up in Buhari’s absence.

    A retired civil servant, Mr Solomon Ehigiator, said that the president’s return would strengthen good governance.

    “We pray that God should give him divine health to be able to carry out his assignment, particularly fight against corruption.

    “Corruption has been destroying our existence and it is not easy to be uprooted once; it is a gradual process.

    “The only advice is that there should not be any ‘sacred cow’. Whoever is found corrupt should face the law irrespective of tribe, religion, age or status,” Ehigiator said.

    He urged the people to allow the president to do his work, saying that the man knew his plans for the country.

    “He contested almost four times before he won and I presumed that he has his target and should not be stampeded; people should not tell him what to do because he knows why he contested.

    “He should be able to know what Nigeria needs, because he had ruled before. So, we are not to dictate to him because he has been through all the stages,” he said.

  • Buhari gives Osinbajo approval on some ‘decisions, appointments’

    Buhari gives Osinbajo approval on some ‘decisions, appointments’

    A Cabinet reshuffle is likely soon, The Nation learned yesterday.

    It is all part of the fallout of Tuesday’s London meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, sources said, pleading not to be named.

    Some ministers may be dropped.

    The imminent action is believed to be delaying the inauguration of the two ministers-designate already confirmed by the Senate.

    Some ministers may also swap portfolios in the new plan.

    The looming shake-up has caused anxiety among members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

    It was also gathered that President Buhari endorsed all the measures taken by the Acting President to keep the nation united. Osinbajo was also said to have got approval for some decisions and appointments.

    According to the sources, the need to reshuffle the cabinet for “efficiency” was one of the key issues discussed between the President and the Acting President.

    It was however learned that it might not be a wholesale dissolution of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) “because the nation cannot afford such a luxury now”.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “There is likely shake-up of the cabinet in line with the new fast-paced focus of the Buhari administration. Some of the ministers cannot cope with the portfolios assigned to them.

    “Some ministers were also found to be behind the crisis of confidence between the Executive and the National Assembly.

    “So, apart from dropping some, others may swap portfolios for efficiency. It is just some restructuring of the cabinet to ensure service delivery.”

    Responding to a question, the source added that there had been anxiety among members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

    “Obviously, there is disquiet in the cabinet on this latest development. I think the likely changes in the cabinet accounted for the delay in inaugurating two ministers-designate.

    “I cannot tell you when the changes will be effected but the cabinet shake-up came up as an item between the two leaders, “ the source said.

    Osinbajo is believed to have briefed the President on the renewed separatist and secession agitation.

    It was gathered that Buhari was shocked by the situation and insisted that Nigeria must be kept united.

    Another source said: “The President endorsed all the consultations and actions taken by the Acting President and asked him to continue to take steps to keep Nigeria indivisible.

    “The President was delighted that Osinbajo managed the threats to the nation’s unity with courage and maturity.”

    On some outstanding issues, the source said: “Osinbajo secured approval to take some decisions and make some appointments.”

    Regarding how the meeting went, the source added: “The President and the Acting President were together without any third party. And they had fruitful talks. We should expect some actions soon.”

    Also, there were indications last night that the Acting President briefed FEC on the health status of the President.

    A member said: “The Acting President told us that there was no cause for alarm. He said the President had been recuperating well.

    “We were all relieved because this first-hand information was the most authentic we have got.”

  • NCPC boss urges pilgrims to pray for President Buhari in holy land

    NCPC boss urges pilgrims to pray for President Buhari in holy land

    The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), Rev. Tor Ujah, has urged Christian pilgrims from Borno to pray for the quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari while in the holy land.

    The Executive Secretary made the call while bidding the first batch of Christian pilgrims to Israel farewell from the Aminu Kano International Airport on Friday.

    Uja said, “The President, who is in United Kingdom for a medical checkup, needs your prayers for a speedy recovery to enable him to continue with the good work he has started because you are now traveling to a holy land.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the journey, which took place at about 1:30 a.m., had 130 pilgrims from Borno.

    While urging the pilgrims to be good ambassadors, he also warned them against absconding at the holy land.

    Uja commended the Borno Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, for sponsoring the 130 pilgrims and urged other northern governors to emulate the gesture.

    He said the gesture was “to heal a people that unnecessary war had ravaged.’’

    The secretary praised the governor for his commitment and purpose in spite of the years of security challenges in the state and the entire North East.

    He urged the northern governors to give equal treatment to Christians in their land because such was capable of uniting the two religions.

    “I want all the northern governors to establish the Christian Pilgrims Commission in their states to make traveling easy for the pilgrims,” he said.

    Before their departure, the President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Borno Chapter, Bishop Naga Williams, commended Shettima for sponsoring the pilgrims.

    He also commended the Kano State Government for doing same for Christians in the state.

