I was very young when General Muhammadu Buhari and His
deputy, the late Major-General Tunde Idiagbon were in government in the early
80’s but I could remember the good things people said about them in the 90’s
when I had gained consciousness of happenings in my environment. I heard how
Nigerians adhered to rules and were orderly. Infact, one elder told me how they
had to queue for Molues,a mass transit bus, in the bus stops and that there was
reduction in crime because of stiff punishment which was meted out to offenders
and law breakers.
I also witnessed the giant strides which the General
achieved as the Chairman of the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) under the regime
of General Sani Abacha. Roads like
Enugu-Onitsha were constructed and some roads were rehabilitated. In one of the
presentations of its annual report, the Executive Secretary of the Board of the
PTF, Chief Tayo Akpata, maintained that the roads constructed by the PTF not
only cost less than World Bank funded roads but were also better qualitatively.
He challenged anyone to prove the contrary. Until the PTF was scrapped, nobody
did. Also, drugs and other medical equipment were provided for hospitals all
over the country. The strategy of the PTF in procuring these drugs is worth
reviewing. Over 60% of the drugs supplied to the PTF were locally produced. In
fact, the PTF only imported drugs that could not be produced by the local
pharmaceutical firms. The pressure on the existing pharmaceutical companies was
so much that almost all these firms had to increase their capacity by expanding
and employing more hands. Neimeth Pharmaceuticals, Emzor Pharmaceuticals among
others can be contacted to affirm or disprove this. This policy was
deliberately made to ensure that more jobs were created within the economy.
Nigerians felt the positive impacts of the PTF under General Buhari and he left
the PTF without any corruption allegation and up till today, there is no stain
on the respected man of the masses.
I was surprised when I heard
about how the general had to squat in his party men’s houses during his
campaigns for the 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections despite the fact
that he was a former Head and Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources and
this happened because he did not have money to build houses all over the
country like the present day politicians who had to travel to Abuja in Young
Shall Grow or Chisco luxurious buses to resume for legislative duties after
winning election into the Senate or House of Representatives but came back to their
constituencies with “big” cars and by completion of their four-year tenure,
they had gotten properties in choice areas all over the country.
The General stood out among
former Head of states who had ruled this country because of his honesty and
exemplary leadership qualities which he exhibited while holding public offices.
Several negative things have been
said about this man and such things were unfounded. Some people said he is a
religious bigot because he supported the introduction of Sharia law in some
Northern states in year 2000 but every human being has a religious belief and
Sharia is the way of life of Muslims and the General is a devout Muslim. Some
even said he incited his supporters to cause violence when he called on
Nigerians to defend their votes during the 2011 general elections.
Nigeria is presently going through the hardest of times
after the civil war and we need a leader that would change the status quo.
Corruption is the order of the day as the present Federal
Government led by Dr Goodluck Jonathan is the “Supporter in Chief” of the
entrenchment of corruption in Nigeria. A case in point is the Presidential
pardon granted the convicted former governor of Bayelsa state who also doubles
as the political benefactor of President Jonathan.
Lives are being lost daily all over the country due to the
activities of the dreaded terrorist groups; Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati
wal-Jihad aka Boko-Haram and Jama’atu Ansaru Muslimina fi Biladis Sudan aka
JAMBS. The present government seems to have no clue on how to tackle the menace
engendered by these terrorist groups; people are dying on a “per seconds
billing”.
Our roads are in very bad shapes as funds that are meant for
construction of roads are being siphoned by government officials and the government is acting as if nothing is
happening. Many roads in all the Geo-Political zones are death traps which
are riddled with potholes and innocent lives of Nigerians who voted for the
government are being lost.
Unemployment is the order of the day and the response of the
government is the introduction of SURE-P which is a white elephant project. The
FG’s SURE-P employment programme which was designed to employ fifty-thousand
(50000) youths is only visible on paper as many youths are yet to benefit from the
programme and this is coupled with the fact that only eighteen thousand naira
(N18,000.00) is what the beneficiaries are going to get as allowance. One
wonders how that will take care of the transport expenses of the beneficiaries
alone in the present day Nigeria where
cost of Living is very high. I know some people will say that the initiative is
good because it is better than the youths remaining idle as “half bread is
better that none” but the reality on ground says otherwise. There are also
reports that some of the beneficiaries have not gotten a dime since last year.
The YouWin initiative is another one
which has little or no impact on the Nigerian Youths.
Nigeria needs General Buhari now than ever because he is one
of the few men who can steer us to greatness in present day Nigeria. His
achievements and accomplishments speak for him. He is a detribalized Nigerian
who is at home with anybody irrespective of their ethnic and religious
background. His personal driver of more than 10 years is a Christian likewise
his cook and so are many others on his domestic staff.
Below are what eminent Nigerians had to say about General
Buhari:
“Buhari has three qualities namely INTEGRITY, which even his
worst enemies can't fault; he is CONSISTENT, he does not say one thing in the
morning and another at night, and he is COMMITTED to implementing the
restructuring of the country. Anyone with these qualities deserves the support
of Nigerians”.
-Chief Olu Falae-This Day Newspaper, 23rd March 2007.
“Buhari stands out to be the most DEDICATED and PATRIOTIC
leader. We want the President who would confront both the foreign and local
enemies of democracy”.
- Femi Falana (Lawyer/Human Rights Activist) -Tribune
Newspapers 24th March 2007.
Buhari was borrowing money from me when he was a sitting
head of state.
This continued even
while he was at the PTF.Tired of loaning money to him, i snapped at him
‘Please, you are sitting on billions, why can’t you steal some money instead of
begging me, a contractor that earns his money through hard labour, to loan you
money all the time?’
-M.T. Waziri narrated how Buhari was borrowing money from
him even when he (Buhari) was a sitting head of state.
“General Muhammadu Buhari as a member of the Supreme
Military Council and as Head of NNPC was by nature taciturn and introvert. But
he took any work that was given to him very seriously. He is reliable as he is
hardworking and honest, his path of moral probity and rectitude” Incorruptible
– Olusegun Obasanjo ("Not My Will", University Press Ltd., Ibadan, 1990, Pg 59
I will implore well meaning Nigerians to shine their eyes
and elect General Muhammed Buhari in 2015 because He is the saviour we need in
Nigeria.
Adedoja Idris Adeshina is an Educationist and Public Affairs
Analyst and He lives in Lagos.
Follow me @shineskybaba on twitter or mail me at
adedojaidris@gmail.com
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