PMB: The first president of northern Nigeria
BY Ademola Adeoye
Those who blindly approve and endorse everything Buhari does are doing a good job, provided it is putting food on their table and tossing some coins into their pocket, but if nothing is coming from it, then they are not wise, because even Mr. President—who professes to love Nigeria more than all of us is not in power, serving pro bono. Defending pro bono—professional politicians is not patriotism. Even if you are not going to collect money from them, you can shrewdly make them part with juicy appointments.
I said all that because of an army of jobless, hungry, visionless youths, young adults and aged citizens of Nigeria—who daily and blindly defend everything politicians say and do on social media. When it is time to campaign and protest, politicians remember them, but when it comes to juicy appointments, politicians remember their own children, family members, friends, girlfriends and boyfriends.
In the last one year, I have had to delete and block a few people on social media, because of blind followership. I detest spineless and blind followership with passion. On one hand, I cannot stand those who do not see anything good in an administration. And on the other hand, I also cannot stand those who do not see anything wrong in an administration. These two classes of partisanship politics cannot build the Nigeria of our dreams. We need an emergence of strong and fearless citizens—who look at national issues objectively.
Today, when I see an army of overnight supporters of Mr. President, who daily harass everyone who dares to objectively hold PMB accountable, I shudder. They are unwittingly making a god out of the man—who is obviously vulnerable to mistakes. As far as they are concerned, PMB can never do anything wrong and whatever he says or does is always right. The truth is, PMB will leave power one day. When he lives, Nigeria will still be here. But one thing is certain; this class of people’s opinions can never hold water again in Nigeria, because they are a bunch of biased citizens—who are only after their pockets and bellies.
Before the latest appointment by PMB, Nigerians—home and abroad have been complaining that Buhari is fast sectionalizing the security apparatus of Nigeria and it is against what section 14 (3) of 1999 constitution of our country says: “the composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the Federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.” And because Mr. President does not give a damn about how anyone feels and whatever anyone says, he still went ahead to appoint Bichi, a northerner as the DG of DSS. Today, virtually all the heads of security agencies are from the same region of the country, making the constitution of Nigeria a toothless bulldog that can only bark, but cannot bite.
A lawless Government cannot fight corruption and can never build a law-abiding nation. For the umpteenth time, the constitution of Nigeria is superior to all of us, including Mr. President. And about four (4) years ago, he did swear to uphold and protect it. If those in power do not give a damn when it comes to the most sacred document binding us all together, what moral right do they have to ask those within their spheres of influence to submit to what they are brazenly kicking against daily?
The reason for removing Seiyeifa is not known yet and the reason for bringing back to active service a man—who retired six (6) months ago is yet to be known too. When the wind of the latest appointment began to blow, those who support Mr. President blindly are back saying that PMB should be left alone to appoint those who are competent, even if they are all from the north. And he should be left alone to appoint those he trusts. In other words, within the context of security, only the northerners are competent and trustworthy.
On the condition that PMB only trusts his kinsmen, I do not think it makes any patriotic-sense for any sectional leader to campaign round the country—seeking the votes of those whom he does not trust and those who are not capable as far as he is concerned—within the context of national security. Nigeria is still in dire need of a President who would love us equally without loving his own people more than the rest of us.
Lastly, the credibility of the 2019 elections is still in doubt, because a northerner is paddling the canoe of the INEC. The question is; how can a northerner supervise a presidential election and not be biased, when a northerner is the incumbent president?