By Seun Fakuade
The unprecedented rise of Muhammadu
Buhari, whose incorruptibility and integrity remains unquestionable, is
not only an indictment of the failure of leadership under Goodluck
Jonathan but a validation of the visionless leadership that has remained
elusive of the present administration. Indeed, the rise of the son of
Daura is a reminder of the combined hopelessness that has engulfed
Nigeria for the past five years. Reasonably, and for any avoidance of
doubt, President Jonathan’s campaign should have been based on his
numbers (his sterling performance) rather than the propaganda employed
against Buhari’s past.
Muhammadu Buhari is flawed. Politics,
for learners, is not a field of sainthood, and the repeated human right
abuses under his otherwise forgettable past are constant reminders of
our failed humanity. Countless times he has been asked to decry many of
the decisions he took while a Military Head of State; all of the times
he has showed he stood by most of those decisions. I do not totally
absolve him of all his past decisions; however, given the state of the
nation years ago, given the crime and untold corruption in 1983; any
patriotic leader (with absolute powers) would go to lengths, even if it
entailed death sentences; to rid the society off criminals.
Nigeria needs leaders who represent the
interest of the people and not that of a select cult. Indeed the
President Nigeria needs today is one who can make crucial decisions in
important times of our nation and stand by it. Goodluck Jonathan is not
only bereft of this, he unashamedly boasts about it. Countless
irreverent statements from him lend credence to my views.
Recently, Jonathan declared that he
underestimated the dastardly wicked group Boko Haram. The terror group,
whose main mission is to eradicate western education, had led carnage
against the Nigerian people, killing over 17,000 within a spate of 4
years (source). All happened under Goodluck Jonathan, a president who
had the highest expenditure of security to the tune of over 4trillion in
5 years. What has Nigeria got to show for this? Our valiant army have
been repressed and demoralized under Goodluck Jonathan, and only
recently, (under a combined collaborative country effort SOURCE) have
they truly started repelling Boko Haram and reclaiming many Nigerian
territories captured by Boko Haram.
Every form of public outcry against
insensitivity of leadership has led to suppression of democratic
freedom, castigation and public defamation by the attack dogs of
Goodluck Jonathan. It took a little over 3 weeks before the President
publicly accepted that the militant Boko Haram Group kidnapped Chibok
girls. Till date, 219 of them remain captive. As part of the
#BringBackOurGirls movement, I have witnessed untold embarrassment from
the Nigerian Police; the same sworn to protect the people. Precisely on
May 28, 2014, I was part of a group of patriots who were beaten by
hirelings under the watchful eyes of the Nigerian Police. On other
occasions, our place of assembly, the Abuja Unity Fountain, was cordoned
off despite previous notification given for assembly.
Any utilization of public funds without
accountability is a form of corruption. Transparency and accountability,
a crucial hallmark of governance, regressed under Jonathan. He rebuffed
attempts to declare his assets; he defended ceaselessly the corrupt
allegations peddled against the sitting minister of Petroleum, Mrs.
Maduekwe. She presided over the fuel subsidy scam (about N3trillion),
and NNPC remains a milking cow under her watch. Despite this and other
corrupt issues, efforts by the public to prevail on the President to
relieve her of office have failed. More worse is the fact that the
President (with his late predecessor) inherited a healthy purse, now
squandered, from former President Obasanjo. Till date, the nation
remains in dark regarding how those funds were spent.
About 400,000 barrels of crude is stolen
everyday in Nigeria, the sale of which would not only arrest many of
the dire conditions of living in Nigeria, but restore broken
infrastructure where they exist and build needed ones. Today, Nigeria’s
medical and educational tourism is not only ridiculous but also shameful
for a nation with such unbelievable resources and potential.
Nigeria today unfortunately has the
highest total number of out-of-school children in the world; 10.5
million to be precise. Rather than embark on wholesome policy reform and
revamp the educational sector through good governance practices, Mr.
President appointed politicians who served his political interests. Like
some of his predecessors, the academic community suffered industrial
strikes that resulted in lull of academic activities for months. I have
visited two of the newly formed universities; they, at best, are
glorified secondary schools.
Our health sector plummeted. Late
President Yar’adua promised 6 geo-political world-class health
institutions to cater for the increasing needs of Nigerians. Today, they
remained, as usual, failed promises. The maternal and child mortality
rates in Nigeria are record high globally. Efforts by the world to bring
Nigeria’s leadership to this dire condition has been met with stiff and
outright condemnation rather than critical thoughtfulness and
reflection on health policies and their genuine implementations.
I do not support Buhari because he is
Muslim nor do I reject Jonathan because he is Christian. My choice is
based on their proven competence and character of leadership. The tragic
story of Nigeria is that the people have long been suppressed and lied
to under the guile of religion and ethnicity. Given how vehement we line
behind religion and ethnicity, it is ironic there are no Christian
roads, or Muslim hospitals; neither are there Christian deaths or Muslim
carnages. Deaths caused by terror and lack of infrastructure (health,
good roads, first aid, amongst others) is consequences of bad leaders;
whether Christian or Muslim.
The gradual acceptance of Muhammadu
Buhari shows considerable progress within our political terrain; that
our political discourse is centering on issues and a reminder to the
bandwagon of religious and ethnic bigot who have condemned Nigerians to
woeful leadership in the past should take heed. Steadily, the days of
puerile sentimentalism are ebbing.
Goodluck Jonathan’s five years is
summarily the story of bad leadership: failed promises, indecision and
purposelessness. For someone who lacks empathy and who has failed to
exhibit strong character in the face of adversity; he has shown that he
cannot be trusted with the emergence of Nigeria as a nation worth
boasting of. True, Muhammadu Buhari might not be the best candidate to
restore the pride and glory of Nigeria to its true height; but he,
today, represents the better candidate and the most important force to
begin the reconstruction of the broken foundation and the redirection of
our nation to the path of true greatness and awaken this sleeping giant
from its deep slumber.
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