Polity: The Buhari conundrum  (1)

Polity: The Buhari conundrum  (1)

By Tunde Abatan
E mail…tunde2013abatan@gmail.com

In the prelude to the 2015 general elections, the formation of the All Progressives Congress, APC, by the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, led by Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a two- term governor of Lagos State was floated and touted as a party to rescue Nigeria from bad governance of previous administration and ensure its stability.

Indeed, Tinubu and those who cobbled the strange bed fellows from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who had troubles with their party was seen as a bold attempt to reposition the ACN and use it as a platform to bring other ‘progressives ‘ together in a bigger party in order to oust the PDP from power after sixteen years.
While they succeeded in the initial goal to capture power at the centre, a feat unprecedented in Nigerias’s political history, it is doubtful whether as things stands today, they have succeeded in getting their ultimate goal of moving the country ahead and uniting it to play it’s supposed leading role in Africa.
Contrary to this, the strange club of men from the PDP- newPDP and the ultra reactionary Congress for Progressive Change,CPC,a party dominated by President Muhammadu Buharis followers, have only succeeded in going a notch further in reawakening Northern irredentism which the then Northern Peoples Congress,NPC, founded by late Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of Northern Nigeria,Sir Ahmadu Bello could not achieve before the military struck in 1966. Today, hardly could anybody deny the fact that Nigeria is apparently more divided.
An indication that, Buharis government may not represent what Tinubu and other political tendencies in the coalition envisaged,was the delay in constituting his cabinet six months into office.
As things stands today, it is apparent that Buhari’s waiting game then, was to identify core CPC loyalists who could be trusted to pursue his ‘secret agenda’ of Northernising key sectors of the nations life and especially the economic and security apparatus.
It is imperative to note that this delay is also remotely connected to economic performance today since capital flight which ensued in the six months waiting game affected the economy.
Yet,with the cabinet in place, the appointment of service chiefs,heads of crucial parastatals like Immigration,Customs,Ports Authority, Police,State security services,SSS,Defence Intelligence etc have in the past six years, all skewed towards achieving an unknown agenda which has now unfolded with the grim security situations in the country and restiveness among it’s citizens fir separation which Buhari obviously care less about.
This is, inspite of the implications for the country in terms of cohesiveness and stability.
But then,had the promoters of Buharis from the South West been foresighted enough , perhaps they would’ve seen through the veil that,they surreptitiously walked into a grand deceit orchestrated by the leader they trust will bring a Change in Nigeria where equity,justice and unity will reign.
The absence of a clear memorandum of understanding between the mainstream of South West and it’s new partners from the reactionary North laid the foundation for the formers helplessness.
Had the above being the case,they would’ve had a rethink of throwing themselves to give a second term ticket to a man who though to some egg heads within the circle, may be seen as unintelligent,slow and weak.
Unknown to them,President Buhari has turned out to be the most tactical, very calculative,strategic and resolute among his peers and contemporaries, in his resolve to build a civilian dictatorship never so strong in Nigerias history.
In achieving this,he has a ready instrument in the obnoxious 1999 constitution which has made the holder of such office,the most relatively powerful president in the world.
In the aspect of fulfilling his campaign promises of Restructuring,Security,Economy and infrastructure,the performance of the regime has nose- dived in the first three areas as the Policy thrusts and pronouncements has been a reversal of such.
Although,a former president,Olusegun Obasanjo,himself a retired general, did say that Buhari would perform better in securing the country as a former general while he rated him less capable on economy, yet he has had to eat his words three years into the government having accused Buhari of not doing enough to combat insecurity which has ravaged the North east part of the country and has now spread to other parts of the North and Southern Nigeria.
In his famed open letter to the President,he accused him of a secret agenda aimed at Fulanisation and Islamisation of the country through what he described as his lopsided appointments into key military institutions and obvious clannisness. Though,this has attracted no less rebuke from predictable quarters, yet Buhari has pressed further replacing one Fulani man with the other in major parastatals, creating more military institutitions in the North to the consternation of all,extending tenures of service chiefs even when it is obvious they have outlived their usefulness.
When it suited his fancy,he replaced them yet with other Northerners and gave them ambassadorial postings.
But,by far the most disturbing yet far reaching policy thrust is the attitude to growing insecurity occasioned by Fulani herdsmen menace.
That this sore point which started in 2018 with Fulani men trapping on indigenous peoples land from Benue to Plateau,Kaduna-which has recorded more intercine conflicts, and now the South,posed the biggest challenge to Nigerias cohesion and stability.
Today,it is an understatement to say that Nigerias unity has never been so fragile since before and after the civil war years.
Yet, of serious concern is the attitude of the President whose inertia is as confounding as it is unbelievable,at least to his party members especially those from the South West without whose support he wouldn’t have made it in 2015.
What is more,the uncaring attitude to the South East besides the tokenism of few appointments of their indigenes to some positions left much to be desired as a democrat who is intent on uniting the country with it’s diversities.
To him, South East is akin to, “A dot in a circle”
As for the South West part of the country,the issue of Restructuring which the insecurity of live of it’s people has thrown up more than ever,has assumed a new dimension such that the unseriousness of the Buhari government to it have escalated the agitation to secession plot which was never even contemplated during the civil war years.
That resurgence of self determination and it’s latest variant of separatism in all nooks and crannies of SW,SE and middle belt is a direct consequence of failure to Restructure.
Since Restructuring was at the front burner of campaign in 2015,failure of the economic policies,inflation which has gone to the roof top,mass unemployment and mass poverty occasioned by farmers plight has exacerbated the separatist call from restiveness in various parts of the country, has assumed a life of it’s own.
Today,only a fundamental change in policies routed in stoppage of potent occupation by Fulani herdsmen who are emboldened by Buharis attitude could safe the nation from tipping over.
More than all, President Buharis emphatic no to restructuring – a policy in which his party set up a committee headed by Governor El Rufai of Kaduna state to prepare a position paper to be sent to the national assembly,has given more than enough bite to separatist agitations.
It is doubtful whether his threats matter to those who are bent on taking their indigenous people out of Nigeria.
Since,campaign promises is a social contract with the people, Buharis audacious declaration that he will not Restructure Nigeria is a direct afront to those who elected him and an assault on party leaders,especially from the South West, who persuaded their highly politically sophisticated people to give Buhari a chance in 2015.
If today, their aggrarian population cannot farm because of Fulani herders menace and with their state governors equally helpless,what options are left.
With the series of banditry,kidnapping which has lay prostrate most of the northern states like Kaduna,Zamfara,Kebbi,Yobe,Plateau how do they engage in farming and earn a living.?
What is more,if in the SW,farmers are also sent away from their farms,wives of citizens raped with gusto and inter state travels becomes a serious hinderance to a highly urbanised people,then what message of hope do you give them especially when their assailants appears above the law?
In the South East parts of the country,destruction of strategic state institutions like the police formations,offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC is a clear indication of increasing powers of state actors,who are embittered with their lot in a country they fought to keep together…..to be concluded next week