WHY is it difficult for us to raise
fresh blood, with fresh and dynamic
ideas to steer the affairs of this
country? I do not know. We have the
Fasholas, Oshiomholes, Amaechis,
Ribadus before he switched over to
the PDP and so many other vibrant
fellows in the APC party, yet, they
have again, chosen to go the recycled
route by bringing in Mohammadu
Buhari as their presidential
candidate. Is Mohammadu Buhari the
real deal?
Going through the book “ MKO
ABIOLA-TO MAKE WHOLE AGAIN”
by Abimbola Awofeso, published by
Update Communications Limited
1990, from pages 15 to 24, you will
find an assessment of Mohammadu
Buhari’s administration. By the way,
Awofeso is also a nephew to the
great sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
The chapter is titled; “All-Round
Misery: Retrenchment, Roll-Back….”
I quote from page 18 “….since the
Buhari administration came to power,
its policy on public sector spending
has resulted in all round misery:
retrenchment of public sector
workers, roll back in social services,
particularly in the area of health
care, the re-introduction of school
fees, the closure of educational
institutions, the re-imposition of
certain obnoxious taxes and levies
and the suspension of new capital
projects.
All these have negative implications
for the country’s long range
development….with such deflationary
policies as has been put in place by
the Buhari regime, shows that we are
headed for unmitigated disaster. As
for the planned privatization, this is
no more than a camouflage for
concentrating the nation’s wealth in
ever fewer hands……still, it cannot
be said that its attempt at
streamlining import licensing and
foreign exchange disbursement
procedure has been a roaring
success. Racketeering persists and
those who have no business having
import licenses still do so.
The government’s performance in the
area of debt management is even
poorer. Apart from the questionable
wisdom of using over 40 per cent of
the country’s export earnings to
service debts, it is open to question
whether the government has fully
investigated and verified all the
outstanding debt obligations it is
now attempting to settle……In the
area of inflation and distribution,
the government successes, if any,
have been limited. Officially
estimated at about 40 percent the
rate of inflation is still debilitating
to the generality of Nigerians whose
incomes, under the income policy
guidelines, are not expected to
increase substantially (especially for
those in paid employment).
As for distributive trade, the major
actors of old appear to have been
back in business; the Lebanese and
Levantine merchandisers still control
that business with the result that
prices are still high and scarcities
persist…….If there is any area of
public policy in which the present
government has been most inactive,
that area has to do with the problem
of unemployment…..It is a sad
commentary on government’s
commitment to tackling
unemployment that although it set
up a committee sometime last year
to study the matter, as at this
moment, the report of that
committee is yet to be made public,
let alone implemented..”
The above was the assessment of
Buhari’s administration as
highlighted in the above quoted book.
There is more but due to space
constraintone cannot highlight more
which accounts the very little
sympathies and resistance when he
was overthrown from government.
That is the man our present day
progressives are trumpeting as the
messiah that will bring the much
needed change for this country. Ex-
president Olusegun Obasanjo once
stated publicly that: “You cannot
change a man in old age”, in
reference to the late Adedibu’s
excesses.
The big challenge for this country is
producing the right leadership, not,
a has been, with very obvious and
questionable credentials. What this
country needs now, is a radical
departure from the normal. We need
a youthful, focused, detribalised,
enlightened, idea filled and go-
getter leader who is able to ‘walk his
talk.’
Recycling is bad. It is even worse
when the individual we are promoting
has passed his prime. That was how
Obasanjo was brought in, the result
of his actions and inactions are still
reverberating till date. Incidentally,
people are still running to him for
directions. Every fault of Jonathan
is rooted in Obasanjo; he planned,
masterminded and executed the
ascension of Jonathan to power. He
also trained him in government, the
PDP way, the platform Obasanjo
instituted, which is the one the PDP
is religiously using till date.
We are very forgetful in this country
and lazy at recollecting the past. Our
leaders are always leading us on the
path of perdition, for their own
selfish purpose(s), not for the
general interest of the people. That
is the choice the APC has made with
Buhari as their presidential
candidate. One can only wish them
good luck.
Mr. Sunny Ikhioya, a commentator on
national issues, wrote from Lagos.

Muguhari would only be the right choice in Mugugeria, let him relocate.