https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm58FyEEDXc

[Quote]I enjoyed the outing at Chatham House. Though the Chatham House people had obviously organised this as a hush-hush affair to sell General Muhammadu Buhari, the tyrant who ran the most unfriendly Nigerian government to the UK as a convert to democracy who now champions its values in Africa nay Nigeria, the whole thing fell flat on its face.

First, they ensured that only Buhari supporters and a few members of the APC’s foreign captive audience were there in the room to give it a dash of foreign colour and listen to a drab speech for about twenty-five minutes. Typically, Buhari was made only to deliver a speech with no room for genuine questions and participation from a genuine audience, except the fits of clapping by claques well-schooled in celebrating poop flakes carried by hot air. When the APC bigwigs appeared outside after the sham Buhari talk inside, they met a wall of Nigerians chanting “Buhari-Ole (thief)! Tinubu-Ole! Atiku-Barawo! Amaechi-Ony’oshi! El Rufai-Ole!” I loved the chant and even did a little jig to it on the street of St James’s Square! Of course, the APC posse attempted a copycat version of this, but again, it didn’t resonate. Their frustration got the better of them as they began accusing every Goodluck Jonathan supporter in sight of collecting money to support the president. Meanwhile they were the lot caught sharing money in the Square.

In the meantime, having witnessed what they considered intense hostility from the outside, the bigwigs who only got as far as the doorway retreated inside and for over two hours, they scratched their heads and wringed their fingers, wondering how to take Buhari out of the building without facing the wrath of Nigerians outside. A group of us had got wind that they were going to smuggle him out through a side door, so we went and acted sentinels there. It was tough as the PDP and APC and the Goodluck Jonathan supporters like myself fought turf wars around the premises. Though outside, it was mostly good-natured political bantering by the supporters of both parties and both leading candidates; inside, they knew the mood was not right for Buhari to step out. In the end, Buhari had to be smuggled out of the place furtively in a police van with Rotimi Amaechi in tow as Nigerians booed loudly at what was considered a cowardly show.

My own main takeaway from the situation is that Buhari has again lost an opportunity to market himself better to Nigerians, even as everything was laid out for him. Chatham House had to shoehorn him into their programme when he was not scheduled to be there. I mean, spotting a boil on the left side of his jaw, Buhari is evidently in London primarily for some other reason and not for a talk (and that is okay, because of his age and the toll the campaign must have taken on his frail body), but they presented it as a “working visit”. Yet, every programme organised as part of that working visit in London, he couldn’t attend! To save face, Chatham House was conscripted into a conspiracy to keep its door open for Buhari, his followers and his foreign supporters while this same door was shut firmly against other Nigerians as they ran the charade of Buhari of all people talking the prospects of democracy in Nigeria! Expectedly, there was nothing inspiring or memorable in the speech. It was just a show to indicate Buhari is alive and well and not in an hospital bed. But it fooled no one!

Buhari should have seized the opportunity to come, stand on the porch of Chatham House and address Nigerians who were outside, sell himself and his programme and show them that he’s serious about leading Nigeria to better days. Instead, he was smuggled out in a police van and booed by the same people he wants their votes. Not a statesmanlike exit that!

Now, having done with the light drama, let’s attend to the tragedy. It happened on several fronts in the speech. He started by apologising for having to take his beloved country to the cleaners on a foreign soil where ordinarily he had happily played its “public relations and marketing officer, extolling her virtues and hoping to attract investments and tourists” in the past. He urged the foreign eyes ogling this new phantom Nigeria of today to keep looking. “So let me say upfront that the global interest in Nigeria’s landmark election is not misplaced at all and indeed should be commended; for this is an election that has serious import for the world. I urge the international community to continue to focus on Nigeria at this very critical moment. Given increasing global linkages, it is in our collective interests that the postponed elections should hold on the rescheduled dates; that they should be free and fair; that their outcomes should be respected by all parties; and that any form of extension, under whichever guise, is unconstitutional and will not be tolerated”.

Yes, Buhari, the new darling of the West is calling on his friends and sponsors to play the vultures and pick up the carrion that is Nigeria once any form of extension is proposed “under whatever guise”, because this would be “unconstitutional”. Is it not a surprise that with so many SANs jostling for a seat at Buhari’s table (and one of them his running mate), none could tell him that there is still room for the postponement of the election by INEC lawfully and constitutionally if need be? He has to create the impression that the postponement was the handiwork of Goodluck Jonathan and his people and not by INEC as a result of its clear state of unpreparedness. Buhari must blame Jonathan and the PDP, because that is his default position.

