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Friday, 29 May 2015 14:36

I'M MUHAMMADU BUHARI REPORTING FOR DUTY AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA. PLEASE JOIN HANDS WITH ME IN THE REBUILDING OF OUR NIGERIA

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BY JOHN ODEY ADUMA, PUBLISHER AND BRITISH CHEVENING SCHOLAR, UNITED KINGDOM

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Mr President booking on with all seriousnes that BUHARISM & THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW deserves!

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The new President addresses the nation..."Beneath our night a sun awaits us," - Otto Rene Castillo.

MY PROMISE

  1. I promise to be your President - the president of all Nigerians, treating all Nigerians as one people and acting as a national shield for all Nigerians;
  2. I promise to treat all Nigerians and all nationalities resident in our country as I'd love to be treated in reciprocation;
  3. I promise to embrace all faiths as many as there are for the sake of peaceful co-existence amongst all Nigerians, not playing up one faith above the others bearing in mind that we all are God's children;
  4. With respect to ethnic nationality, as your President, I'd like to say to all Nigerians and at the same time assure you all, wherever each of you is domiciled currently in our great country that I'm simply a Nigerian and nothing else, and more, one who belongs to the broad family of all humanity;
  5. I assure you that as your President I'll not promise you what I know within me I cannot fulfill and more, when there are no resources for such; calling at all times a spade a spade, black, black; white, white;
  6. I promise to be a bridge builder and not one who will put a knife on the thing that binds all of us together as a people;
  7. I promise to serve you well in accordance with the grace God has given to me to function effectively in that exalted office;
  8. I promise to be loyal to our country and not hold any covert or overt interest that will jeopardise the interest of our nation; both at home and abroad;
  9. I promise to play by the rule and in consonnance with the spirit of the constitution of our great country, subjecting my military background to our national statute book and the rules that govern effective operations of democracy in any civilized country, carrying all along, conceding and compromising where necessary for the sake of peace, unity of our country and good governance;
  10. I promise to conduct myself well as your President, both in public spheres and in private.

Great God Almighty, I thank you very immensely for giving me this one more time to govern this your great country and all of its great people once more.

Therefore, I pray that you give me the wisdom and understanding that I need in that exalted office to govern well your people, even the people of Nigeria as one people so that your name may be praised at the end of this administration.

I lift up your people and country to you and put them and the nation of Nigeria in your care.

Great God Almighty, grant that we live in peace with one another, treating each other as oneself; promoting peace and justice, and actually practising them, and living in harmonious and peaceful co-existence with one another.

God of Nigeria, grant that collectively as a people we strive to build a country, where there are neither settlers nor strangers; indigenes nor non-indigenes; North nor South, but one people and citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

*HISTORY OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA

BUHARI'S FIRST SPEECH AFTER THE MILITARY COUP OF 31ST DECEMBER 1983

A viper comes again to judgement? But do the children know it's dangerous to play with a viper?

In pursuance of the primary objective of saving our great nation from total collapse, I, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari of the Nigerian army have, after due consultation amongst the services of the armed forces, been formally invested with the authority of the Head of the Federal Military Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is with humility and a deep sense of responsibility that I accept this challenge and call to national duty.

As you must have heard in the previous announcement, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1979) has been suspended, except those sections of it which are exempted in the constitution. The change became necessary in order to put an end to the serious economic predicament and the crisis of confidence now afflicting our nation. Consequently, the Nigerian armed forces have constituted themselves into a Federal Military Government comprising of a Supreme Military Council, a National Council of States, a Federal Executive Council at the centre and State Executive Councils to be presided over by military governors in each of the states of the federation. Members of these councils will be announced soon. The last Federal Military Government drew up a programme with the aim of handing over political power to the civilians in 1979. This programme as you all know, was implemented to the letter. The 1979 constitution was promulgated.

However, little did the military realise that the political leadership of the second republic will circumvent most of the checks and balances in the constitution and bring the present state of general insecurity. The premium on political power became so exceedingly high that political contestants regarded victory at elections as a matter of life and death struggle and were determined to capture or retain power by all means. It is true that there is a worldwide economic recession.

However, in the case of Nigeria, its impact was aggravated by mismanagement. We believe the appropriate government agencies have good advice but the leadership disregarded their advice. The situation could have been avoided if the legislators were alive to their constitutional responsibilities; Instead, the legislators were preoccupied with determining their salary scales, fringe benefit and unnecessary foreign travels, et al, which took no account of the state of the economy and the welfare of the people they represented.

As a result of our inability to cultivate financial discipline and prudent management of the economy, we have come to depend largely on internal and external borrowing to execute government projects with attendant domestic pressure and soaring external debts, thus aggravating the propensity of the outgoing civilian administration to mismanaged our financial resources. Nigeria was already condemned perpetually with the twin problem of heavy budget deficits and weak balance of payments position, with the prospect of building a virile and viable economy.

The last general election was anything but free and fair. The only political parties that could complain of election rigging are those parties that lacked the resources to rig. There is ample evidence that rigging and thuggery were relative to the resources available to the parties. This conclusively proved to us that the parties have not developed confidence in the presidential system of government on which the nation invested so much material and human resources. While corruption and indiscipline have been associated with our state of under-development, these two evils in our body politics have attained unprecedented height in the past few years. The corrupt, inept and insensitive leadership in the last four years has been the source of immorality and impropriety in our society.

Since what happens in any society is largely a reflection of the leadership of that society, we deplore corruption in all its facets. This government will not tolerate kick-backs, inflation of contracts and over-invoicing of imports etc. Nor will it condone forgery, fraud, embezzlement, misuse and abuse of office and illegal dealings in foreign exchange and smuggling. Arson has been used to cover up fraudulent acts in public institutions. I am referring to the fire incidents that gutted the P&T buildings in Lagos, the Anambra State Broadcasting Corporation, the Republic Building at Marina, the Federal Ministry of Education, the Federal Capital Development Authority Accounts at Abuja and the NET Building. Most of these fire incidents occurred at a time when Nigerians were being apprehensive of the frequency of fraud scandals and the government incapacity to deal with them. Corruption has become so pervasive and intractable that a whole ministry has been created to stem it.

Fellow Nigerians, this indeed is the moment of truth. My colleagues and I – the Supreme Military Council, must be frank enough to acknowledge the fact that at the moment, an accurate picture of the financial position is yet to be determined. We have no doubt that the situation is bad enough. In spite of all this, every effort will be made to ensure that the difficult and degrading conditions under which we are living are eliminated. Let no one however be deceived that workers who have not received their salaries in the past eight or so months will receive such salaries within today or tomorrow or that hospitals which have been without drugs for months will be provided with enough immediately. We are determined that with the help of God we shall do our best to settle genuine payments to which government is committed, including backlog of workers’ salaries after scrutiny.

We are confident and we assure you that even in the face of the global recession, and the seemingly gloomy financial future, given prudent management of Nigeria’s existing financial resources and our determination to substantially reduce and eventually nail down rises in budgetary deficits and weak balance of payments position. The Federal Military Government will reappraise policies with a view to paying greater attention to the following areas: The economy will be given a new impetus and better sense of direction. Corrupt officials and their agents will be brought to book.

In view of the drought that affected most parts of the country, the federal government will, with the available resources, import food stuffs to supplement the shortfalls suffered in the last harvest. Our foreign policy will both be dynamic and realistic. Africa will of course continue to be the centre piece of our foreign policy. The morale and combat readiness of the armed forces will be given high priority. Officers and men with high personal and professional integrity will have nothing to fear.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria and all other holders of judiciary appointments within the federation can continue in their appointments and the judiciary shall continue to function under existing laws subject to such exceptions as may be decreed from time to time by the Federal Military Government. All holders of appointments in the civil service, the police and the National Security Organisation shall continue to exercise their functions in the normal way subject to changes that may be introduced by the Federal Military Government.

All those chairmen and members of statutory corporations, parastatals and other executive departments are hereby relieved of their appointments with immediate effect.

The Federal Military Government will maintain and strengthen existing diplomatic relations with other states and with international organisations and institutions such as the Organisation of African Unity, the United Nations and its organs, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, ECOWAS and the Commonwealth etc. The Federal Military Government will honour and respect all treaties and obligations entered into by the previous government and we hope that such nations and bodies will reciprocate this gesture by respecting our country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Fellow Nigerians, finally, we have dutifully intervened to save this nation from imminent collapse. We therefore expect all Nigerians, including those who participated directly or indirectly in bringing the nation to this present predicament, to cooperate with us. This generation of Nigerians, and indeed future generations, have no country other than Nigeria. We shall remain here and salvage it together.May God bless us all. Good morning.

ABOUT THE NEW DRIVER

THIS IS YOU MU'AMMADU BUHARI

Muhammadu Buhari is returning to power without any blueprint to show and distribute to Nigerians as a testimony to his preparedness and covenant with the Nigerian people, and his Party (Association of Political Confusionists) manifesto looks the work of BEER PALOUR ECONOMISTS & AREA BOYS POLITICAL OFFICIALS, ludicrously they have asked the Opposition or their representatives on the Muslim-Muslim National Transition Committee to "suggest quick fixes" including giving them tips as OBJ has done, hoping they will use the findings in the handover note to draw up their own blueprint - how can this bunch be serious, somebody?

Buhari their driver has nothing itemised even on a piece of paper to call his personal blueprint since 1985 when he was booted out of office other than his mantra of soaking corruption in blood, he should be told corruption is not a dog or baboon! Having no blueprint or action plan or plan of action of any kind, he has been shopping round for ideas acoss the Atlantic, where like an urchin who has constituted a great deal of nuisance, he was abandoned at the front door of Number 10 Downing Street on May 23rd, 2015, where he went begging for ideas with which he hopes to rule Nigeria.

Driver Buhari is neither a visionary nor a dreamer nor a nationalist, except being an Arabists who delights in promoting and encouraging Arabism in the nation's body politics.

