By Yusuf Adua
It was at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, sometime in April 2011 where the then Presidential aspirant, General Muhammadu Buhari broke down in tears at the event organised by his now-defunct party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) to mark the end of its presidential campaign. The 5-star General wept recurrently as he struggled to conclude his 12-page address.
To the then-presidential candidate, Nigeria was badly run and a messiah-like fellow must be at the helm to save the west African giant from the heavy punches weakening its strengths. General Buhari felt that he needed nothing and had nothing more to prove as a Nigerian so, allowing him to ascend the throne of president would not be a regret.
” I am in this solely for the love of my country and concern for its destiny and the fate of its people”, President Buhari clothed the scene with emotions accompanied by sobs cruelly disrupting the question and answer session with newsmen scheduled to follow.
As fate would have it, lucky Buhari got what he desired four years later. On the 29th of May, 2015, President-elect Muhammadu Buhari made a public vow among others that he would surge to debase “head-on” the issues of corruption and the insurgency from militant group; Boko Haram.
It is even safe to say that Mr. President penetrated the minds of Nigerian voters with the promise that he would exile insecurity that was just adjusting its sleeves in the country at the time.
Maybe 5-star General is not relenting as he promised, but the worst Ignoramus anywhere in the country would know that his bolt is not tightening.
The two vocal points in the country as we speak; Twitter and the presidency, can tell us more about how the Nigerian security architecture has fared since 2015 that General Buhari assumed office. The national dailies are red hot with kidnapping and banditry headlines, major highways choked with gangs of different sects, Nigerian institutions are not safe for studious individuals, it is all back to square one.
President Muhammadu Buhari is crossing is T’s and dotting his I’s but his tools are too crooked and too blunt to overpower the security threat and corrupt practices bedeviling Nigeria.
BUT HOW DID PRESIDENT BUHARI SHOOT HIMSELF IN THE LEG? He bit more than he could chew.
55% of people who cast their votes for the incumbent President did so because Mr. President said “we would buy fuel for #50”. We were told that we would bid corruption goodbye within a short time; he promised us a 100% better life.
The first president from the opposition party since 1960 forgot that this world and unexpected crosscurrents flow together like water and sand in the bar beach. COVID-19, fall in fuel price, “come-to-stay” corrupt practices, overbearing unemployment rate which is hinging industrious Nigerians closer to vulnerability and harassment in their bid to get jobs at all cost sought to put Buhari’s regime on the black book.
The president is trying but he is underperforming based on the standards of the promises he and his party made for us.
