I am impressed by the simplicity and the moving quality of Chief Kayode\u2019s
\ncriticism of this administration. It is suitably rich and profound. A
\nfierce intellectual, an intrepid scholar, an uncompromising radical, he
\nhas given the Mohammadu Buhari\u2019s administration indigestion on a regular
\nbasis. Chief Kayode is doing stuff many people are afraid to do. He is
\nrisking his freedom and this is a moral example for others to follow.<\/p>\n
I must confess that I voted for the ruling party. A card carrying member
\nof APC and a member of Buhari\u2019s media team during the campaign. I voted
\nfor him with a heavy heart because I knew he didn\u2019t have the mental
\ncapacity and wisdom to govern a complex country like Nigeria. The job
\nrequires a level of punditry which Buhari doesn\u2019t have at all. There was
\npractically no deeply thought plan on how to govern and achieve his goals.
\nHis speeches were hollow and completely uninspiring.\u00a0 Buhari is a man of
\nsubstantive deficiency. Right now, his weakness is on display.<\/p>\n
I worked and voted for him because of the one obvious credential that he
\nhas: aversion for corruption.\u00a0 This is the cankerworm that has eaten into
\nevery sector of our national life. We have had a long \u2013run of ill luck in
\nleadership. Leaders that are only interested in amassing wealth to the
\ndetriment of the general public.\u00a0 Buhari represented for me an incarnation
\nof hope in that debilitating area of our national life.\u00a0 But he failed to
\nlive up to expectation. From the very beginning, the fight against
\ncorruption became a one-sided affair. The Economic and Financial Crimes
\nCommission (EFCC) became a tool of vendetta against members of the
\nPeople\u2019s Democratic Party.(PDP) The so called strongman failed to handle a
\nstraightforward case like the Halliburton Scandal.<\/p>\n
Oluseun Onigbinde has this say about Buhari war on corruption: \u201cHowever,
\nbeyond the acknowledged good intentions of the president, good intentions
\nhave never been a plan. Corruption needs at least four things to thrive \u2013
\nthe absence of political will, gross secrecy, excessive discretion and
\nweak institutions. On the four counts, I have not seen enough will to rein
\non these demons. Once there is a signal that here is a free for all with
\nthe institutions and countervailing will clearly absent, humans usually
\nabuse the opportunity. This has nothing to do with race, gender or
\nenvironment. Siemens and Halliburton were indicted for giving bribes in
\nNigeria. This is not to oversell the place of exemplary leadership but it
\nis key to set the tone in places where institutions are still evolving. In
\nthe early days of this administration, zealous officers were arresting
\nthose who wanted to flee. The first press release of the government was
\nthat it has not barred anyone from travelling. The signal was there,
\nbuzzing of the arrival of the strongman.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Chief Kayode saw it from the very beginning. When it comes to
\ncriticism of Buhari, he has up- shifted from good to great. To him,
\nNigeria can never be self sustaining and successful under this present
\ngovernment. He has always insisted that Buhari\u2019s actions are a blithe
\nevocation of stupidity and daftness.\u00a0 To tell it like it is, there is
\ndarkness around this government. His unintelligent policies have exposed
\nhis government to extreme political vulnerability.\u00a0 His economic policy
\nhas pushed millions into the destructive cycle of poverty. The chronic
\neconomic slump has led to job losses and massive starvation. To make
\nthings worse, this government is bafflingly distracted due to Buhari\u2019s
\nillness.\u00a0 In order to stave off disaster and get Nigeria back on its feet,
\nBuhari has to resign.<\/p>\n
I will end this article by quoting Chief Kayode at length: \u201cThe first time
\nBuhari came to power he unleashed terror on the people in the name of
\nfighting corruption and thousands of innocent and decent men and women
\nwere herded into prisons and detention centres all over the country. None
\nof them were given fair trials and all were subjected to a level of
\nhumiliation and barbarity that had never been witnessed before in
\npeacetime in our entire history.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to him, Criminal laws were applied retroactively and people were
\nexecuted and hanged based on the application of those laws. He went to
\nstate that many people were locked up, prosecuted and jailed simply for
\nwriting and speaking the truth as long as that truth embarrassed or
\nexposed the wickedness or corruption of members of his federal government.
\nHe disclosed that many politicians, dissidents, writers, journalists,
\nbusinessmen and human rights were locked up in inhuman conditions and
\nunderground dungeons and consequently fell chronically ill and most of
\nthem never recovered from the ordeal.<\/p>\n
Chief Kayode concluded by saying: \u201cOn the economic front a chronic
\nrecession was ushered into the affairs of our nation and people suffered
\nhunger, poverty, deprivation and starvation.<\/p>\n
Thankfully\u00a020 months later<\/span><\/span>\u00a0it all came crashing, he was removed from power The second time he came to power he did precisely the same thing as the Yet the modus operandi, intention, style and objectives were still the Again his actions and policies resulted in the premature death and Once again on the economic front, just as he had done thirty years I am impressed by the simplicity and the moving quality of Chief Kayode\u2019s criticism of this administration. It is suitably rich and profound. A fierce intellectual, an intrepid scholar, an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,12,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions","category-columns","category-femi-fani-kayode"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nand sanity was restored.<\/p>\n
\nfirst only this time it was worse because he clothed his tyranny in the
\nseeming legitimacy of civil rule and in a supposedly democratic setting
\nwhere the rule of law, at least on paper, was meant to prevail.<\/p>\n
\nsame: the decimation of all opposition forces by waging a bogus, vicious
\nand selective so-called “anti-corruption war” which was fueled and
\npropelled by hate, spite, vindictiveness, pettiness, sensational media
\ntrials and the abuse of power and which resulted in the humiliation,
\ndenigration, persecution, demonstration, violation of human rights and
\nincarceration of most of his critics and political opponents.<\/p>\n
\ndestruction of innocent and helpless men and women in some cases and in
\nthe reckless and wholesale killing of defenceless civilians by his
\nsecurity forces in others.<\/p>\n
\nearlier, he ushered in a period of unprecedented suffering, hunger,
\nhardship, economic recession, poverty and starvation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"