This legendary partial judge does not have a picture of the Nigeria of his dream, excepting that of NIGERIAGHANISTAN, hence he remains one of the patrons of the Board of Trustees of the regional association Arewa Consultative Forum whose members are well known promoters of Arabism in Nigeria. His picture which still sticks to the website of ACF despite our many years of asking him and other former Heads of State to get out of the regional club as their members of the ethnic/regional association diminishes their statuses in society. This confirms the fact that they together with Buhari are regionalists and ethnicists, but does Buhari in particular want to eat his cake and have it? Thus, before May 29th, 2015, Buhari needs to come out clean to tell Nigerians, whether he is the President of Arewa Consultative Forum or that of Nigeria, and he has to choose between being an Arewa Consultative Forum's President or Nigeria's.

It is to be recorded here for posterity that whatever Buhari thinks of Nigeria is as sold to him by the Caliphate, the Arab world and the West. However, Buhari has a vision of NIGERIAGHANISTAN!

His actions and inactions past and present have not shown he has the interest of Nigeria at heart. Buhari has no idea of his own, except as suggested to him by his obsequious staff and the type of people he likes to surround himself with, despite giving the world the unmistakable impression that he is a purist who is incorruptible. This explains why Tunde Idiagbon and not him was in charge, hence when he travelled to Mecca, Buhari was toppled;  this explains why at PTF too, Buhari was not in charge; and what is more, who is right now in charge? Emperor Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu, of course!

In his characteristic manner, it was not Buhari who was driving his very lacklustre campaign full of vicious propaganda and crude threats - a sort of BOLEKAJA CAMPAIGN, culminating in the generally dubious ELECTIMIDATIONS which will soon see him being sworn in as President of the ACF or Nigeria's.

His Vice President who more than anything looks in every way his private secretary was imposed on him by BAT, hence there is no body chemistry between him and Oluleke Osinbajo.

If Buhari is coming back to power to rule Nigeria, then he MUST remove his picture this week from the Arewa Consultative Forum's website. It is only in Nigeria that former Predidents/Heads of Heads of States and Federal officers do retreat to ethnic enclave after serving in various national capacities and then begin to holler ethnic cleansing to heat up the polity like irresponsible urchins, instead of remaining neutral as statesmen and fathers of the nation to guide the entire country, they become highly partisan as all those former Presidents/Heads of State who now have reduced themselves to Arewaites/Gamjists/Caliphateists and Arabists have been doing since leaving their various offices at federal level.

WAR AGAINST INDISCIPLINE

His lasting legacy which he often likes to show off with as one of his greatest positive legacies - WAI was not his idea either - Buhari likes to sit back for others to generate ideas for him to claim the glory. The idea in fact, was the brainchild of someone at the Nigeria Television Authority, serving then under my great mentor, Dr Isma'il Babatunde Jose. But Muhammadu Buhari reacting to my recent article on the subject matter was economical with the truth as to the actual origin of the WAR AGAINST INDISCIPLNE, in an interviewed he and his APC had hurriedly put together to enable the home Press to have a face to face meet with him as I had in another article exppressed my displeasure at his trademark penchant for the Western media and his disdain for the media in Nigeria dating back to his military days, a situation he has commenced again with relish after he had been declared the winner by his kinsman, Atahiru Jega in the just concluded ELECTIMIDATIONS fraught with vicious propaganda, purposeles malignity, threats and Machiavellianism of the crudest type.

So what really have been Buhari's original idea in public life? If he is really ready to make changes, why up till now he has not committed his vision/s for Nigeria into writing since 1985 or he just suddenly dreamed or was prodded into coming back by a vested group in the last 16 years - and if this is the case,  which is actually the case, methinks, 16 years are enough to commit one's vision/s or the vision/s of his political sponsors/financiers having vested and not the Nigerian interest in mind.

LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD

IDIAGBON'S RETURN FROM MECCA TO NIGERIA AFTER THE COUP THAT OUSTED THE BUHARI/IDIAGBON GOVERNMENT AND THE ARAB CONNECTION

It has often been the thinking that after Ibrahim Babangida and his gang struck, Tunde Idiagbon out of his own volition and bravery returned to Nigeria, but this reasoning is untrue. The truth is that after their draconian rule was toppled, the King of Saudi Arabia assured Idiagbon of safety in his Kingdom, even including granting him assylum if his life would in any way be endangered back home.

The Saudi Arabian King had to obtain a commitment and an undertaking personally from the then President Ibrahim Babangida via a delegation led by General Gado Nasko. Other notable Nigerian on that delegation included Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, Professor Galadanchi and my worthy mentor Dr. Isma'il Babatunde Jose who all jetted to Jeddah to convey the message of President Ibrahim Babangida to the King, giving him the assurance of Nigeria's military President Babangida regarding his guest's safety - General Tunde Idiagbon on his return to Nigeria from the pilgrimage.

Also, whilst the IBB royal delegation to Mecca was about to leave Nigeria for Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Adam Abdullahi sent a personal message through Dr Jose that he should for his action not to be misinterpreted as cowardice and a clear indication that he too, despite his acclaimed integrity had looted the Nigerian treasury, return on the same flight with the royal delegation to Jeddah led by General Nasko.

Fortunately, as the royal delegation arrived in Jeddah on the ten-seater jet that conveyed them to Saudi Arabia, and lodged in the same hotel with Idiagbon, Dr Jose on meeting with Idiagbon, delivered Sheikh Abdullahi's message and added his own advice that to save his reputation, it would be a needful thing for Idiagbon to return to Nigeria with the royal delegation, to which the General agreed saying he too had made up his mind to return with them to Lagos.

The royal delegation having met with and delivered the assurances of President Ibrahim Babangida over Idiagbon on his return to Lagos, left for Nigeria with General Tunde Idiagbon. Whilst aboard the ten-seater jet, Idiagbon refused to sit on the seat having the Government crest, despite being encouraged by General Nasko to so do, and not until the intervention of the other members of the royal delegation, before he finally acquiesced to take the seat inscribed with the Federal crest! Idiagbon's contention was that since he was no longer in power, it was inapproariate for him to sit on the seat of honour!

THE PASTORAL RESOLVE

Another noble idea which I had personally plunged myself because of my great concern for the herdsmen, their children, other family members and their cattle in the last 23 years saw me traversing the whole of the North between 1992 and 1998 culminating in the formation of the above NGO abbreviated to PARE, amongst others. The Pastoral Resolve was the brainchild of my former boss and great mentor Mr Romeo Barberopoulos, whilst I was the Executive Secretary Foundry Association of Nigeria (FAN) following a series of of special investigations on the ecology of Northern States of Nigeria lasting three months. After the investigations had been published they attracted international attention such that the the Kafin Zaki Dam Project was stopped and formation of the Pastoral resolve in which Buhari, Jibril Aminu, Ahmed Joda later took over as the President, to mention, but a few heavy weights invited to sit on its Board of trustees with Muhammadu Buhari as President. I was the Coordinator of the Pastoral Resolve and Public Affiars Manager for the Southern Zone with a the Northern Public Relations Manager based then in Kaduna, but was coming to Lagos for his salaries from the purse of my boss, not Buhari. I designed all the literature and initiated fund raising from the highest offices in the country, whilst Buhari was in Kaduna claiming all the glory which is what his life in public offices has been.

In a letter of commendation written to me by the then Deputy Governor of Katsina State His Excellency Alhaji Tukur Ahmed Jikamshi personally signed by him referenced KTS/S/53/VOL.1/17 and dated 17th December 1999, he wrote: "...to commend and thank you immensely for the various efforts of your organisation in this direction...I wish to also convey and express the appreciation of His Excellency, The Executive Governor of Katsina State, for the concern you have shown on the menace of desertification affecting Katsina State."

One of such special investigations carried out in 1992 entitled: IMMINENCE OF ECOLOGICAL APOCALYSE published in The Guardian of November 1992 won me the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence as Reporter of the Year, 1993 presented to me by Professor Jerry Gana, the the Minister of Information and Culture.

BUHARI'S UNDIGNIFYING ACTS

A MUJAHID BACK IN GOVERNMENT

BUHARI may be a good Mujahid, but certainly not a good Nigerian, nor is he a patriot, nationalist, nor one of the fathers of modern Nigeria as he has already pitched camp with Arewa (where he currently has his picture on the Arewa Consultative Forum as one of its patrons, Board of Trustees) and the Muslim North which time and time a again he has unashamedly demonstrated to the world that he stands for Arewa's and Muslims' causes in Nigerian and the world.

Buhari dreams and thinks, not Nigerianism and democracy, but jihadism and theocracy - his deceptive profession of being now a democrat, not withstanding. Mujahid Buhari BOASTED in 2001 at an Islamic seminar in Kaduna, when he had the opportunity to defend Nigerianism and democracy, but failed to do so:  “I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria...God willing, we will not stop the agitation for the total implementation of the Sharia in the country”.

Just where was Buhari when Ibrahim Babangida enlisted Nigeria in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and when Sani Abacha equally registered Nigeria as a member of the Developing - 8, two exclusively Muslims associations in gross violation of the secular nature of the Nigerian State?

BUHARI'S LEGENDARY HYPOCRISY

Muhammadu Buhari tends to give the world the very wrong impression that he is not corrupt, but what really happened to the $2.8 billion oil money; what was in the 53 suit cases; how and where did he get the N27 million he had used to purchase the form for his presidential dream; why is Buhari always connected with corrupt/sharp practices and why is he always found amongst the the most crooked, most depraved of the earth and the very most corrupt and again why does he always relish in using the platforms of those who have no respect for constituted authorities to get whatever he wants since his military career culminating in becoming the Head of State in a coup he has always claimed he knew nothing about, and after 30 years he has again mingled himself with the nation's most depraved, most crooked and the most corrupt to poach power from the South using the most vicious and illegitimate means?

