*By Joe Iniodu*
President Muhammadu Buharis chances to be reelected in 2019 have continued
to shrink giving legitimate reasons to adduce that the upcoming election
may not be free and fair as the APC government may recourse to the
illegitimate use of Federal might and brute force. The odds against PMB are
high-from those who helped him attain the office to his own people the
President seems ambushed from all fronts for the single purpose of removing
him from office.
PMB came to office with a change mantra. He also brandished an
anti-corruption banner which he deviously knitted to the change to give
Nigerians hope for high expectations. Nigerians are actually averse to
corruption. They want a corrupt free country. It is a fact that corruption
is an bane to our collective development. When someone whose ascetic
antecedent came flaunting the new order, some Nigerians were coaxed into
the mendacity only to realize shortly after the elections that it was mere
deceitful contraption to win election. Nigerians had fallen victim to a
grand deception organized and executed by APC leveraging on Buharis
unverifiable public profile as an incorruptible leader. But how wrong those
who backed Buhari were and how credulous Nigerians were as his ascension
brought Nigeria to a pitiable state.
Unfortunately those behind these shenanigans are not yet done with
Nigeria. In their duplicitous manner, they have woven new yarns. One of
them is that the Nation was buried in an Augean stable that has taken
eternity to clear. But the same Nigeria was liveable until after May 2015
when panic statements and policies set off alarm tolls and everything went
comatose. If Nigerias total collapse was as imminent post May 2015, why
did GEJ, a Ph.D holder knowledgeable in global affairs seek reelection? Did
he wish to come and preside over a country presumably tottering on the
precipice of collapse or extinction? Why did a renown World Bank
Economist, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala continue to serve in that administration
as the Co-ordinator of the Nations economy? Could she have staked her hard
earned reputation to co-ordinate the collapse of Nigerias economy? One
could accuse Jonathan of everything but not the lack of knowledge. He could
have been the coward to run rings around but certainly not a fool. He could
have been spineless and not street smart but certainly not an idiot.
The real truth is that the APC government has failed Nigerians and
are looking for a fall guy. It has turned itself into a government of
excuses and blame game because the operators lack the management savvy and
skill to manage an economy with the modern dynamics obtainable within the
global space. This lack of capacity in the management of the economy has
become more and more obvious as the living conditions of Nigerians daily
take turns for the worst. Many who thought that the early days of the APC
led government were the usual teething periods and that soon the
administration would get its act together and return Nigeria again to the
path of prosperity can no longer bear the apparent ineptitude of the
government. They are tired of excuses as they do not put food on their
table. Some have argued that the government was elected to solve problems
and not to hide under any alibi to give excuses.
The state of the Nation which covers all gamuts has become a source
of concern to many. Apart from the economy which is firmly in the woods
with no light at the end of the tunnel, security as a critical concomitance
of government has not fared better. Nigeria has become a theatre of horrors
as gory pictures of slit throats, butchered and mutilated bodies daily
assault over visual sensibilities. Of course, other forms of criminality
ranging from kidnapping, robbery, arson and homicides have remained on the
rise. It is indeed a season of anomie as hell seems to be let loose upon
the Nation with the fear of anarchy as a consequence that segue times like
these.
Recently, matters have reached a head that even professional
camaraderie cannot restrain people from speaking up in what some of them
claim to be the interest of the Nation. OBJ who is reputed to have helped
PMB come to power has not hidden his discontent with the state of the
Nation. In an 18 page missive to Mr. President, he advised him get ready to
join them as an elderstatesman to play advisory role and not seek
reelection in 2019. He, however, stated that the President is not bound to
take his advice but made it clear that he would not support his
candidature. Anybody who takes OBJ and his views lightly does so at his own
peril. The old fox always knows what to do. General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), one
time Head of State (1966-1975) on his part has taken a swipe at the present
administration warning it to desist from making excuses and set to work to
improve the wellbeing of Nigerians. From his comment, it is apparent that
General Gowon cannot support PMB for 2019. General Theophilus Dajuma, a one
time Chief of Army Staff and one time minister of defence could also not
hide his displeasure with the Buhari administration. He enjoined Nigerians
to rise up and defend themselves against Herdsmen alleging complicity on
the part of the government and the military which he termed as ethnic
cleansing. It is also clear that Danjuma is not with the government of PMB.
The above views are not far from clear appraisals of how the
government has fared under PMB. It is the height of deceit for anyone to
say that the country is doing well and extreme mendacity to argue or
assume that PMB has led the country in any efficient manner. Recently, one
of the richest men in the world, Bill Gates’ who claims that he has
invested billions of dollars in Nigeria without corresponding yields had
noted that the policies of the administration had put the economy on the
sorry state it is today. But if Bill Gates assertion does not capture the
mood of the Nation, recent outbursts, reactions and dispositions of
ordinary Nigerians do. Recently the social media which has become a virtual
world has been trending with videos that take swipes at the person of
President Muhammadu Buhari. One of the videos is that of young Muslim girls
apparently protesting about the government of PMB using swear-words like
shege etc. There is also another one by a mammoth crowed alleged to
have happened at a Mosque with the crowd chanting uncomplimentary songs
that disparaging the name of Mr. President. But the most shocking sign of
Buharis unpopularity was the mammoth crowd that thronged the PDP rally at
Katsina, the home state of President Buhari.
The burgeoning crowd which also witnessed the defection of over 1
million people from APC to PDP in the home of the President whom about 3
years was viewed as a cult hero, is symptomatic of a drastic drop in his
popularity rating. And the Buhari, the cult hero that once had die-hard
followers is now an albatross to APC. The people are angry and discontented
with his government. Hunger is a universal constant and reality. The fact
is that Mr. President name does not put food on the table of the people of
Katsina as compensation for their ownership of PMB. That State faces the
same danger and vagaries of poor economic policies of the APC led
administration. The sentiments attached to any entitlement of ownership
have been eroded by the prevailing hunger that today rules the land. Other
states who are facing the same peril are likely to take a cue from what
Katsina, the home state of Mr. President has done knowing that the first
instinct of existence is self preservation. Nigerians have a chance to
decide whether to continue to tread the path of impending destitution or
break free and choose the cause of prosperity.
Sadly, Mr. President during APC NEC meeting in Abuja has declared
his intention to take Nigerians through another 4 year round of economic
quagmire and woes. But thanks to democracy which enshrines the power of
choice. No man can oppress another without his consent. Now is the time for
Nigerians to rise to the challenge of self preservation by rejecting a
government which devious policy is the promotion of mass poverty that is
at variance with sustainable development goal; a key index of good
governance.
*Joe Iniodu is a public affairs analyst *