Nigerians Must Decide -By Omeje Filia

The current political atmosphere in this democratic dispensation of our dear nation has become a great concern. This is because the leadership style of President Mohammad Buhari is not in line with a democratic system of government. In a recall of the 2015 Buhari’s electioneering campaign, Buhari vowed to fight corruption but instead of leading by example, he got himself entangled in WAEC Certificate saga, of which he initially claimed was with the military and when the military informed INEC that they were not in possession of Buhari’s certificate he now connived with WAEC to send him a certificate which he cannot prove he genuinely achieved. Unfortunately, Nigerians kept mute over the issue, irrespective of the fact that it was a hanky-panky game.

In his 2015 Buhari’s address to the nation after he was sworn in as the president of Nigeria, he reassured Nigerians that “He belonged to nobody” giving the impression that he is a man of equity and just. But on the contrary, virtually all the key positions ranging from security chiefs to the least is being occupied by his tribal men. And now, he has taken a unilateral action to suspend/remove the chief justice of the federation, Justice Walter Onnoghen from office and has replaced him with one Tanko Mohammed without going through due process, simply because of alleged failure to have declared some of his assets. Other campaign promises made by Buhari, such as improving the quality of lives of Nigerians have remained unfulfilled, thereby subjecting the people into abject poverty and untold suffering. The security situation has gone from bad to worse, the economy has not in any improved. As a result of the current situation, Nigeria has been classed as the poorest country in the world. Ironically, Nigeria is endowed with all kinds of natural resources to make her a wealthy nation if not for the rogues who have been at the helm of affairs with no concerns for the future of the people. Nigeria is one of the African countries where leaders act as looters and are never there to serve the people who vote them into power. After 57 years of independence, Nigeria cannot boast of 24/7 power supply, no pipe-borne water, no good roads, no standard hospitals, no good schools, no job for the youth, no functional laws, no adequate housing, no medical care for the older adult. Just nothing to show for and very disorganised. Is this a country?

The town hall interview conducted recently with Buhari, which the media tagged ‘presidential debate’ clearly reveals the extent to which Buhari’s ability to process information has changed. Hence, Vice President Osinbajo was made to accompany him to the arena. Assessing his presentation, it is obvious that Buhari is struggling with his ability to process certain information and as such would find it difficult to understand what Nigerians are going through. Secondly, he does not understand the public’s perception of his leadership style and never shows any sign of sensitivity to the yearnings of the people. His appointment choice and appointment of ministers has never been made on merit but by tribalism and nepotism. He claimed that he is fighting corruption but he himself is corrupt as he lied to Nigerian about his fake WAEC Certificate and used INEC and security agencies to manipulate the previously conducted gubernatorial elections. Even his party chairman Adams Oshiomole who thinks that he has got the country in his palm promised politicians that their (sins) corrupt practices would be forgiven if they defect to APC and nothing was done. That clearly sent the message that only those who belong to other parties are being tried but so long as you belong to APC, your corrupt practices would be forgiven. Why was Oshiomole not prosecuted for making such a nasty statement? In another development, a governor who is APC member was caught on camera where he collected bribe and he was not asked to step aside but when an issue of not declaring assets came up, he quickly acted as if he was fighting corruption by removing the formally appointed CJN and replacing him with his own tribal man without regard for the constitution. Buhari should also remember that Nigerians have the record of the declaration made by the national assembly about the former Inspector general of police Idris which states that “he is not fit to hold public office both at home and abroad” yet he was not asked to step aside when the pronouncement was made simply because he was using him as a stooge to intimidate other party candidates and to rig elections. This is another indication that he does not understand the principles of separation of powers in a democratic setting.

This then calls for the questions: “Does Buhari have the capacity to man the affairs of the country? what qualities does he have to remain in Aso Rock, does he really have what it takes to move the country forward? Nigerian must decide. Looking at the whole scenario, ranging from security to the dwindling economic situation of the country, it has come to a point where Nigerians would have to take their destinies in their hands because the oppression, mismanagement of resources, the denial of social amenities, the joblessness of the youth, the bloodshed and above all, the hunger in the land is too much for us to bear. We cannot continue like this because every human being is endowed with one talent or the other but having ignorant and clueless people as leaders have resulted in the destiny of so many Nigerians buried.

Recommendation

The kind of president Nigerians needs in this current dispensation is a leader with a vision who will be sensitive to the needs and yearnings of the people, a leader who understands economic growth and development, a leader who values education and youth empowerment, a leader who is capable of measuring up with other leaders worldwide in terms of intelligence, a leader who is technologically up to date, a leader who understands the principle of separation of powers, a leader who appoints ministers based on merit and not by tribalism, a leader who cares about the safety and welfare of the entire populace, a leader who must know the names of his ministers, a leader who is open to Nigerians and can be held accountable at any time. Above all, Nigeria needs to be restructured for a positive change because it is too large to be governed by an individual. Restructuring will lead to a great transformation where towns and villages can possibly be transformed to cities with the available resources at a very quick pace. This will drastically improve the living standard of Nigerians and reduce corruption because there would be checks and balances, constitutional amendment, independent judiciary, socio-economic development and job creation. However, no meaningful development can be achieved unless corruption, insurgency and unnecessary killings of innocent people in the country is put to an end.

Written by Omeje Filia