WHAT EDWIN CLARK SAID ABOUT BUHARI THE CHICHIDODO

"On Buhari, Chief Clark said, “As Federal commissioner (Minister) of petroleum, the sum of USD$2.8 billion dollars’ went missing under his watch. It has become clearer now that the Shagari government (1979-1983), incurred Buhari’s wrath when it decided to investigate the USUSD$2.8 billion that disappeared from the Midland Bank, London account of the Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation, (NNPC), during General Obasanjo’s era as military head of state. The late Senator Olusola Saraki headed the Senate Committee set up to trace the stolen money after some three years of clamour for such an investigation by members of the civil society. The Committee’s report was presented to the Senate during the tail end of Shagari’s regime in 1983, so the House decided to deal with the matter and expose the military head of the NNPC soon after the 1983 general elections. But Buhari and his co coup plotters overthrew that government and that ended the probe.” - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/03/clark-lampoons-buhari-lists-obasanjo-tinubu-tambuwal-amaechi-others-as-corrupt-persons/#sthash.prTNddOD.dpuf

THE PTF SAGA

Under Buhari's very watch, whilst he held sway as the Petroleum Trust Fund's Executive Chairman, how Afri-Project Consortium owned by his associates to whom he had surrendered the *overall management of the PTF, squandered the sum of the yet to be accounted for N25, 758, 532, 448 remains a mystery till date.

Thus, in Buhari, there always remains unaswered questions. By my reckoning therefore, Buhari is a man with many question marks on his head and all over his body. Consequently, if stewardship and accountability did not matter to Muhammadu Buhari hitherto, why should they matter to him in the coming days, weeks, months and years? More, if he had been such a very poor/bad manager in the past, why have Nigerians again entrusted the destiny of their country into his hands?

Again said Chief Clark that the sum of N25,758,532,448 was mismanaged by the Afri-Project Consortium (APC), a company contracted by the PTF as management and project consultants. Gen. Buhari as PTF Chairman was said to have also “delegated to them the power of engineers in all projects requiring such power” which made them assume absolute powers to initiate, approve and execute all projects by the PTF.

Equally, a Nigerian Psychologist and Journalist, Mr Law Mefor who dissected Muhammadu Buhari in his 'Forensic Laboratory' did not waste time to present his findings to Nigerians, the world and posterity when he burst the Buhari saintly myth and blasted the General into shreds: "The mantra doing the rounds now in the opposition circles is: Buhari is the change we need. One wonders how much of this Buhari the orchestrators know. Or are just blinded by the propaganda of the All Progressives Congress (the APC), a political party, which wants everybody to believe its government will come with it a magic wand to drive away all the nation’s problems in one fell-swoop? What is even more worrisome is that they believe the magician is Muhammadu Buhari. This puritan image being painted of the man is simply not true, and Nigerians need to be told the truth about the real Buhari, who he is and what he actually represents; and why his returning to power has become such an obscene obsession for him.

Perhaps how Buhari carried out his PTF assignment provides the best vista into his person and the psychoanalytic contents of his character. Three things stand out irrepressibly in the Buahri’s harrowing PTF days, namely: 1) his concentration of over 70% (in some cases, 100%) of all the PFT projects in the north regardless of the fact that the regions in the south might have greater needs for the PTF intervention; 2) the massive frauds that went unsupervised under his watch, which he publicly acknowledged but claimed ignorance and no benefit

When, in 1994, the late General Sani Abacha, invited the former Head of State to serve as head of the newly created Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund (PTF), he gave one condition for this acceptance: He must be given the title of Executive Chairman, and he must have a free hand to run the Fund as he deemed fit, without any interference from anyone, including the head of state.

The idea of the PTF was to create a Trust Fund into which all excess income from the price increase would be paid, and from which the Fund would intervene in critical areas of the economy in such a manner as to directly benefit ordinary Nigerians. It is reminiscent of the SURE-P of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Buhari’s main qualification was that he was considered to be both a strict disciplinarian and an incorruptible man. And he was for this reason expected to ensure that the fund was properly and justly utilised. But the reality, in the end, was a story of favouritism and nepotism.

According to the report of the Interim Management Committee, which was set up in that year to investigate the affairs of the Fund, the total income accruing to the Fund from mid-1994 to July 1999 was in excess of N181 billion. There were six major areas in which the PTF intervened directly during the period. They were: roads and waterways; supply of educational materials and rehabilitation of educational infrastructure; food supply; health; water supply; and what was curiously termed other projects. Shockingly, Buhari ensured that over 70% of the projects in the 6 categories were done in the north. What a fair-minded officer and gentleman. A nationalist indeed who shall bring the change we all desire!

The management structure of the Fund reflected how Buhari ran the affairs of the country as head of state, when he abdicated all responsibilities to Tunde Idiagbon. He was just satisfied with being the executive chairman, as he was with being called Head of State and C-in-C. And, without being accountable to anybody, at the PFT, Buhari exuded the impression he was an alternate head of state. The same way he kowtowed to Idiagbon was the same way he handed over PTF to a single consultant, Afri-Projects Consortium (APC), as the sole adviser to the Fund. This agency- Afri-Projects Consortium – was given the exclusive power to initiate projects, assess their probable cost, approve the costs, execute the projects, and assess the quality of execution, all alone by Buhari. Nobody questioned their actions and legality of the powers they exercised. After all, puritan Buhari was watching.

Since Buhari was not accountable to even Abacha who appointed him and the board set up to supervise the PTF was supplanted by APC at the behest of Buhari, it meant the PTF functioned like a parallel government. Figures from PTF Situation Reports (Vol. 2 Dec. 98) show that the PTF carried on as if there was no Southern Nigeria, as well over 70% of projects were shamelessly taken to the north by Buhari.

For the avoidance of doubt, let us attempt sector by sector analysis here. Of all the roads rehabilitated by the PTF, only 1984.5 kms of roads representing 24% were carried out in the entire South, from where the bulk of the PTF revenue came since the South consumes over 70% of refined petroleum products. Out of this paltry figure, South West got 10.5% while South East and South South combined, got only 13.5% of all the roads, despite being ravaged by erosion and swamps. What this means is that all the Southern States had 4,440.43 kms or 24 per cent of road rehabilitation as against 13,870.47 kms or 76 per cent in the Northern states.

The North-West states of Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara had a lion share of 5,020 kms or 27.42% because the Fund’s Chairman, puritan Buhari and the military dictator Sani Abacha were from there; The North-East states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe picked 23.48 per cent. This is the zone where Salihijo Ahmed, the late Chief Executive of Afri-Project Consortium (APC), the sole consultants that supervised all PTF projects came from.

Afenifere’s submission showed further the figures in other sectors were even more callous. For instance, under the National Health and Educational Rehabilitation Programme (NHERP), the entire South had zero allocation in the tertiary programme, while the North picked 100 per cent. In the vocational programme, the entire South had 3% while the North had 97%. In the primary area, the South recorded 12% as against 88% for the North and in the secondary area, it was 14% for the entire South and 86% for the North, again courtesy of the fair-minded General who the APC says will bring the change we need.

On the massive fraud discovered when PTF was disbanded in 1999, the prudent, puritan General’s only defence was that he was not aware that such massive frauds went on under his watch, but that in any event, he could not have benefited personally. What manner of defence? And of course he has remained poor ever after and had to take a loan from banks to purchase nomination forms. Buhari must believe Nigerians are a bunch of idiots to tell such a story, despite driving a fleet of armored jeeps."

MUHAMMADU BUHARI: A CHICHIDODO IN THE BALANCE

The problem with Buhari is that he has never been in charge in any office having not got  into any office in Nigeria on merit or competitive performance, but always through hereditary privilege, nor has he ever taken responsibility for anything or own up to anything. Buhari is just a plankton in the floatsam and jetsam of life. Other people planned, risked their lives to plan a coup and invited Buhari onto the driver's seat, so he claimed; then Buhari who did not know how to drive the national molue handed over the key of the Bedford to one Tunde Idiagbon, a fellow muslim, someone at the Nigeria Television Authority then under the Chairmanship of Alhaji Babatunde Jose, my great mentor conceived the idea of the War Against Indiscipline and opportunistic Buhari swooped at it and began hollering with it all over the rainforest and the savanna.

This 'gentle' man of the savanna, St Muhammadu Buhari wants to fight corruption, but has not told Nigerians about the contents of the 53 suit cases, and the N2.8 billion missing oil money. Just as all he has ever done in his life is to wait for the "dogs" and the "baboons" to do brain work only for him to sign and take the glory, at the Petroleum Trust Fund, all he was doing was signing and watching people partook of the Sani Abacha buffet dinner, with some one close to him helping himself, and as a former Head of State, he exhibited unparalleled favouritism, nepotism and regionalism in the distribution of contracts and funds for infrastructural development and by so doing he, a former HoS who should be a father to all placed his part of the country above the Southern half of the country - the largely Christian South as under the scheme, the North had better network of roads and other amenities than the South. Yet, it has not done on Buhari that favouritism, nepotism, regionalism, religious bigotry and ethnicity of whatever kind are products or manifestations of a very corrupt mind - and perfectly fits into the ADUMAEAN definition of corruption: ANY UNDIGNIFYING ACT/S!

At the UNIVERSAL TRIBUNAL, NIGERIAN CITIZENS ARE INVITED TO TESTIFY AGAINST GMB

Enter, 1st Citizen: Buhari refused to appear before the Justice Oputa panel

Enter, 2nd Citizen: Buhari put in place a retroactive law that killed three men, innocent men in my book, by public execution, He jailed Ndukar Irabor and Tunde Thompson of the Guardian on stories that were factually true under Decree 4. He had told the Nigerian journalists then that it did not matter whether the story reported was true or not, if his regime did not like it, the writer would go to jail.

Ikemba Emeka Ojukwu, another Igboman who returned from 13 years exile just a little over a year then was as well locked up in Kiri Kiri Prison by mean-hearted Buhari. Up till today, we are not told what was Emeka’s offence.

Busari Adelakun died of ulcer because Buhari refused him to be taken out of prison for immediate medical attention.The then Governor of Ogun State, Bisi Onabanjo suffered similar fate which we were told led to his untimely death.

Enter, 3rd Citizen: Buhari’s henchman and sponsor, CPC governorship candidate for Kano State, is Mohammed Abacha, the same person that had/ran a personal killing squad, co ordinated the killing of Kudirat Abiola & attempted to kill Ibru; and also stashed money in underground tanks, all less than 13 years ago….Nigerians have very short selective memory. Shame!