It’s such hypocrisy that took Buhari’s speech to the next level of farce as he began talking as though he was not the democracy-killing tyrant of late 1983 who made the nation one huge prison as he tortured his fellow citizens mercilessly in the name of fighting indiscipline and corruption. He reeled out statistics of the democratic heartbeat of the continent throughout the eighties, the nineties and after and then concluded: “It is much more important that the promise of democracy goes beyond just allowing people to freely choose their leaders. It is much more important that democracy should deliver on the promise of choice, of freedoms, of security of lives and property, of transparency and accountability, of rule of law, of good governance and of shared prosperity. It is very important that the promise embedded in the concept of democracy, the promise of a better life for the generality of the people, is not delivered in the breach”. The clapping claques at this point were going joyously bonkers! A Lincoln has come to judgment, they farted out loudly! When he turned to prosecute Nigeria, his self-serving proclamation was that peaceful alternation of power through competitive elections have happened in Ghana, Senegal, Malawi and Mauritius in recent times and that the prospects of democratic consolidation in Africa will be further brightened when that eventually happens in Nigeria. Hmm….

Buhari is particularly invested in the world focusing on Nigeria, because “the elections are holding in the shadow of huge security, economic and social uncertainties in Africa’s most populous country and largest economy”. Buhari, who with his military chums massacred Nigerians in the name of fighting a civil war took the opportunity of addressing an audience in a London that was horrified by the images of kwashiokor children to say that apart from the civil war era, no other time has Nigeria been this insecure.

“Boko Haram has sadly put Nigeria on the terrorism map, killing more than 13,000 of our nationals, displacing millions internally and externally, and at a time holding on to portions of our territory the size of Belgium. What has been consistently lacking is the required leadership in our battle against insurgency. I, as a retired general and a former head of state, have always known about our soldiers: they are capable, well trained, patriotic, brave and always ready to do their duty in the service of our country.

“You all can bear witness to the gallant role of our military in Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Darfur and in many other peacekeeping operations in several parts of the world. But in the matter of this insurgency, our soldiers have neither received the necessary support nor the required incentives to tackle this problem. The government has also failed in any effort towards a multi-dimensional response to this problem leading to a situation in which we have now become dependent on our neighbours to come to our rescue.

“Let me assure you that if I am elected president, the world will have no cause to worry about Nigeria as it has had to recently; that Nigeria will return to its stabilising role in West Africa; and that no inch of Nigerian territory will ever be lost to the enemy because we will pay special attention to the welfare of our soldiers in and out of service, we will give them adequate and modern arms and ammunitions to work with, we will improve intelligence gathering and border controls to choke Boko Haram’s financial and equipment channels, we will be tough on terrorism and tough on its root causes by initiating a comprehensive economic development plan promoting infrastructural development, job creation, agriculture and industry in the affected areas. We will always act on time and not allow problems to irresponsibly fester, and I, Muhammadu Buhari, will always lead from the front and return Nigeria to its leadership role in regional and international efforts to combat terrorism”.

Well, well, well, now that is a powerful sales pitch by a hound auditioning for the post of Protector-General of the hares! I mean, since when is an attack on Boko Haram no longer an attack on the North? Since when did Muhammadu Buhari, the Commandant-General of Boko Haram and who is their biggest political defender and supporter convert to their shooter? Or is this not the same man that attacked the Nigerian Army for killing Boko Haram? Is this not the man whose supporters celebrate every Boko Haram attack as a victory against Jonathan? Is this not the same Buhari that was chosen by Boko Haram as their representative in a proposed negotiation in Saudi Arabia? Is this not the same Buhari that told the world that the Boko Haram boys should be treated like the Niger-Delta militants by being rewarded with money and positions? Is he now going to start killing them instead of commissioning them into the Nigerian Army? Where was Buhari’s voice when more than twice the number so far lost to Boko Haram lost their lives to assassinations, government sponsored genocide, communal, ethnic and Sharia-induced violence under the rulership of his friend, Olusegun Obasanjo and that only in his first term as president? Who is zooming who?

Buhari accused the government of not applying a multidimensional response to the problem. This is so dreadfully untrue that it could only have come from a fellow who in his highfalutin speech didn’t consider education as a weapon against a group committed to killing education. His continued undermining of the necessity of the help we are getting from our neighbours as part of the multinational force against the insurgency is as vacuous and self-serving as the boasts of a clay-footed giant. There is no shame in having a multinational force against an internationalised Islamist militancy. Boko Haram is not only a Nigeria problem; it is a regional and world problem and the fact that the world and sub-region are waking up to this reality late is not an indictment of Nigeria or her leadership. Better late than never! There is more to fighting an internationalised insurgency than just deploying men and arms. There is diplomacy of the subtlest kind and the delicate navigation of regional sensibilities and historical fears. Enough of this ignorant rhetoric from this relic of a general!

One thing is for sure, Buhari is aiming to win for Boko Haram through the ballot what they are fighting for with bullets. Both he and Boko Haram think they’re holding Nigeria hostage to a total Sharia future. Or what else has Boko Haram and Buhari asked for jointly that if granted will put a stop to all the killings? Yes, you guessed it - total Sharia in Nigeria! Please, those who want to dumbly argue that this is not possible in a democracy should please not waste their time here, because I myself have no time to waste holding them by the hands through the pages of Nigeria’s modern history. I’ve never been a fan of mental and civic laziness and wouldn’t start now.

