Governing a democracy as complex as a multi ethnic /religious with diverse geographical topologies and different lifestyles cannot be said to be an easy task. There are usually accusations and counter accusations with suspicions of intentions thrown in for good measure. To succeed in such a daunting task would demand of the leader , patience, understanding with tolerance and realizing that not every part of the country can think with homogeneity.
Sir Ahmadu Bello, the first Premier of Northern Nigeria before, during independence and after it, realized this quickly and used his diplomatic skills to weild the north together.
General Yakubu Gowon who emerged as Head of State after the Counter coup d’etat in July 1966 then led Nigeria through the civil war and into governance for 9 years towed that path with his ‘Go On With One Nigeria’ slogan and “No Victor, No Vanquished” cliché. He succeeded in holding Nigeria together despite his relatively young age. Many other leaders did the same, including Dr. Goodluck Jonathan who believed absolutely in the rule of law, quintessential democracy and freedom of speech as inalienable parts of the new dispensation.
Despite the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari came into governance with a groundswell of goodwill from across the country, this is what he is squandering needlessly in an unbridled anger to cage in members of the opposition parties and people he may have an axe to grind with. His statement in Washington DC of treating the 5% that did not vote for him less better is a clear case in point.
The trending issue currently in the country is the freezing of the personal account of Ayo Fayose, Governor of Ekiti State who, going by the Constitution, has immunity from such punitive actions.
Fayose too, has responded by throwing brick backs at President Buhari of owning an estate in Abuja, and his wife, Aisha Buhari of being the conduit that channeled slush funds in the lamentable Halliburton scandal that saw Mr. Jefferson a US Congress man in jail.
We believe that this is taking governance to a very ridiculous extent both by the presidency and governor Fayose.
In defending the wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, TheWill, an online news site, came out with a special report, 21/06 /2016 that the said Aisha Buhari fingered in the Halliburton scandal is no relation of the president. They did not mention who the said Aisha Buhari was. We are even in an age where a little kid who is savvy with the computer can easily tweak the president’s wife’s photo on a purported international passport and pass it off to fool the gullible. This may well be true because in the north, it is possible to have three people bearing the same name in the same family, not to mention the same town or State.
If even the judge that tried a certain James Onanefe Ibori, sentenced him to prison in Abuja long before he became governor in 1999 and served for 8 years could not prove that the said convict of many years prior would be the same person who emerged governor of Delta State almost twenty years after, how can anyone prove that the Aisha of the Halliburton scandal is the same as the wife of the president?
Obong Victor Attah, the governor of Akwa Ibom State then, mentioned in the centre of the scandal has already stated that he did not check out the background of the contractors or PR external staff that worked for him. Even the said Aisha could be an indigene of his state, masking around with a pseudonym.
We hereby urge the EFCC to lift the siege on Governor Fayose’s account in Zenith bank, Akure. It is petty, and designed to make the president look bad. President Buhari once complained about “fifth columnists” in his 1984 /85 military regime that carried out needless escapades that were designed to make him unpopular, leading to his overthrow in August 1985. To him, in that Magazine interview lamented the fact that it was too late to apologize to Chief Obafemi Awolowo since the sage had passed on. The raid on his home by certain soldiers was not ordered by him. But he bore the brunt and anger of a befuddled nation who widely cheered at his overthrow.
Here’s hoping that such lessons were well learnt and the nation is not sliding back into dictatorship. This unconstitutional act by the EFCC is opprobrious, lawless and unfair.
Making President Buhari unpopular should not be a path taken by the anti-graft agency. They have only two more years to get Governor Fayose if they desperately need him. The nation must operate by it’s constitution .
This unusual drama is causing severe pain to not only the persons mentioned, but the entire nation as well. These are needless controversies that the nation can easily avoid if the nation is to move forward.
Written by Greg Abolo
Gregabolo@yahoo.com