Enter, 4th Citizen: Buhari ransacked the house of the late Obafemi Awolowo and confisticated his International passport. Which civilized democratic society would elect the likes of Buhari as President, the same individual who overthrew an elected President? Never!

Enter, 5th Citizen: Buhari Scuttled Democracy in 1983 and imprisoned flag bearers Shagari & Ekwueme; Buhari, as part of his tribalistic practices placed President Shagari under house arrest inside a palatial mansion in Ikoyi while he locked up Shagari’s Vice, Alex Ekwueme in Kirikiri Prison. Shagari is Hausa/Fulani like him while Alex Ekwueme is an Igboman.

Enter, 8th Citizen: Buhari supervised the smuggling of 53 suitcases filled with cash through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport against the protests of General Tunde Idiagbon and ironically, Abubakar Atiku, the then Director General of the Customs who later became the Vice President and a compromised politician himself. This smuggling of the suit cases were supervised by his ADC, Col. Mustapha Jokolo.

Enter, 7th Citizen: Buhari jailed Fela Anikulapo -Kuti on trumped up charges under emergency law which prompted the sentencing judge to confess that he was ordered to do so and apologised to the late musician. It was Buhari’s administration that said it has “decided to deal with this Fela problem once and for all.”

Enter, 8th Citizen: Buhari does not believe in equality before the Law. Muhammadu Buhari is an oligarch who does not believe in equality before the law. The way he jailed Lateef Jakande, Jim Nwobodo, Ambrose Ali, Pa Adekunle Ajasin, Chief Ayo Ojewumi on cases that had no foundation and allowed Awwal Ibrahim, the then Niger State governor, who was arrested in Heathrow Airport in London with 14 million pounds sterling and several millions of Naira and dollars to be under house arrest is enough evidence.

Enter, 9th Citizen: He also allowed Shehu Kangiwa, Sokoto State Governor who conducted and supervised the famous Bakolori Massacre of poor peasant farmers whose land were appropriated without compesation to remain under house arrest.

1(a) Ayo Ojewumi became blind as a result of his imprisonment over false charges and died shortly after.

1 (b) Prof. Ambrose Alli also became blind as a result of this false imprisonment. When he died, he had only one undeveloped plot of land to his name.

1(c) Pa Adekule Ajasin was never the same after his eventual release and remained sickly for the rest of his life. Whe he died, he never had any property anywhere in the world except the one he had built from his sweat as long term teacher and school principal in Owo township.

***Sources: Social Media

HEREDITARY PRIVILEGE AND MUHAMMADU BUHARI'S CERTIFICATE SCANDAL

Or is Buhari out to take Nigerians for a ride as he did in khaki taking instructions from palaces - the descendants of those who helped him to join the army?

In a particular generation of the crop of young Nigerians, some people went to the Nigerian Military Training College after the completion of their training at the Nigeria Military School in Zaria, or after they had passed their Cambridge School Certicates Exams and later the General Certificate of Education, Ordinary Levels, with very few from the South going to the NMTC with Degrees, etc. But amongst those from the North making up that generation, who did not pass through the NMS, Zaria and had NO CERTIFICATES WHATSOEVER entered the then NMTC, Kaduna, later the Nigerian Defence Academy courtesy of "political arrangements" - that is getting letters from emirs...or simply marched from palaces under the now well known agenda - of perpetual domination, and foremost in the recruitment exercises at the time were Ahmadu Bello the then titular Sardauna of Sokoto - with Brigadiers Hassan Katsina who later became the Governor of Northern Region and Zakariya Abubakar Hassan Maimalari, described to me by a General as "a young, dashing and an inspiring officer" going from school to school to recruit those who would later represent ONE NORTH and became its voices at the top echelon of the military, hence some military officers of that era from the North are without certificates!

GENERAL ALANI AKIRINADE'S BLIND ES PRIT DE CORPS

Thus, I was shocked to the bone marrow when General Ipoola Alani Akirinade was blindly defending the indefensible, for the grouse of his and following generations from the South was that whilst they were busy burning the midnight oil reading to pass their various qualifying examinations to enter the Royal Nigerian Military Forces Training College or just the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna and later the so-called Nigerian Defence Academy, which I had described to a General that that military academy is in fact, to be known and called THE NORTHEN DEFENCE ACADEMY, some of their counterparts/compatriots from the North were merely being admitted by just bringing in letters from palaces!

What about in the civil service? Remember, until the early 80s, most highly placed federal officers from Northern Nigeria only had diplomas in public administration, Islamic Studies,  local government administration, animal husbandry, agro-related fields, Grade II Teachers Certificates. For example, whilst Alex Ekwueme as Vice President of Nigeria from 1979-1983 paraded an array of Degrees, probably five then in various fields, his boss Shehu Shagari the President of Nigeria could only boast of having just a Teacher Grade Two Certificate!

So when people talk about Muhammadu Buhari's Certificate Scandal, they should widen their tentacles to all the spheres of our national life and discover for themselves what I mean, that Buhari is just one in thousands, if not millions of our compatriots from the North! Let OPERATION SHOW YOUR CERTIFICATES/DEGREES be held now for Nigerians from that part of the country, in all spheres of our national life and you will discover many 'Buharis' who will simply tell you that their Degrees/Certificates had been gutted by fire, lost, corroded by acid/other chemicals, lost in road accidents, erosions, floods, stolen, etc, etc, yet they are the ministers, generals, directors, IGPs, DGs, etc! God help Nigeria.

The fellow who brought out his Degree and tore/burnt it to show Western education is sin, why do you think he did that? Because he knew by virtue of coming from that part of the country, he doesn't need the School Leavers Certificate to become the President of Nigeria, despite the basic requirement of seeking to serve in that office as entrenched in the Constitution!

A GOVERNMENT WITHOUT A BLUEPRINT?

It does appear to me that in riding back to power Buhari will continue with his infamous and inglorious methods of using people to do all the brain and leg works for him by people whilst he claims all the glory, hence his Parties terms of refernce requested the Opposition to:

"(c). Readiness of the Police and other national security and intelligence agencies in addressing threats to law and order. (THIS IS NOT NECESSARY!)

"Suggest “quick fixes” which will result in tangible, visible and practical measures so that CHANGE will be seen after 30 days; after 100 days and after six months of the administration taking office." (THIS IS SIMPLY STUPID, EMBARRASSING AND UNNECESSARY! THIS CONFIRMS THE FACT THAT BUHARI AND HIS PARTY DO NOT HAVE A BLUEPRINT WITH WHICH TO GOVERN NIGERIA, HENCE THIS REQUEST OF THEIRS TO THE OUT - GOING GOVERNMENT!)

Make any other observations which in view of the committee would be helpful to the transition and take-off of the new administration. (NOT NECESSARY!)

ETERNAL ADVICE

BUHARI, PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAP! APC, PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAP, BUHARI!

ORIGIN OF MUHAMMADU BUHARI'S ROMANCE WITH THE WESTERN MEDIA

Buhari's romance with the Western Media began soon after he seized power from the democratically elected government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1983. That friendship/romance was sealed by another great mentor of mine Dr Isma'il Babatunde Jose who had to be recalled from his holiday in London to meet with General Tunde Idiagbon who on receiving the great man did not mince words and went straight to the reason why Dodan Barracks had called him off from his holiday in London: "We need your assistance to make contact with your friends in the British Press. That trip by Dr Jose and a professional colleague of his levelled the ground for a good press for the Buhari/Idiagbon Government.

On this his needless romance with the Western media I have been warning him against such as since he was declared the winner he seems to have continued that romance in a manner that conveys the impression that he is anti-home press, or actually snubbing them as no foreign President/Head of State will ever stupidly choose to first give his first ever face to face interview to foreign press to the disregard of the home ones. Buhari must do well to court the friendship of the press in Nigeria, Africa and then the rest of the world as the saying goes: "Charity begins at home." And no high-handedness in dealing with the press in Nigeria please. A word is enough for the wise.

THE PRICE BOLA AHMED TINUBU WILL PAY FOR HIS GROSS STUPIDITY, INDISCRETION AND DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR AFTER BUHARI'S 100 DAYS IN OFFICE

By now it should be clear to all discerning minds and students of the Nigerian history that history is already repeating itself as I have been predicting and analysing for years now, courtesy of the ego-over blown, pompous, self-conceited and irrational Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT), who from my observatory has been acting without the needed wisdom, political sagacity and strategies which attest to his total political illiteracy and gross lack of understanding of the complexity of the nation's multicultural, multilingual polity.

BAT's delusions of grandeur, political naivety and buffoonery are currently being studied, diagnosed, dissected and analysed by the more strategy-inclined HOUSE OF UTHMAN DAN FODIO. And BAT's total lack of strategy, overweening lust for power, his uparalleled and ungovernable desire to put his hands in every pie is already inducing and provoking impatience from the rank and file of the Arewaites/Gamjists/Caliphateists/jihadists - and it is annoyingly such that they will sooner than the usual 100 days in office gang up with the other hyphenate geo-zone to send him packing from the supposed inner circle which BAT deludes himself to be their AREA FATHER!

It is my candid advice to this political infant called BOLA AHMED Tinubu to learn from Sakonfa and look back to 1817 to the time of Afonja/Alimi Alliance; the Tafawa Balewa/Samuel Ladoke Akintola/Arewa Alliance resulting in OPERATION WETIE; Brigadier Babafemi Ogunipe's case; the Chief Obafemi/Gowon/Military/North/Arewa Alliance; Murtala/Obasanjo/North/Gamji Alliance; Olusegun Obasanjo/Shehu Musa Yar'Adua/North Alliance; Muhammadu Buhari/Tunde Idiagbon/North/Caliphate Alliance; the Ibrahim Babangida/MKO Abiola/Baba Gana Kingibe/North Alliance; the Babangida/Ernest Shonekan/North Allinace; the Sani Abacha/Donaldson Oladipo Diya/North Alliance; the Obasanjo/North/Atiku Alliance; the Obasanjo/Umaru Yar'Adua/Arewa Alliance; the Bola Ahmed Tinubu/Muhammadu Buhari/House of Uthman Dan Fodio Alliance which currently is already on a shaky ground even before they actually come to power and in all of these Alliances from the time of Afonja till the very present, the Yorubas have always been the losers.

