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Of nepotism, impunity, mediocrity and 2019BySufuyan OjeifoAfter so
muchballyhoo about President Muhammadu Buharis proclivity at pampering
his ethnicstock over and above the other ethnic nationalities, he finally
attempted to defendhimself against the charge of ethnic bias.His defence
was contained in a homily at a dinner he hosted in honour ofleaders of the
All Progressive Congress (APC) at the Presidential Villa onThursday,
January 18. I probably know thereason Buhari mustered the will to host
his party leaders at this time, even whenhe has not been able to ensure a
properly-convened meeting of the NationalExecutive Committee (NEC) of his
party as the national leader in three years; or,cause the holding of the
partys national convention to, at least, ratifyappointments into NEC
positions; or, still, elect chairman of the partys Boardof Trustees. The
dinner was toserve as a precursor to other dress rehearsals that will
culminate in his finaldecision on the 2019 presidency. Thevisit of the
seven northern governors, led by Mallam Nasir el-Rufai of Kadunastate,
amid the anguish of a grieving nation over the episodic genocidesunleashed
on hapless Christian population in some northern states to persuadeBuhari
to run, was the first in the series. The media conferenceby his Special
Adviser on media and publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, wherein he proppedup a
thesis that sought to validate the fact that the president is
healthyenough to re-contest in 2019 is another one.The presidents
ill-health has presented as the strongest reason thatcould encumber him
from throwing his hat in the ring once more. If his health is not good
enough to carry himthrough, that could become his exit strategy.The third
in theseries of the dress rehearsals prelude to 2019 was orchestrated by
Buharihimself: the January 18 dinner. Although,he has not declared his
intention to seek re-election, yet the ticket of hisparty is secured in
his hands. Except heexercises the right of first refusal, no one within
his party, will gleefullyjump in front of a moving train. To doso against
Buhari, who is a power monger, would amount to committing
politicalhara-kiri within the APC. Former vicepresident Atiku Abubakar,
who is interested in contesting in 2019, was wise toresign from the party.
Now, with the wayBuhari tried to dismiss allegations of ethnic bias
against him, it was clearthat the season of verbal political exhortations
and sweet talks is here again.And, without surprise, those who
shouldspeak truth to power in defence of the collective position of their
people,especially the Igbo stock, have positioned themselves in the
corridors of powerto mollycoddle the powers-that-be in protection of their
enlightenedself-interests. Some so-called Igbo politicalleaders had, in
recent times, gravitated from the PDP to the APC.Interestingly,
thepresident took the joke straight to them when, in a manner I
considersimplistic, he tried to absolve himself of ethnic bias by the fact
that heappointed four substantive ministers from the southeast zone. I
shuddered at that rationalisation. It does not matter whether the
ministersappointed from the southeast are substantive or junior ministers,
Buhari didnot make the appointment at his own pleasure.The constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria compelled him to doso.Any other person,
forthat matter, in that office, would have been required by the
constitution toappoint ministers from the thirty-six states of the
federation, even if nobodyvoted for him or her in all the states in a
zone. It is thus the constitutional right of theSoutheast people to be so
appointed and I am at a loss to read the presidentdeploy that to mitigate
the charge of ethnic bias, especially viewed againstthe backdrop of
strategic appointments he made many of which were notconstitutionally
circumscribed. For instance, howmany southeasterners are accommodated in
the commanding heights of the nationssecurity architecture where
appointments are egregiously lopsided in favour ofBuharis ethnic stock?
The social mediaare inundated with the narratives of the nepotistic
outlook of the president inthe strategic appointments made at his
pleasure. The chiefs of army and air staff are from thenorth, although it
is argued that appointments in the military are based onseniority and
hierarchy. The Inspector Generalof Police, whose promotion interestingly
was made at the expense of twenty-oneor thereabout senior officers who had
to be compulsorily retired for him to beenthroned, is from the north.
DirectorGeneral of the State Security Service (SSS), Director General of
the NationalIntelligence Agency (NIA), Acting Chairman of the Economic and
Financial CrimesCommission (EFCC), Comptroller General of the Nigerian
Custom Service and ComptrollerGeneral of the Nigeria Immigration Service,
are northerners. The list is long. Former PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo,
Nigerias recent addition to the list of holders of PhD (inChristian
Theology), in his trending evangelical treatise, spoke about
Buharisnepotistic deployment bordering on clannishness and inability to
bringdiscipline to bear on errant members of his nepotistic court.
Obasanjo also indicted Buhari for his poorunderstanding of the dynamics of
internal politics, which has culminated in amuch more divided nation
afflicted by widened inequality under his leadership. While I believe
theIgbo leaders, who are not in support of Buhari for his anti-Igbo
dispositionarising largely from his claim that he got only 198,000 votes
from them in 2015,would fight to the finish the nepotistic treatment the
president has continuedto mete out to the Southeast zone, I can imagine
how ludicrous those who have movedto the APC, perhaps for bread and
butter or for political survival to endorseBuhari, would feel now that
the tides are against him. The Buhari presidencyhas become encumbered.
The president has squandered so much goodwill on whichhe rode to power in
2015. Apart from hisachievements in substantially degrading the Boko
Haram terrorists and half-heartedlyor selectively fighting corruption, it
is doubtful if Buhari has any other redeeminglegacies to his credit.
Impunity and mediocrity have become governancecharacters. The agents of
the executivearm of government continue to brazenly disobey court
orders. Consider the impunityof the continued detention of former
National Security Adviser, Col. SamboDasuki (retd.) and the leader of
Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), IbrahimEl-Zakzaky despite several court
orders for their release. What of the impunity of Fulani herdsmen
whocontinually maim and kill innocent farm/land owners in Benue, Plateau,
Tarabaand other places without any corresponding restraint by the federal
government?At the APC dinner,Buhari claimed that he was aware of the
problems of the country and that hewould always reflect on the historical
antecedents before arriving atdecisions. He said he would not
hurriedlytake decisions for the sake of clear conscience. If the president
is aware ofthe problems, must he reflect ad-infinitum on them before
taking decisions? It is sheer mediocrity on display ingovernance to so
over-reflect, instead of acting expeditiously, while thenation burns or
slides into extinction.That attitude is suggestive of lack of governance
ideas. It is mediocredecision by Buhari, who is not economy savvy, to
appoint weak Nigerians, accordingto Obasanjo, who could not help him out,
for instance, in the area of theeconomy, which is why there is worsening
poverty in the land and Nigerians thathave lost their jobs since 2015 have
increased from 6 million to 16 million innumber under his presidency.
What can bemore mediocre than a government that relishes only in bandying
statistics ofmonetary accretion to the coffers without reflecting
positively on thewellbeing of the people? This is, sadly, thestory of
Buharis presidency, which many suffering Nigerians do not want tocontinue
beyond 2019. A vast majorityof Nigerians hope he will exhibit his
much-vaunted integrity by honourably dismountingfrom the horse and going
home to a deserved rest. The world waits for Buhari to make hishistoric
decision on whether to run or not in 2019, a decision that will,either
way, profoundly affect the presidential power calculations.
– Mr.Ojeifo, editor-in-chief of TheCongresswatch magazine, writes via
Sufuyan OjeifoEditor- in- ChiefThe Congresswatch Magazine+234
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