By Muhammad Ajah<\/p>\n
Come back home, come backhome<\/p>\n
Come back home, come backhome<\/p>\n
Come back home; Nigeriansare missing you<\/p>\n
Come back home; Nigeriansare waiting for you.<\/p>\n
Mr. President, your healthand wellbeing are important to us. Nigerians
\nwant to see and feel you. We arelike a family whose breadwinner has been
\naway for sometimes. We know that youfeel nostalgic. But do not be in a
\nhurry if something is yet to be finalized onyour health. We are patiently
\nwaiting, praying and working for our nation inyour absence.<\/p>\n
The Presidency told Nigerians thepossibility of your return because you
\nare no longer \u201cenjoying your stay\u2019\u2019outside our beloved country. Your
\nSenior Special Assistant on Media andPublicity, Malam Garba Shehu to us:
\n\u201cAs a matter of fact, we should be gettingready to see the president in
\nfresh and that will be soon as possible. ThePresident himself is looking
\nto being home to be with his people. I don\u2019t thinkhe is enjoying any
\nlonger with an extended vacation outside the country.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
We are happy that your vacation wasutilized for many things. One thing is
\nclear. You have shown your sincerity bygranting unhindered control of the
\ngovernment to your vice, the vibrant and eruditecompatriot, Professor Yemi
\nOsinbajo. He has performed wonderfully in yourabsence. Secondly, your
\nvacation has revealed that Nigerians are massivelybehind you despite the
\nfew discordant voices from some quarters. Nigerians loveyou and they want
\nyou to come back and look after them. Thirdly, it has shownthat what
\nunites Nigerians is stronger than what divides us because even
\ntheoppositions are heaving signs of relief that you are great and
\nGod-sent. They alsofeel your absence and want to see you physically at
\nhome.<\/p>\n
We are happy that you spoke with theAmerican President. America knows the
\nimportance of Nigeria for their economicwellbeing. Mr. Trump, like his
\npredecessor, Barack Obama, recognizes your sincerityof purpose and
\nleadership style. Nothing is more heartwarming than thisinternational
\nrecognition. It is the beginning of a friendship that will seeNigeria
\nprogressive amidst earlier uncertainty that the new America will
\nantagonizeyour government.<\/p>\n
Many prominent Nigerians were receivedby you in London. Surely, it is not
\neasy to differentiate the purposes fortheir visits. The heart is a sealed
\nbag; only God knows its content(s). But beassured that millions of
\nNigerians who can never afford to travel are with youin prayers. By God,
\nit is their sincere prayers that are really working for youand the nation.
\nMany of us want nothing than good health and success for youand the
\nnation. And so it shall be. Ameen.
\nYour wife, Aisha recently returned from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where
\nsheperformed\u00a0Umrah. She must have cried out her eyes to God for youin the
\nGrand Mosque of Makkah. As she arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe
\nInternationalAirport, Abuja, she asked Nigerians to pray harder and do
\ngood deeds forNigeria and expressed gratitude to all Nigerians for their
\nsupports for you.<\/p>\n
Yourministers have been up and doing. The leadership of your party APC and
\nitsmembers are loyal and doing their best. The national assembly has been
\nworkingon the 2017 Budget which you presented to them in December. You
\nsaid it isgoing to be free from padding and we believed you. But there are
\nreports thatsome things have been observed in it by the assemblymen. One
\nof your ministers,Babatunde Raji Fashola shocked the Senate when he
\ndisclaimed the sum ofN2billion voted for Regional Housing Scheme by the
\nMinistry of Finance out ofthe N64.99billion budgetary proposal for the
\nhousing sector for 2017.<\/p>\n
Thelawmakers in their various standing committees are carrying out wide
\nscrutinyof at least 590 suspicious line items as budget defence by
\ngovernmentministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) goes on. Senate
\nPresident BukolaSaraki was reported to have given all Senate committee
\nchairmen a workingdocument and directed them to thoroughly examine all
\nallocations in the budget.<\/p>\n
Thedocument, titled \u201c2017 Budget: Frivolous & Suspicious Items\u201d, was
\nprepared andpresented to the National Assembly by a leading government
\ntransparency organization\u2013 BudgiT, led by Seun Onigbinde which outlinedthe
\nquestionable 590 items in the 2017 budget from 32 MDAs. Reports say that
\nthere are about six outrageous andsuspicious items that raised various
\nquestions in the ministry of Power, Worksand Housing apart from other
\nitems on other ministries and parastatals ofgovernment. The document also
\naccording to reports showed that there isabout seventeen line items worth
\nover N2.1trillion in the Ministry ofTransportation. This means that the
\npadding regime is not yet over.<\/p>\n
The civil servants are hungry, though patient andyearning for your return
\nto increase their salaries. There are stories, justlike before, that smile
\nwill soon be put on their faces. The Nigerian farmers wantyou back. The
\nNigerian children want their grandfather back home to give themwarmth and
\nlove.<\/p>\n
We want toassure you that our love for you is great, our wishes for our
\nnation aremagnificent, our expectations are high and we wish you safe
\njourney back home.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
MuhammadAjah\u00a0isan advocate of humanity, peace and good governance in
\nAbuja. E-mail mobahawwah@yahoo.co.uk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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