And virtually all of these from the killing of Field Marshall Afonja by the crafty Alimi, a mere Fulani slave have always ended in blood/actual death - the fact that Ilorin, West Central of Nigeria and a Yoruba land has since then been seized by the land-grabbing Hausa-Fulani is enough lesson for the wise.

Emperor Tinubu's dynatic experimentation which has seen him buying up the whole of Lagos State including the Yoruba-owned media of the South West Press Axis (SOWPA)has become wine in his spirit and under that Bacchic enthusiasm, I see Bola speeding into political irrelevance within the South West political and by extension Nigerian calculus for refusing to heed the voice of wisdom and genuine political strategy.

In that ungovernable unreasonabless quest of his to equally buy up Nigeria for himself, members of his family - all the Iya-Ojas-General and cronies, BAT and his enemies are about to enter their enemies territory - Ilorin as they speed in haste running after their NOAH'S ARK OF JUDGEMENT on their way to Abuja to do battle with the House of Uthman Dan Fodio, who before the 100-days in office are ready to stop them before they make Niger State and are sure to punish them for their illogical audacity by hurling them in a sack and throwing them from their Philipi and Waterloo back onto the Lagoon in Lagos.

All that drive Bola on in life is self-interest cloaked in regional and seeming cosmetic national interest, for in imposing Oluleke on his Party, and in part, Muhammadu Buhari as against looking South East, since the likes of Adams Oshiomole, Rotimi Amaechi are from the same geo-zone as Goodluck Ebele Jonathan of the Opposite Party, so would be a great political faux pas to nominate them as Vice Presidential flag bearers; and Babatunde Fashola for the simple reason he is a Muslim, so cannot make Muhammadu Buhari's running mate, but went for Oluleke Osinbajo, a mere political puppet and marionette. BAT did that because of himself - and not even for the overall interest of the Yorubas, and by extension Nigeria, but because of himself - and again I want to repeat myself here BAT needs to tell the nation what pact he had entered into with Leke Osinbajo.

From the ADUMAEAN OBSERVATORY, the obvious beneficciaries of this wrong choice are as ever the THE HOUSE OF UTHMAN DAN FODIO, for looking at Osinbajo anytime he is with Buhari, he looks more like Buhari's copy typist and a house-boy-shoe shiner than his Vice President - nobody chemistry between the two men and Leke's body language gives him away always as a man consumed by a psychological inadequacy of the worst type, a sort of grasshopper complex, which indeed, presents him as a grasshopper before a descendant of Anak - a giant of sort!

THE TINUBUAN FOLLY AND THE BOSS MENTALITY

What Tinubu's delusions of grandeur - I'M THE KING OF LAGOS; I'M THE KING OF NIGERIA; I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD AND THE BOSS OF APC MENTALITY - impetuosity, iracibility, illogicality and unreasonableness will lead to is the emergence of a new alliance/confederation amongst the other regions/geo-zones and the zones in the new alliance/confederation are: South South, South East, North Central, North West and North East which will be known variously as the NIGER DELTA-NDIGBO-MIDDLE BELT-AREWA CONFEDERATION or the NIGER DELTA-NDIGBO-NORTH ALLIANCE against the SOUTH WEST or YORUBA or ODUA HOUSE.

Whilst in ABUJATOL, a new coinage from me for your so-called NATIONAL ASSEMBLY which in all my articles, essays and other works I have been referring to as THE APEX LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, because I don't believe there ever will be such a body until the 1962 population issue is resolved and we right all the wrongs of the past that have emanated from this fraud and reverse all the associated lies arising from that statistical fraud which is THE MOTHER OF ALL FRAUD, MOTHER OF ALL CORRUPTION in Nigeria, in everything South West, the South South and South East will naturally gang up/team up to punish and frustrate them by aligning with other geo-zones.

As the obvious beneficiary will always be the North, the rest of Nigeria will never be tired of resuming the usual cry of NORTHERN DOMINATION. But in the coming dispensation, who will be the nation's NSA, Minister of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Inspector General of Police, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of Service, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Agriculture, Comptrolers of Customs and Excise, Immigration Services, Water Resources, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Heads of the Navy, Air Force, Ministry of Petroleum, other Security Agencies, High Commissioner and Ambassadors to frontline countries as the United Kingdom, the USA, Germany, Russia, Chief of Staff to the President, Police Affairs Commission, Ministry of Industry including WHAT TYPE OF NIGERIA, WHAT TYPE OF CONSTITUTION, WHAT TYPE OF ECONOMY, WHAT TYPE OF IDEOLOGY, WHO SHOULD BE THE NATION'S ALLIES, etc. etc?

RESTRUCTURING OF THE ARMED FORCES AND THE POLICE

Already and as ever, the senior military officers in the South East and South South geo-zones are in fear right now because in the event of any restructuring, for which I have been calling, they think they will be the losers. But how will Buhari restructure these institutions, which at the moment are not representative, hence lack balance? Who should get what? Are we ever going to have what to my mind should really, really be called the Nigeria Army, the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Air Force, the Nigeria Police as what we have now are merely for the House of Uthman Dan Fodio?

So What really did Adekunle Tinubu discuss with the House of Uthman Dan Fodio before entering into the current alliance with them?

SCRAP THE OFFICE OF FIRST LADY NOW, BUHARI!

PRESIDENTIAL ESCORTS

This should be reduced to just two vehicles and two expert riders!

PRESIDENTIAL JET

Just one.

OFFICIAL CARS

Peogeot 504/506 (Old Model) and Volkswagen new BEETLE MODEL for ministers!

AREWA AND BUHARI AS ITS AGENT-PRESIDENT-ELECT-PRESIDENT...NORTH v SOUTH

Mission Statement of AREWA CONSULTATIVE FORUM, WHERE BUHARI, AMONGST OTHER FORMER HEADS OF STATE, PRESIDENTS, A FORMER VICE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL OFFICERS - PAST AND PRESENT REMAINS THEIR STAUNCH PATRON

***"To protect the interest of Northern Nigeria and promote healthy co-existence that will sustain the environmental quality, livability, and economic vibrancy of the whole Northern region."

Just what did Bola Ahmed Tinubu discuss with the House of Uthman Dan Fodio before rooting for Muhammadu Buhari as the presidential flag bearer of the now ASSOCIATION OF POLITICAL CONFUSIONISTS, ASSOCCIATION OF POLITICAL CANARIES? Let Tinubu hang his head in grave shame as these were not discussed before he headed onto the POLITICAL EXPRESS WAY without looking left and right, right and left including dotting his political "I's" and "T's".

MUHAMMADU BUHARI: WHAT A LIFE!

Summary of the high points in Buhari's careers, both as a soldier and politician

Enter 1st Citizen: He's the soldiers' Soldier...a General, primus inter pares.

Enter, 2nd Citizen: A strict disciplinarian

Enter, 3rd Citizen: The Great Liberator, for he delivered Nigeria from the hand of Mohammed Maruwa during the Maitasine riots in the 80s plus his Chadian exploit!

Enter, 4th Citizen: WAI! (The 4th citizen is believed to be a native of Daura in the Daura Emirate, Katsina State. The force with which he uttered the acronym drew general laughter at the Eagles Square and he seemed to be beckoning with his two-two hands indicating WAI should be re-launched. But some people at the ES were arguing the man did not say WAI! WAI! WAI(!), but "WHY?" "WHY? ""WHY?."

Enter 5th Citizen: Arguably least corrupt of them all

Enter, 6th Citizen: Constancy to purpose!

Enter, 7th Citizen: He's a family man

Enter, 8th Citizen: He does not own obscene mansions on hills tops like OBJ and IBB.

Enter, 9th Citizen (A very husky figure with baobab-like legs who spoke in a very deep tone as if he was a masquerade speaking in a guttural voice and blurted in such deep harsh voice)...what he said plunged everybody into laughter. What's more, he was constantly pointing to the inscription on the T.Shirt he had worn to the Eagles Square): I LOVE AISHA!!!

BRIEF BIOG

UNTO THEM A SOLDIER WAS BORN

Moved by national interest so people can have a comprehensive knowledge of their new President, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, we have taken the liberty to reproduce an interview that the late Pini Jason had with him on behalf of The Chinua Achebe Foundation, especially  Interview Series #19 on December 2005 which we believe is in line with our concept of BUHARISM & THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW as the full interview below shows - Nigeria: A Meeting of the Minds (Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in Conversation with Pini Jason) by The Chinua Achebe Foundation.

Gen. Muhammadu Buhari

Presidential Candidate of the All Nigerian Peoples Party, ANPP, in the 2003 presidential election, was Nigeria’s military Head of State and Commander-In-Chief, from December 1983 to August 1985, when he was toppled by his Army Chief of Staff, Gen Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

Buhari was born on December 17, 1942, in Daura in present Katsina State, Nigeria. He had his primary school education at Daura and Mai’adua, from 1948 to 1952. He attended Katsina Middle School, from 1953 to 1956; and Katsina Provincial Secondary School from 1956 to 1962. He joined the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna in 1962. He attended Mons Officers Cadet School, Aldershot, England, from 1962 to 63; Nigerian Military Training College Kaduna, from 1963 to 1963; Army Mechanical Transport School, England, May-June 1965. He was also trained at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, January-November 1973 and Army War College, USA, 1979 to 1980.

General Muhammadu Buhari has held several staff appointments. He was mechanical transport officer, Lagos Garrison Transport Company, 1964-65; transport company commander, 2 Infantry Brigade Transport Company, January-July 1965; battalion adjutant, later battalion company commander 2 Infantry Battalion 1965-67; brigade major, 1 Infantry Division April-July 1967; brigade major and commander 4 Infantry Brigade 1968-70; commander, 31 Infantry Brigade 1970-71; assistant adjutant-general 1 Infantry Division 1971-72; colonel general staff, 3 Infantry Division, January-September 1974; and director Supply and Transport, Nigerian Army, 1974-75.