    According to him, the gesture by the two states is worth commendation because it is an indication that both Islam and Christianity are one.

  • Buhari off to London

    Buhari off to London

    Osinbajo is Acting President

    Doctors to decide President’s return

    President Muhammadu Buhari left last night for London to consult with his doctors, the Presidency said yesterday.

    He has empowered Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to preside over government businesses in his absence.

    The President, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, has also notified the National Assembly of the development.

    After returning on March 10 from a 50-day medical vacation in the United Kingdom (UK), President Buhari disclosed that he would be returning for further medical checks.

    The statement did not specify the length of stay, but it said that the President’s return to the country will be determined by his doctors in the UK.

    The spokesman said that the President, who had planned to leave yesterday afternoon, shifted his flight till the night for the reception of the 82 Chibok schoolgirls, who arrived in Abuja earlier yesterday.

    The statement reads: “”The President wishes to assure all Nigerians that there is no cause for worry. He is very grateful for the prayers and good wishes of the people, and hopes they would continue to pray for the peace and unity of the nation.

    “The length of the President’s stay in London will be determined by the doctors. Government will continue to function normally under the able leadership of the Vice President.

    “President Buhari has transmitted letters about the trip to the Senate and the House of Representatives, in compliance with Section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution.”

  • Significance of Buhari’s second term posters 

    Within the past one week, it can be observed that an array of positive comments on the president has been unleashed by a mass of right thinkers which has  overshadowed the erstwhile few negative reports about his health.

    From an incoherent echo of alarmists who tried to raise unnecessary concern over the president’s health,  the narrative about the true condition of the number one citizen’s health  has hit the ‎airwaves with a reassuring thud that has confirmed that President Buhari is nowhere near the negative reports but closer  to the  fit and fiddle enigma Nigerians have always known him to be.
    Vacuous and laughable reports  that tend to suggest that the president is finding it hard to eat and drink have been overtaken by provable reports of his presiding over meetings and attending to official matters.
    Driving the narrative a stretch further to indicate that the Nigerian President has grown past the stage of being hoodwinked by a cabal, an intervention from people who ought to know, who have taken the narrative to the next level, to wit that not only is the president healthy, but that he is ready to offer himself to serve Nigeria for another four year term at the expiration of the current tenure which ends in May 2019.
    Championing this new vista that offers hope and light to Nigeria is the former governor of Rivers State and current minister of transport,  Rotimi Amaechi who has offered point blank that not only is the president healthy and carrying out his functions dutifully, but that he is ready to go for another term.
    Place that side by side with the assurance from the leader of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, Olumba Olumba, who said the president would definitely outlive his tenure then the bigger picture unfolds.
    But of utmost importance is that during the week, posters of the president urging him to run for a second term have appeared in many parts of the country like Kaduna, Abuja, Lagos, port Harcourt and Makurdi  to mention but a few.
    What this implies is simply that the citizenry have appreciated the efforts of the president who though being human and has been constrained ‎by few instances where he was indisposed, has unarguably given Nigerians his best.
    This point is not lost on Nigerians who flout the gains made in the degradation of insurgents thereby improving the security situation in the county as worthy of commendation and the blow dealt on corruption and wastages leading to the recovery of trillion of naira within a short period and the rescue of the economy.
    Those like Femi Falana who try to make political capital out of the few instances the president has been indisposed are oblivious of the fact that a larger percentage of the populace feel pained that some citizens would wish Nigeria to go back to its dark says of infamy where insurgents take hold of territories, kill at will and after the government of the day.
    They are also at a loss how some that witnessed the orgy of looting of the past administration would have the guts to cast aspersions on a man who had nothing to gain but yet offered himself to serve the country.
    Nigerians still can’t believe that the foundation for waste and squandermania, lack of vision and plan for the economy, would be preferable to some to the current situation that offers hope and confidence.
    Some of the posters are a sight to behold, they not only call on Nigerians to think of their future but have even thumb-printed in the image of   ballot paper for the president.
    Others are simply a chant for him to continue his good works while some are reminders of what makes the Buhari personal tick.‎
    A closer observation of these outings would reveal that much as they are ‎simplistic, they carry weighty messages that should be appreciated by the average Nigerian.
    Most strikingly is that they are obviously personal interventions not sponsored by money bags, but glaringly coming  from an array of individuals who appreciate the effort of the president and would want him back.
    This of course is the background to the popular support revived by the president in 2015 and what this means is that his popularity has joy waned.
    Some of the persons who have offered to do this for the country should be identified  and encouraged.
    But most importantly, the message in the posters should not be lost; Nigerians have not had a true and sincere leadership as they are having now and would want it to continue, hence Buhari must be encouraged to run again run for the Presidency in 2019.

    Obiorah is a public affairs commentator writing from Abuja.