The Buhari speech’s treatment of the economy was a slapdash jumble of questionable but still irrelevant statistics and what he said some unnamed development economist said. “A development economist once said three questions should be asked about a country’s development: one, what is happening to poverty? Two, what is happening to unemployment? And three, what is happening to inequality?” Suffice it to say Buhari discussing poverty, unemployment and inequality is like a fox commiserating with the sheep for lack of grass to eat.

But while Buhari’s views on all the above issues are interesting and not in a good way, I found his views expressed in the concluding part of the speech hilarious and not in a good way too. Here is my transcription from watching and listening to the video:

“On corruption, there will be no confusion as to where I stand. Corruption will have no place and the corrupt will not be appointed into my administration. First and foremost, we plug the hole in the budgetary processes. Revenue producing entities such as NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) and Custom and Exercise (sic) will have one set of books only. Their revenues will be publicly disclosed and regularly audited. The institutions of state dedicated to fighting corruption will be given independence and prosecutorial authority without political interference. But I must emphasise that any war waged on corruption must not be misconstrued as settling all the scores or a witch-hunt. I’m running for President to lead Nigeria to prosperity, not adversity.

“In reforming the economy, we will use savings that arise from blocking these leakages and the proceeds recovered from corruption to fund our party’s social investment programmes in education, health, safety nets such as free school meals for children, emergency public works for unemployed youths and pensions from the elderly. As a progressive party, we must reform our political economy to unleash the pent-up ingenuity and productivity of the Nigerian people, thus freeing them from the curse of poverty. We will run a private sector-led economy, but maintain an active role for government through strong regulatory oversight and deliberate interventions and incentives to diversify the base of our economy, strengthen productive sectors, improve productive capacities of our people and create jobs for our teeming youth. In short, we will run a functional economy driven by our worldview that sees growth, not as an end by itself, but as a tool to create a society that works for all, rich and poor alike. On March 28, Nigerians have a decision to make, to vote for the continuity of failure or to elect progressive change. I believe the people will choose wisely.

“In sum, I think that given its strategic importance, Nigeria can trigger a wave of democratic consolidation in Africa. But as a starting point, we need to get this critical election right by ensuring that they go ahead and deprive those who want to scuttle it the benefit of draining our fledging democracy. That way, we all see democracy and democratic consolidation as tools of solving pressing problems in a sustainable way, not as end in themselves.

“Permit me to close this discussion on a personal note. I have heard and read references to me as a former dictator in many respected British newspapers, including the well-regarded Economist. Let me say without sounding defensive that dictatorship goes with military rule, though some might be less dictatorial than others. I take responsibility for whatever happened under my watch. I cannot change the past, but I can change the present and the future. So, before you is a former military ruler and a converted democrat who is ready to operate under democratic norms and is subjecting himself to the rigours of democratic election for the fourth time. You may ask why is he doing this? This is a question I ask myself all the time too. And there is my humble answer, because the work of making Nigeria great is not yet done, because I still believe that change is possible, this time through the ballot and most importantly, because I still have the capacity and the passion to dream and work for a Nigeria that will be respected again in the comity of nations and that all Nigerians would be proud of. Thank you very much”.[/quote]

Continue reading here: http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/buhari-s-chatham-house-charade-not-a-statesmanlike-presentation-and-not-a-statesmanlike-exit.html

We are talking about a 70% poverty rate population, the leader is talking about airports in every state. Nigeria NEEDS help... We need Change...

How is the post related to the thread?

olaboy001:
We are talking about a 70% poverty rate population, the leader is talking about airports in every state. Nigeria NEEDS help... We need Change...

Use your brain

Ode..

ode..

Ode.....

Nice write up, waiting for fools to come and sai buhari

I still remain naira land prettiest girl of all time!

On fixing the economy he will plug the holes and use the saved money to fund welfare programs.
So is this a fairy tale or manifesto?
The history on African Democracy as a continent was time wasted, just filler, the guy could not repeat anything by heart none of that is what he believes in and stand for. He will not appoint corrupt people but Tinubu and other crooks are his financial support and backing. The General means well, but the position was over his head in the 80s as it is in 2015 many decades later.

tociano009:
Use your brain

Did you have at all..
We need a responsible and competent president. Not the one that claims only credits, and shift responsibility for all his failures.

OREMUSSANCTUS:
Nice write up, waiting for fools to come and sai buhari

Swear with your whole life that you read the whole article with you useless one line comment

Buhari has not changed one bit!

olaboy001:

Did you have at all..
We need a responsible and competent president. Not the one that claims only credits, and shift responsibility for all his failures.

So you dont have brain

tociano009:
So you dont have brain

Leader don't give excuses - they get work done!
So give yourself a brain