General Buhari was appointed military Governor of former North Eastern State, 1975-76; military Governor, Borno State, 1976. He later became the Federal Commissioner (Federal Minister) for Petroleum Resources, 1976-78; and Chairman, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, 1976-79. In July 1980, he returned to regular army duties as the General Officer Commanding, GOC, 4 Division, 1980-81; GOC 2 Mechanized Infantry Division Ibadan, January-October 1981; GOC 3 Armoured Division Jos, 1981-84.

Highly decorated in Nigeria and abroad, Gen Buhari is married with children. He plays tennis, squash and golf.

General Buhari was interviewed by PINI JASON.

About Pini Jason

Mr. Pini Jason is a columnist for Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper, Associate Editor of New African, London (1987-2004), author of A Familiar Road and publisher/Editor-in-Chief of The Examiner newspaper. Mr. Jason has several years of experience in major Nigerian newspapers as well as international publications.

THE INTERVIEW

  1. Your Excellency, you are arguably one of Nigeria’s most experienced elder statesmen. You have been a military Governor, a Minister, a General Officer Commanding, and a former Head of State.
  2. And recently, you contested an election for the presidency of this country. What would you put your finger on as the problem with Nigeria?
  3. I will most sincerely say education. I think education will unchain our people from all their prejudices, whether it is ethnic, religious or whatever. And here, unusually, I have to place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the elite. It is not the number of degrees each ethnic group holds that matter, although that matters; what does is continuous education in politics, the economy and security. It is amazing how groups are hijacked and held hostage by incompetent leadership in Nigerian communities, not allowing them to make dispassionate choices of representation and leadership. And really, ignorance is costing us so much in terms of development and the tension it creates. Of recent, I have been targeting the elite and its conscience. Let the elite wake up, go back to various constituencies and, directly or indirectly, continue to educate our people. Once there is an educated majority of Nigerians, I believe there is a certain level of standards they will not accept under any arrangement. But when people are allowed to wallow in ignorance, even concerning their immediate environment, they cannot be productive.
  4. You said you have been targeting the elite. What has been the kind of response you are getting from them?
  5. I don’t think anybody has disagreed with me publicly. But I think that inherent selfishness – and I am part of the elite – seems to have prevented this group from reflecting on my critiques, which I have aired several times, some of it published. We need people invested in going back to their various communities to organize and continuously educate the majority, in order to relieve them of the weight of ignorance and misunderstanding concerning their communities, and the serious consequences of a lack of national cohesion.
  6. There are people who would put the problem squarely on the laps of the leadership of this country. But why should we have such a problem of leadership with the quality of manpower we have in this country, most of who can hold their own elsewhere in the world?
  7. Yes, I think that question has been answered largely by what we have just discussed. If the elite would make the necessary sacrifice and educate the people, then credible leadership will emerge at all levels. There are some members of the elite that are really concerned about the state of the nation, but would rather not go public with their efforts. They would rather try to create education, industrial, or whichever funds, and give other people to manage it. But that is simply not enough! It is a good starting point, I will allow, but it is not good enough. This must be a grand, national effort that sits squarely on the shoulders of the elite. The elite historically make or mar a nation. In China, the success of the revolution of Mao Ze Dung lay in its military elite.
  8. This ignorance you are talking about seems to favour the political elite exploiting it. Do you think the elite will be keen to commit what might amount to class suicide by educating the ignorant masses?
  9. I tend to believe that sooner or later, the masses will bypass them, in any case.

This is because the suffering in the nation is becoming intolerable. I will give you an example from my experience, since I became involved in partisan politics. My observation is this -- from 1914, when the North and South were amalgamated, till date, Nigeria has never realized as much resources as in the past six years. But there was poverty across the country—from Badagry to Maiduguri, from Oyo to Sokoto, and from Gongola to Port Harcourt—as is the present situation! I know of the 1952-53 famine, and the extreme drought of 1973 -- like what was recently experienced in Niger Republic. But even that was confined to mostly northern Kaduna to northern Kano and upwards. Even so, across the country, there are so many resources; yet there is so much poverty!

This is happening for the first time since 1914! And I challenge people to research the number of industries that have collapsed since then; the level of unemployment and insecurity! And there is not a single town in Nigeria, including the capital, Abuja, where there is adequate potable water. With all the talk about the money we possess as a nation, and which we read about in the newspapers – what has the cost of crude petroleum and our production capacity proven?! I mean, something is very, very wrong with our leadership! Imagine the lack of capacity! Why does the leadership not recognize that it needs to deliberate and draw up a plan to resuscitate the infrastructure and improve it, support the industries to provide jobs, and organize security agencies to provide Nigerians the security to work 24 hours a day? No! I think the leadership is a total failure!

  1. One of the things that seem to create this malaise is corruption. When you came to office, almost 22 years ago, you launched a nation-wide crusade -- War Against Indiscipline. Everyone, from the local government to the national level, embraced it. Today we are back with an anti-corruption crusade. Would you not say that the intervening 22 years was a total loss to Nigeria?
  2. I think it was. My administration launched the War Against Indiscipline, because it was very much involved and concerned about our country. We recognized that the major problem in Nigeria was to do with basic indiscipline. If people would only accept whichever level they happened to be, and work hard to improve it, we will be much better off. I recall discussing this situation with my number two, the late Tunde Idiagbon, and pointing out the example of the 1973-74 Lockheed scandal, as a result of which governments fell like rotten fruits across the world, because of the corruption of the leadership in so many countries, including Japan. But in Nigeria, up until my time, nothing had been done concerning indiscipline.

In Japan, one could see that its GDP had gone up. That means that discipline can even accommodate some measure of isolated cases of corruption! But where a society is undisciplined in large measure, everything goes wrong. And this is the problem with Nigeria, at least one of its major problems! Unless we are disciplined, we can’t make any progress. And discipline means accountability; it means working hard, accepting your status in life and in society, and working very hard to improve it. Not an assumption that one can become this and that without working for it!

  1. Nigerians seem to be divided about the effectiveness of the anti-corruption crusade. Is the war making any impact on corruption?
  2. It is. It has great impact, because some of the untouchables have been touched. When you read about the former Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun, being handcuffed and publicly brought to court, it sends a very important message. But I remain skeptical for one significant reason. It is assumed that Nigeria owes the Paris Club and other international financial institutions, US$ 35 billion. But a statement made by a former Minister of Finance in Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, revealed that the original money Nigeria actually owes is US$ 17 billion. We paid back US$ 22 billion, and we still owe US$ 35 billion! What kind of arithmetic is this? The country deserves open and clear clarification of our accounts!
  3. Compound interest perhaps?! (General laughter).
  4. Well! Maybe you are a mathematician! I have never been one! But you see -- it is so irritating! These people hypocritically go around sending us relief materials where there are disasters in parts of Africa. And they don’t have the conscience to admit that they are ruining us. Now I expected Chief Obasanjo, with all the running around he is doing in the world, to have taken this up, and tried to prick the conscience of the Europeans and Americans as to how their systems are damaging us. There was a conference in Sudan in 1987, between IMF/World Bank and its stakeholders, and it was uncovered that more money was being invested the North, referred to as the developed world, than to the South, in terms of repatriation of so-called debts. So these organizations are consistently ruining us! Again, some of the policies of the World Trade Organization, WTO, are damaging to this country by not allowing our industries to survive. They are destroying our industries!

Where a country like Nigeria has the capacity to produce foreign exchange as a result of its oil wealth, or where the industry is, say, tourism like in East Africa, development is arrested by the albatross of debt. These countries keep on spending their foreign exchange on servicing debt. And when there is improper infrastructure, and a lack of relatively cheap electric power to sustain the country’s industry, basic goods like spare parts cannot be manufactured, and there is no reasonable means of communication. How then can we compete with Asia, Europe and America? And why should we be forced to participate on the same level? So what I am saying is that Obasanjo could have gone round, and pricked the conscience of these people, and he has not.

There is information from one of the United Nation’s Agencies that Nigerians have over N100 billion in various banks in the country! It has also been discovered that certain individuals have taken between US$ 107 and US$ 170 billion outside the country! Obasanjo should appeal to the countries harboring such monies, because they are aware of its existence. Every single kobo brought into their country, they know about and can account for. These countries should take their US$ 35 billion from such monies, and repatriate the rest to Nigeria. We don’t even want any pardon! Let them send the balance back here, and let the Nigerians who deposited it  come and claim their money, and explain how they got it out of this country in the first place, and why! So -- if there is any seriousness, we will expect to witness that kind of dedication and then I will be convinced that this government is fighting corruption!

  1. Another thing is the economic reform. Many people have criticized it as heavily tilting towards IMF/World Bank dictates. If you had won the election, how differently would you have reformed the economy?
  2. Firstly, I myself, to be frank, have been pained by some of the contradictions in the policies of these foreign institutions on economic reforms. The first contradiction is this: how can we sell, for example, the Nigerian Airways, with all its assets, landed property, hangers, aircraft, whether flying or not; all the infrastructure that the country built over a generation, say for US$ 10 billion, and then sell it for one billion dollars? That’s my first observation. But then, paradoxically, again, I like reform.

I see how efficient private companies are, how people work themselves to death to make a profit, and to be competitive in terms of good services, compared to the lackadaisical attitude of public company operators. But my approach ought to be really different, because it is the Nigerian elite that worked in public companies that destroyed the Nigerian Airways, the Nigerian Railways, the Nigerian National Shipping Lines -- you name it; everything that we used the ‘Seventies oil boom to build, the Nigerian elite has corruptly killed! But I think we have a solution, because the majority of Nigerians are good citizens. And they value their personal security. If we can employ good managers, and give them the power to hire and fire, I can assure you they will perform satisfactorily.

