Let’s be candid, Buhari currently knows only one subject: fighting Boko Haram. That’s all he appears to still be in good command of, and that, we admit with reservations. With due respect, if today Secretary to the Government SGF Babachir Lawal was to tell the president, “Sir, good news, out of six we only lost half-a-dozen,” I do not think president Buhari would have the patience to realize he just got played. We must be real with ourselves here, it is our lives at stake. Indeed Buhari has admitted to his weaknesses himself so why should we still be in denial. “I have age and military background behind me,” Buhari said, “Osinbajo has youth and intellectual capacity.” Age is not necessarily a merit especially when it comes to governing a NIGERIA. And the medically certified global functioning depreciations of age are rapidly complicated and aggravated by the stress and toil of chronic ailment. Old school military skills is what we have left and this important problem is telling on the nation. Astute critic, or better put, adviser Junaid Mohammed earlier this month said “the Buhari presidency is dead.” Let’s just be kind and say it is weak.
Everything done scatta!
Nigeria is in free fall. Every one is his own master, chaos has serious audacity and corruption has taken new dimensions.
Amnesty international is under attack in Nigeria; the same Amnesty that helped get this new government into office.
The senate summons everyone and no one respects the senate. Hameed Ali, Sagay, Lawal, the list goes on.
Clothes are of major concern and the senate-customs clothes war is not of Buhari’s concern.
Buhari always says everything is not his concern, no matter how major and how embarrassing.
The senate ethics committee is hasty to acquit on word of mouth without even seeing a list of credits passed or any certified diploma, while hasty to suspend those who dare its leadership.
In like fashion the senate is eager to acquit its leadership of purchasing illegally imported vehicles and further having intimidated customs to release the same by means of official letters; but doubles down on those who expose it of budget padding.
In all these there is nobody to check or even condemn the senate of illegality, breach of trust and overreach.
SSS is fighting EFCC’s Magu, or do we say, former.
Governors and the senate stand accused of diverting billions of Paris club refund funds through shady consultants and Finance boss Adeosun is not telling Nigerians the details of the refunds.
Some say the government of the day is the “why we cannot tell you yet,” administration.
Pending Unresolved List (See: Critical pending issues in Nigeria I)
1. Missing billions: Over $100 billion was looted and otherwise got missing during the PDP years. Of this amount, less than half a billion dollars has been recovered under the Buhari administration. Nigerians must still wail: Where Is Our Money! Indicted looters like former Vice President Atiku and former President Obasanjo must be brought to book for scandals including the Halliburton one and the power funds diversion which are left unaddressed by the Buhari administration. Indeed even the former president Ibrahim Babangida must be reprimanded and Nigeria’s moneys retrieved from him. There is no statute of limitations for looted funds that led to suffering and deaths of millions of Nigerians. As SAN Falana says, Nigeria must introduce necessary mechanisms including new courts and international bargaining methods to recover the masses’ looted billions of dollars at home and abroad exigently.
2. Halliburton: nothing has been done since Buhari announced reopening the case ahead of his trip to the USA. Obasanjo, Atiku, Garuba, Abdulsalami still at large and meddling confidently in Nigeria’s affairs.
3. From Critical pending issues in Nigeria I, the cases of Farouk Lawan and Boniface are still unresolved. Since he was caught on camera, thousands of petty thieves have been locked up without trial. Justice must be served with equity; the same way for the rich as for the poor. What is happening to this case?
4. Stella Oduah and Coscharis: This case is yet to be resolved. The former aviation minister misappropriated millions of Naira for the purchase of two BMW vehicles. Her being fired by the Goodluck Jonathan administration is not justice. We must demand the prosecution of Stella Oduah and Coscharis for the BMW scandal.
5. Diezani Madueke aka Oil goddess: This case is being resolved to a certain degree in Nigeria and overseas.
6. Boko Haram: Senator Ali Ndume and VP Namadi Sambo: Senator Ndume confessed to numerous dealings with Boko Haram and implicated the Vice president of Nigeria, Namadi Sambo. The Nigerian government said it applied “state-craft” interrogation of VP Namadi Sambo? [See Vanguard of 25th October, 2012: http://allafrica.com/stories/201210251273.html?viewall=1] Nigeria cannot afford to have potential sponsors of Boko Haram walking free and even involved at the legislative level. Without question this pending matter must be resolved.
7. Boko Haram: Abba Moro White Paper Report: The 2012 Patrick Abba Moro White Paper report on Boko Haram indicting several Borno politicians including former governor Ali Modu Sheriff aka SAS. Several other Borno politicians were indicted in the report. The Federal government of Nigeria must be pushed to act on this report as well as other reports implicating politicians at all levels in aiding and abetting and otherwise paying Boko Haram terrorists including northern state governors alleged to have paid the terror organisation to “leave their states alone.”
8. Abba Moro Immigration scam In March of 2014, over two dozen Nigerian job seeking youth were killed and hundreds injured, with hundreds of thousands psychologically damaged by then minister of interior, Abba Moro’s scam job recruitment exercise. Alas the case is in court and was last adjourned to February 7th. It is important that the government recognizes the profoundness of this crime and processes judgement as soon as possible to bring closure to those who lost their lives and those who were otherwise traumatized by that incident.
New Pending Issues
1. Dino Melaye’s purported foreign bank accounts in violation of Code of conduct stipulations.
2. CBN Nepotism.
3. Buratai’s Dubai properties and exemption from probe report
4. Abba Kyari! Oil blocs, MTN and things.
5. Dambazau’s exemption from probe report
6. Babachir Lawal aka grass cutter and the transfer of Boko Haram plagued northeast from one era of wicked looting to another.
7. Plagiarism: no report of who was at fault and confirmation of their punishment.
8. Emefiele’s role in the looting of the Jonathan administration and continued subjugation of the constitution.
9. Emefiele’s Subsidizing Forex for Cabal as underscored by former CBN governor Sanusi
10. #PanamaPapers: Adenuga, Any Uba, Dangote, Saraki, David Mark, Danjuma and others implicated and all still at large.
11. Biafra massacre by Nigerian military; the one Buhari refused to watch during the AlJazeera interview.
12. ZariaMassacre: the one where hundreds were killed across Kaduna after a protest and the Kaduna state governor confessed to secretly burying their dead bodies in the middle of the night.
13. Onitsha massacre and secret burial.
14. Compensation for victims of herder attacks across Nigeria.
15. El-Rufai’s unapproved amnesty and admitting distributing money to suspected herders in Nigeria and neighboring countries accused of murdering Nigerians.
We could go on and on…
Each of these abandoned or otherwise disregarded or neglected issues on its own is and has been enough to force the impeachment of presidents in progressive nations across the world. Can Nigeria make it with a president who appears too weak to perform the necessary tasks?
Dr. Peregrino Brimah; @EveryNigerian
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