Nigerians are beginning to realize the "Change" promised by the All Progressives Congress may NOT be far from a "pocket change" meaning the old game of personal interests. This accounts for why national party leader Bola Ahmed Tinubu after gaining full political control over Lagos state for the past 16 years is ready to replicate the same feat at the national level. The kind of ''Change" which entails Senate President Bukola Saraki liaising for the support of the opposition party, People's Democratic Party to win the senate presidency race. And also, the kind of ''pocket change'' that entails chartering a private aircraft for a whooping sum of N66 million or even N3.9 million by the House of Representatives Speaker, Honourable Yakubu Dogara just for a trip to Delta state in a country where about 110 million people are living below a dollar in a day.
Now, to the subject matter of this article, President
Muhammadu Buhari vehemently criticised the past administration led by ex
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan during the presidential election campaign for
failing in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. Nigerians were
cajoled by his former status as a military General which created the mental
image of a King leading his village to victory in a war as we had in the olden
days.
The best proactive steps ex President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
took was the usual condemnation of Boko Haram attacks via press statements and
in over 30 days, President Muhammadu Buhari isn't far from that line. The
President at the age of 72 right now must be realizing we only stop learning
when we die; it’s easier to be a spectator or commentator than being the game
player. Now that Nigerians have mandated him to operationalize his visions on
curbing the Boko Haram sect, he has realized the heat the Cook endures at the
kitchen while the master impatiently awaits his meals in the comfort of the
living room.
Below are the 8 top worst decisions of President Muhammadu
Buhari on the state of insecurity in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria:
(1) Nationwide dismantling of all military checkpoints:
On the 22th of June, 2015, Buhari ordered all military
checkpoints in Nigeria to be dismantled. We all thought it was a viable
strategy with a backup plan as the check points reduced the proliferation of
light and heavy arms. This increased the attacks instantly that the Governor of
Plateau, Simon Lalong had to defile the order of the President as he installed
all the military checkpoints after the twin bomb blasts that hit the city of
Jos on the 6th of July, 2015.
(2) Starting a probe
of the Nigerian military on extra-judicial killings on the request of Amnesty
International:
The decision by Buhari to launch a probe into the case of
extra-judicial killings perpetrated by the Nigerian army as tabled by the
Amnesty International was a wrong call. Soldiers were dying at the war front to
save lives, families were losing their breadwinners and the greatest incentive
a president could use to boost their morale was awaiting trial. Buhari is too
experienced to be cowed by the antics of the international community. Wasn't
this the same Buhari that stood his ground against the International Monetary
Fund, IMF when they wanted to coerce him into obnoxious loan terms during his
tenure as the Head of State from 1983 to 1985?
(3) Relocating the Nigerian Military Headquarters to Maiduguri:
The question I wish to ask anybody frowning at this view is
that what has been the impact of the relocation of the military headquarters to
Maiduguri which is the stronghold of the Boko Haram sect? The attacks have
increased with the sect sticking to their old ways of massive suicide attacks
since the relocation. This may be coming too early but Boko Haram's dynamism in
strategies keeps beating the intelligence of our highly trained and overpaid
security operatives. This is an anomaly.
(4) Retaining the Service Chiefs that failed ex President
Goodluck Jonathan for over 30 days:
Going by the pattern of the ''blame game'', as Buhari faulted
ex president Goodluck Jonathan over his poor handling of the Boko Haram sect,
it is safe for Jonathan to blame the service chiefs namely Chief of Defence Staff,
Air Marshall Alex Badeh; the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Kenneth
Minimah; the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin and the Chief of
Air Staff, Air Vice Marshall Adesola Amosu which he appointed, as they were
directly in charge of the operations against the sect. Buhari did the
unthinkable by retaining the same set of failing service chiefs in his
administration for over a month and was mapping security strategies with the
same set of people. The same sets of methods are bound to yield the same
results. This questions the president's military credentials.
(5) Romance with the United State of America that is bent on
compelling him to legalize same-sex marriage.
As a political scientist, I belong to the realist school of
thought that believes the international system is a game of interests. It is
not a community built around love and freebies. Buhari's intimate romance with
the United States of America on security issues will lure him into taking
decisions that conform to the interests of America and this mayn't cope with
local realities. The United States Assistant Secretary of state for African
affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield's recent statement of the U.S 'compelling'
Nigeria to accept same-sex marriage is another case at hand. Who knows what
America will ask for in return? Our sovereignty is on the line. Remember
America spied of several French Presidents, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy
and Hollande, even listening to their phone calls despite the
fact that U.S and France are allies.
(6) Exclusion of Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo on issues
of national security:
On two occasions, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was locked out
of meeting with security chiefs on the order of President Muhammadu Buhari as
reported by the media. This gives us a feel of the dictatorial past. Osinbajo
is a great intellectual asset in Nigeria that Buhari is yet to exploit.
Osinbajo's economic views are stellar and I believe he can cover up for the
excesses of Buhari on security issues.
(7) Negotiation/Amnesty for the Boko Haram sect:
An ardent follower of President Muhammadu Buhari will tell
you he has virtually gone back on all his campaign promises which the
leadership of the All Progressives Congress have termed as propaganda. APC
national party leader and former governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu during the presidential election campaign suggested an amnesty programme
for the faceless Boko Haram members which Buhari fiercely opposed to. I was
impressed by Buhari's stand despite dead allegations that he is linked to the
sect. Of recent, I was shocked to the marrow of my bones when Buhari told the
press that he is open to a negotiation with the Boko Haram insurgents. We
should recall the insincerity of the Boko Haram sect in negotiations which
mocked the past administration of Goodluck Jonathan. Even if we want to
negotiate, what will be Boko Haram's terms? Do they have a cause? Releasing
their top leaders which they suggested in the past is like sharing your
weaknesses with an opponent.
(8) Relocation of Boko Haram prisoners to the Ekwulobia
prison in Anambra:
I am not against the Federal Government's directive or
relocation of the 47 Boko Haram prisoners to any part of the country but why
would Buhari sanction the relocation of high-level prisoners of the Boko Haram
class to the Ekwulobia prison in Anambra state that is not even a 'maximum
prison'? This poses a huge security risk due to the sect's records of
successful jailbreaks in the past. The response of the Igbos was predictable to
avoid undue attention of insurgents who have the financial power and military
capability to orchestrate a collateral attack on any security facility.
In conclusion, my highlighted list is borne out of a desire
for change in the poor security approach to Boko Haram in Nigeria and not
hatred for President Muhammadu Buhari whose campaign train I joined from the
first day he signified interest in the presidential seat.
I am only doing my job as the Village Town Crier.
0 Comments