  1. The other thing that pertains to leadership is this controversy over immunity for people in certain public offices, and its effect on the anti-corruption crusade. Do you think the immunity clause militates against the anti-corruption crusade?
  2. I think it did up to the point when (Tafa) Balogun (Nigeria’s former Police Inspector General) was arrested, or up to the point certain ministers, including the late Sunday Afolabi, were arrested. They were even made a show of, when there was a Commonwealth meeting going on here, handcuffed in front of world leaders just to give an impression that corruption was being fought. But a lot more ought to have been done since then. One should not allow things to get to that pathetic level before one acts, in order to impress the world that corruption is being fought. Okay. I am all for anti-corruption. But it has to be more fundamental in the sense that in the government system, whether in the ministry or corporations, there has to be checks and balances. Those checks and balances should be properly resuscitated and given the constitutional teeth to function; not just that one person is ordered to be arrested, yet another is not, depending on political consideration or whatever. This is the suspicion of some members of the public.
  3. Your Excellency, the issue of immunity seems to be what removes ‘that will to perform’ as it concerns certain public officers. We have recent examples. If one Governor were not arrested in far away London, he would not be standing trial. One is still sitting here as a Governor by the grace of immunity. That is an embarrassment.
  4. It is, indeed, an embarrassment to the system that we are trying to copy. How did

the other one escape? Again, I saw in the paper that he escaped through fraud! He somehow bought a Ghanaian passport, flew to Ghana, and then drove to Nigeria. But the British Police learnt a lesson from that; they did not allow Alamieyeseigha the same liberty. But this immunity thing -- those who drafted the constitution, I think they had their reason for agreeing to put in an immunity clause. They thought -- knowing Nigerians to be very legalistic in a way -- that they might keep on harassing the executives, yet nothing would get done. I suspect they did it in good faith, but unfortunately, as you can be sure of Nigerians, they can turn things upside down any time. (Less than 72 hours after this interview, DSP Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa state escaped from custody in London, and returned to Nigeria in the early hours of Monday 21 November, 2005)

  1. I would like to go back to the issue of religious prejudice that you raised earlier in our discussion. It seems that since Nigeria’s independence, religious and ethnic prejudices have played sinister roles, especially, in our choice of leadership. How can we contain these two vices?
  2. Again, as I told you, education is the solution. But it has to be education plus! It means education plus experience. There are people who are leaders at various levels. If a person has served as a minister, or an army officer, or a police officer, or say an engineer in ministry of works, his job takes him all over the country, across religions and ethnic groups. And when people say they want good leadership, they can very easily conduct a survey to find out how such a man has been behaving. In his area of work, did the man allow Nigerians, irrespective of religion and ethnicity, to perform and be paid for their performance, or did he show undue favouritism for his own ethnic group or religion? Moreover, not that many people actually want to be president; so their past can easily be monitored. That is where experience comes in. But with those who have never been tested, you will just be taking a risk!
  3. I would like to take you back to a statement you made when you became Head of State in 1984. You said the military was not only protectors, but also promoters of our national interest. A few people thought that the statement meant that the era of military intervention in Nigeria’s politics had come to stay. What did you mean by that rather adamant statement?
  4. You see, we have to accept that we are a developing country. And the disappointment of Nigerians is caused by the elite! The elite again! Most of the people of my generation and before have been very well educated. The education institutions here were first class, whether it was the University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, or Ahmadu Bello University when they first started. People who earned their degrees there could fit in anywhere in Europe and America. Can you say the same thing now? But who is responsible for this relapse? Our people who were educated in Europe, and who worked there were also first class brains with integrity. Then why did they relapse? Why did they relapse and fail to transfer this professional and personal integrity to Nigeria? At what point did they start failing? At which point did degrees from Ibadan, ABU, Nsukka etc, start being questioned? We have to be very serious about that!

The military does not exist in a vacuum. Just like the civil institution, the military is subject to the changes in the larger environment. The military was, up to a certain stage, known for its efficiency. Also, the military can be seen as a different institution in the sense that the military life can often be a question of life and death. It is my contention that, historically, the military seemed to be more patriotic than most other institutions and had a more global picture of Nigeria’s various problems than any other institution and perhaps, its members better prepared to lead…

I will illustrate this. I was in Owerri while General Ike Nwachukwu was the Governor, and there, I spoke about leadership in the military as we know it; our actions on coming to leadership. My speech was titled, The Basic Military Maneuver. I gave an example of six to nine soldiers whose commander might be a sergeant, or a corporal commanding six other privates. In the event of a battle, if there is firing from the enemy while they are advancing, the automatic drill is to take cover. And taking cover means dropping instantly, and crawling behind a bush or some other obstacle that will protect the soldier from a bullet. And if the troop cannot identify the enemy, the commanding officer will shout: “number one rifle man, or number three rifle man, double ten yards and hold on!” Although the soldier knows that when he raises his head, there is a possibility that he might be killed, he responds to the order. And that is the relationship between a senior man, an officer or a commander, and an ordinary man. And there is nothing higher than life. It has no spare! And if you can commit to saving the life of your colleague, then how can you cheat him? That discipline, courage… we bring great value to Nigeria and to the polity... That is my opinion.

  1. Would you then recommend the Turkish experience where the Turkish Generals intervene whenever they feel politicians are not following the agreed principle of the state, whip the politicians into line then return to the barracks? For example, the Generals removed a Prime Minister who was interfering with the secularity of the state, conducted elections and then left. Until, that is, Gen Evrel decided to remain as President?
  2. (Laughing). You are asking too many troublesome questions! But you have to appreciate the difference in the two societies. Turkey is more or less homogeneous. They are mostly Muslims. So if somebody tries to censor some Islamic injunctions that will not be too much of a problem, because, the country being mostly Muslim, will support it. And they are all Turkish; of course, we have the elements of Kurds, who have been denied their independence, and are giving trouble. I think that is the fundamental difference between that country and Nigeria. In Nigeria there are many nationalities, and we better accept that and deal with each other on that basis. You know the settled issue is One Nigeria, and I think this is possible.
  3. Would you then agree that dialogue in this country has to be based on ethnicity as the Pro-National Conference Organization, PRONACO, is trying to promote?
  4. No! I think the manner in which PRONACO is pursuing it is wrong. It is wrong in the sense that the South West can send one Yoruba man to represent them. The South East can also send one Igbo man to represent them. You can’t say the same thing for the South-South and the North. You may find that in Adamawa state alone, there may be fifty ethnic groups! Would the South West and the South East then agree that 50 people should come from Adamawa state, alone, rather than their political zone? I think the depth of this issue needs to be given more thought.
  5. There is an agitation for “true federalism,” which calls for zonal arrangements such as the old regions. Do you believe that the solution to is to go back to where we were coming from?
  6. You see, to me, the local government and the state system ought to have rested this issue in the sense that communities, with the criteria that qualified them as a local government or a state, and with the revenue allocation formula, which can be dynamic, I think, can ensure that we accept the limits of division into pieces and so on. This is important, so that we don’t have to manage an administrative overhead instead of development! I think we can agree on a limit on that. I believe that if we have a serious, well-staffed and well-motivated Ministry of Economic Development; if we go back to making 5-year development plans, and looking seriously into our resources and infrastructure to commit such resources to development, our people can live above starvation level, and be happy as Nigerians wherever they may be! But there are those who are exploiting this division. It has become so recurrent that every household has become a local government! Where do you have the money then to develop the country and provide jobs and quality education? I think there is a limit to how much we can go on dividing the country.
  7. In 2003 you contested election to be President. What have you learnt from that experience as the merit of democracy vis-à-vis military rule in terms of delivery of services to the people?
  8. I have answered this question so many times in different ways. As I say, I was only a converted democrat after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. From that time I have believed that multi-party democratic system, irrespective of whether it is in the North or South, is the best thing in terms of development. This is because there are different opinions. There are pressure groups. Multi-party system accommodates all that.
  9. Prior to that time you were a Marxist or socialist?
  10. No! I was a military man! After emerging from detention, I was still a military man (General laughter). But I continued to put out an important caveat: elections must be free and fair! And that is why I keep coming back to the question of the elite! Let everybody, who is interested in whichever party and whichever candidate, go back to the constituency, and lobby and educate and agree on who to present. This is my philosophy, and I want to be practical about it. And my approach to this issue began in when the Soviet Union -- a whole empire, with all its technological advancements, including successful space missions, collapsed without a shot being fired! The Communist party collapsed under the idea that “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

For instance, in an electronics factory, supervised by a party thug, people with more experience will, in the end,  have to be hired to run the place! Consequently, this situation became top-heavy and collapsed. I saw that this was reason enough for us to take the cue to organize free and fair elections always! And unless there is a system of having free and fair elections, we’ll continue to go around in a circle!

  1. You have spoken about the merits of a multi-party democracy. We now have a situation on our hands where the nation is wrestling with the encroachment of a one-party state. People say that this has been possible, because the All Nigeria People’s Party, ANPP, to which you belong, has not given a credible opposition to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
  2. Yes, you are absolutely correct in your observation. But again we go back to my caveat of free and fair elections. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo killed the PDP, because (and it was on record), he believed that only the one party system can solve the Nigerian problem. And he is intent on imposing this idea on the country! But we are resisting it. The ANPP may have failed to give the expected opposition to stabilize the system, but there are still people like me in the ANPP, and we are not agreeing to what they are trying to do. What they have done in the PDP, recently, is to virtually go against even the constitution of the party. There is so much dissension in the party now that its future is in question. The party for all intents and purposes is grounded because it followed unconstitutional means in arriving at the position it is now in.
  3. At such a time, Nigerians yearned for a voice like yours to be heard. But, they never heard it!
  4. At the right time, people do hear my voice. But if they don’t hear it often enough, it is because I am trying to control the internal wrangling that my talking could result in. For example, for two years, we’ve been going to court; I have been oscillating between Kaduna and Abuja. And knowing what happened to other electoral tribunals, from the councilors to the presidency, in which I am involved, I must not open any new front. I had to concentrate to make sure that I achieved my objective. But one of the objectives was to reach up to the Supreme Court, so that it would be on record what some of us have tried to do according to the system to encourage the proper development of democracy. And I don’t believe that talking too much would give me any better result; we might not have reached the Supreme Court. And if we hadn’t reached up to the Supreme Court, then the record would have been incomplete, because the Courts would not be seen for what they are. It is on record now that they are not better than the legislature; they are not better than the executive; they are not better than the parties! So we are in a fluid state of development. This is my personal opinion.
  5. You described the Supreme Court verdict on your Presidential election petition as a political verdict. What do you mean by that?
  6. I think all the answers are in the release that I read to the press. We brought 139 witnesses from all over the country who revealed how many people were killed in a number of places, how ballot boxes were taken away and stuffed with illegal ballots, some of this by law enforcement agents supposed to provide integrity to the system. Some of these agents did it for a fee, others for fear of losing their jobs; others merely for the heck of it! In some instances, witnesses stood before the Federal judges, and exposed parts of their bodies where they were shot by either soldiers or the police, while they were only armed with their voting cards! And thugs ordered people in uniform to shoot and kill Nigerians, and they did it! In one place in Benue, 20 people were killed! In Bayelsa people were killed. Nobody knows the number of people killed in the South East and South-South. In the South-South they are still killing themselves, because some politicians gave arms and ammunition to thugs, and they refused to return them!
  7. And now, we are faced with this manipulation for a Third Term for the present leadership, and there are strong hints from the National Assembly that some of its members are keen to change the constitution to allow this. In a situation such as this, your voice ought to ring loud!
  8. It will. I will make sure it rings out loud. I have discussed the situation; unfortunately you either haven’t read about it or heard what I said. But to recap: I said that changing the constitution as prescribed in its guidelines is no simple matter. I even spoke about this before the formation of the Constitutional Reform Conference. I spoke in Port Harcourt, about this, and it was widely reported. I also spoke in Kano about it. So it is publicly known that I am personally against it. My party is against it. And we shall work against it.
  9. Now, there is a catch here. For the governors, it will be similar to the win-win situation in the PDP in 2003 where governors received an automatic second term in order to endorse the president for a second term. Now, if the Third Term becomes a reality, they too will benefit. Therefore the governors can knock their state Assemblies into line to pass the concurrent constitutional amendment required to give the President a Third Term.
  10. Yes. Your observation is absolutely correct. We are trying to fight that.
  11. Our infrastructure is all in decay again. But, you were involved in trying to fix this as the Chairman of Petroleum Trust Fund. You were able to deliver in all the mandate areas of PTF across the nation, in two years, with less than N200 billion. What was the principle behind the success recorded by PTF? I ask this, because the nation does not seem to have learnt anything by your work. Obasanjo’s enthusiasm to scrap the PTF, once he won the presidential election in 1999, appears to be a case of throwing the baby away with the birth water.
  12. I mentioned earlier about the necessity for disciplined planning. I hate to work with people who are impulsive, who just think about something, and start moving with it without thinking things through! You cannot run a country or even a good organization like that! When one thinks of a decent plan, one has to sit down and articulate it properly. If the plan involves public funds, then one must do a proper costing and proper scientific survey to see what resources are available then decide on priorities before the start of work. But Nigeria seems to be building on impulse now. This is why I said earlier on that we must return to our 5-year, 6-year, or whatever, development plan structure, examine our infrastructure, our social services, and revenue critically and have a plan in place. This is the only way we can build solid infrastructure for sustainable development.
  13. After your tenure in the PTF, some people tried to make political capital out of it, especially when you signified interest in contesting for the presidency. All manner of accusations of corruption surfaced in some newspapers. Did that disturb you?
  14. It didn’t, because if they were truly serious they should have taken action. I wrote a proper hand over, from the first cheque we received to the last cheque we received, with appropriate annexure of who won contracts in PTF, and which banks handled the money. So I think we have talked enough in Nigeria. Let those making the accusations go and find out. After all they sent people to find out what we had done, and what did they discover? It is a good thing we had two accountants who were auditors. We had financial and project auditors who appraised the money we received up to payments, and audited the jobs to see that they were accomplished according to specifications and agreement. Why did no one or the government talk after I handed over?
  15. Let us explore the continuing restiveness in the Niger Delta. Some have accused the government of not paying enough attention to the agitation in the Niger Delta and the ethnic militias popping up all over the place. What is your advice on dealing with these issues?
  16. You see, it all amounts to a lack of real supervision. With the money invested in the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, OMPADEC, and Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, the boards ought to be performing better! The Niger Delta should have actually experienced development with all the money allocated to rehabilitate the environment that is being abused by pollution, accidents of operation and so on. But when there is so much corruption, so much dishonesty -- people passing the buck on the premise that government did not give enough money, that government couldn’t make the OMPADEC and NDDC perform -- then the government is really to blame. If you recall, Bayelsa state made me the Chairman of their development Fund Raising, and this issue came up. I told them that for as long as I had been in Petroleum (as Minister) -- for three and a quarter years -- there seemed to be hardly any change in the area. I had to travel there by Helicopter then as now. One can go to check the records in the office of the auditor general or accountant general to find out if any of the governments at the center has ever failed to give the Niger Delta its allocation, from the time of General Gowon to the time of the creation of OMPADEC! What has been done about the local leadership that has been misappropriating the funds given? These are serious questions, very serious…
  17. At the national level, do you think that the principle of zoning, or the rotation of the presidency can give us the type of leadership we really need?
  18. Unfortunately, the political parties have failed to grow. I mean…they should aggregate alliances, come out with a manifesto that may be successfully sold to the majority of voters, religiously follow this manifesto, or change it with the agreement of the parties together. I mean, when the political parties, which are the platforms for representation and leadership, are not properly developed, who is to blame?
  19. Will you run again for the presidency?
  20. Yes! Yes, I said I’m in politics for good.
  21. And if you do run, what would you do differently?
  22. I have more time. The structure is on the ground. And my main programme is to look for enough committed members of the party across the country to agree to work very hard for my candidature. This is the only option open to me.
  23. The last time around many people had different fears about your possible presidency, arising from your brief tenure as a military Head of State. Is there another side of you that you think Nigerians out there need to understand better?
  24. Yes. A few important people were locked up during my administration, who thought that they were untouchable. These included smugglers, former ministers, the former President (Alhaji Shehu Shagari) and his Vice (Dr. Alex Ekwueme). Some Emirs and Chiefs had restricted movement. I think that people understand me better now, and perhaps appreciate the courage of my administration to make sure nobody was above Nigerian law. I don’t think people should accept anything in exchange of this; that there are people who cannot be touched, and I have just told you that bringing (Tafa) Balogun to court, handcuffed, I think, sent the strongest message to Nigerians. Unfortunately, the system of politics now, going off and on to court, makes nonsense of this impact. The evidence ought to be out now! People ought to see results other than what the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission claim they recovered from Balogun. But then, what about people like Sunday Afolabi (former Internal Affairs Minister) who must have died from a heart attack? I hear he was so close to the president; he may have been responsible for his election and other things. A few things went wrong, and the president clamped him with handcuffs in front of world leaders. That is enough to kill a respectable person; perhaps, that is what happened! (Tafa Balogun has since been jailed for six months)
  25. Let me ask you this question on behalf of my constituency. (General Laughter) That is Decree Four!
  26. Yes! (prolonged laughter).
  27. If you had to rule by decree again, would you enact Decree Four?
  28. Will I lock you up again? (laughter). A lot of your questions, you know, have been answered there. When you listen to this interview again, you will find out that I am not unmindful of under which system I was a leader, and under which system I want to be a leader now. I hope this is clear?
  29. Okay! You were accused by those who removed you from office, of a lack of consultation. And my understanding of a military regime is that it is a hierarchical organization as in the military, itself. Is that accusation right; that it was not a democratic regime?
  30. Yes, but those who accused me, have they mentioned, have they told the nation, the examples of my lack of consultation; things that I had done without the Supreme Military Council, the Council of Ministers, the Council of States, the National Security Council, and any other institutional part of the constitution that we did not suspend? Have they told the nation of any fundamental thing I did on my own as Buhari? And this is the reason I refused to stand before the Oputa panel. I said the Oputa Panel can accuse me of personal things, but not my work in government.

Q Your Excellency, on behalf of the Chinua Achebe Foundation, I would like to thank you for sitting down for this conversation. Let me ask one last question: What is your vision for Nigeria?

  1. Nigeria has great potential. This is the only country we have, so we should all work to salvage it! We have been blessed with great human and natural resources. We need to develop a nation where all Nigerians can be participants in our development, usher in an era when honesty, hard work, discipline, are once again virtues… where the talented are not scorned but can use their talent for development, where all Nigerians feel accepted and invested.

The Nigerian elite [for the most part] is competent enough intellectually, experienced and patriotic. They need to harness their skills appropriately and effectively to help lift the country out of poverty!

Development will require that we make the sacrifice, get together and bring this country out of the mess it is in. We need to curb corruption, make the leaders accountable to the people, and develop a culture of leadership by service [to the people]… That is my vision…Perhaps, we are waiting for someone to come from outer space to work marvels for us. And that will never happen!

HURRAY! A NEW ERA IS BORN, HURRAY! THE OLD ERA IS BURIED, HURRAY! AND A NEW AGE HAS JUST BEGUN, HURRAY!

GOD BLESS NIGERIA AND ALL OF ITS PEOPLE AS A NEW ERA HAS JUST BEEN INAUGURATED and I can again and again hear a voice reveberating across the vista of time: BENEATH OUR NIGHT A SUN AWAITS US...GOOD MORNING, NIGERIA AND A VERY WARM WELCOME TO YOU, NEW REPUBLIC! WELCOME THEN, FELLOWS TO MUHAMMADU BUHARI'S NIGERIA. HO, WELCOME TO BUHARI'S WORLD AND AGE!

*From my Mind Leprosy: An Anatomization of Corruption & Prescriptions. This blueprint will soon be published on Vigilance and made available to the incoming Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Perhaps, a document such as this which has dissected corruption in Nigeria from 4500 BC till the present may be able to stop Muhammadu Buhari's fears and nervousness in the face of the daunting realities of the socio-politico-economic, cultural, moral and religious malaise in Nigeria which makes him go begging for ideas around the world and end up disgracing himself and his race.

**JOHN ODEY ADUMA, British Chevening Scholar and Publisher was formerly Chairman, Editorial Board of the Daily Times of Nigeria Plc, Executive Secretary, Foundry Association of Nigeria, (FAN), Coordinator and Public Affairs Manager, THE PASTORAL RESOLVE (PARE- President Muhammadu Buhari's NGO) and Chairman, Murtala Muhammed Memorial Lecture Planning Committee and Member, The National Technology Summit.

 

 

 

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