One thing is for sure: Muhammadu Buhari would like to be the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He has tried three times and has failed every time. Finally realizing it is a lost cause, he said he would not try again.

Since his one credential is that he is a man of integrity who, as president, is expected to wrestle corruption down to the ground, Buhari decided to burnish his anti-corruption image by revealing that he obtained his 27.5 million naira APC nomination form with a bank loan. However, what this declaration did was to tell Nigerians that Buhari is a pretentious anti-corruption crusader. His Mr. Clean posture is nothing but a public relations gimmick.[b]

[b]Question marks

In fairness, some of us have known this all along. Under Buhari’s watch as Petroleum Minister in the late 1970s, $2.8 billion (worth billions of naira today) was missing from the NNPC account. The matter was subject to Senate investigation under the chairmanship of Olusola Saraki in 1983. But before the report could be dealt with, Buhari conveniently overthrew the Shagari government in a military coup d’état.

Vera Ifudu, an NTA newscaster, revealed that Saraki told her in an interview that the missing money was traced to Buhari’s account at Midland Bank in London. For this disclosure, Vera was summarily sacked by the NTA. However, she appealed against her dismissal in court and won. She even received a handsome financial compensation for wrongful dismissal from the NTA.

nstead of clearing his name as a man of integrity, Buhari refused to appear before the Oputa Panel set up to look into the matter (among under things) by the Obasanjo administration.

Buhari claims to be an anti-corruption crusader, nevertheless, he agreed to serve under Sani Abacha, one of the most corrupt Heads-of-State ever in the history of Nigeria. While there has been no proven allegation that Buhari corruptly enriched himself as Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund under Abacha, it is abundantly clear that this fabled anti-corruption crusader failed to curb the rampant corruption that prevailed in the organization. Group Captain Usman Jibrin, a board member of PTF, resigned from the organization in protest over Buhari’s irregular appointments of consultants.

In 2000, the Obasanjo administration set up an Interim Management Committee to look into the affairs of the PTF, under the chairmanship of Haroun Adamu. The Committee discovered that billions of naira was stolen under Buhari’s chairmanship.

Political platform

Now the same Buhari who would not or could not curb corruption in the PTF wants us to believe he will fight corruption as president of Nigeria. However, he has chosen the APC as the political platform on which to undertake this. But the APC is an unscrupulous political party that is choc-full of corrupt politicians. It is the party of Murtala Nyako who was impeached as governor of Adamawa State for converting state money to personal use. It is the party where Buhari himself and others went cap-in-hand to Otta to beg Obasanjo to be their “navigator.”

Surely Buhari knows that he cannot fight corruption by being the presidential candidate of the APC. Whatever anti-corruption crusading Buhari had in him in the past must have ended when he decided to join the APC. Should he become president, does he intend to probe his corrupt party-members?

Cleaning up APC

[b]It is not surprising, therefore, that despite all the noise about anti-corruption coming from Buhari and his cohorts; he has failed to fight against corruption in the APC. We did not hear him raise a voice against the incongruity of a so-called progressive party demanding a cynical nomination fee of 27.5 million naira for its presidential primaries. One would have expected a truly anti-corruption crusader to make the point that the nomination fee is unacceptable. Instead, Buhari readily acquiesced to the requirement in order to safeguard his all-important presidential ambitions.

Since Buhari cannot, or does not, fight against this corrupting nomination fee in the APC, and insist on its reduction to something far more reasonable, how can he expect us to believe that as president in a political system with the separation of powers; against a legislature likely to be controlled by the PDP; he would be able to fight corruption? Somebody is fooling somebody here. Or else, somebody is living in a cloud cuckoo land.[/b]

Charity, they say, begins at home. If Buhari is truly anti-corruption, he should begin his crusade in the APC. Is it progressive for a political party in Nigeria to ask its candidates to come up with 27.5 million just for the nomination papers for an election where only one person will emerge as the winner? Is it not corrupt politicians that are likely to have this type of easy-come easy-go money? Is this not an open invitation for the winner, if he actually manages to secure election to the presidency, to recoup this extortionate fee from public funds?

Anti-corruption bank loan

What did anti-corruption Buhari do about this outrageous APC requirement? This is where the whole matter becomes ridiculously implausible. According to Buhari, rather than fight against the measure, he took out a ban loan to pay for it.

Buhari told us about his “loan” out of embarrassment; in a pathetic bid to validate his anti-corruption credentials. But this so-called loan indicates that Buhari does not understand what it means to be anti-corruption. For Buhari, anti-corruption is a posture; it is a swagger; it is a badge; but it has no bite and, in the usual Nigerian fashion, it will be prosecuted with hypocrisy.

Buhari wants us to believe that he cannot afford 27.5 million naira. Nevertheless, he rides around in a bullet-proof Jeep and maintains a convoy of Land Cruisers. He cannot afford 27.5 million naira. Nevertheless, he declared his candidacy lavishly in Eagle Square, Abuja. Did he also take out a bank loan for that? Four months to a make-or-break election, Buhari would have us believe he has no money. How does he propose to finance his presidential campaign? Is he going to take 1 billion naira loan from the World Bank for this?

Dubious loan

Why would a bank lend Buhari that amount for a presidential pie-in-the-sky that failed to materialize three times in the past? Is that not likely to be a bad loan? How long did it take for the loan to be processed? What did he put down as anti-corruption collateral? How does he propose to pay the money back? Mr. Integrity needs to spell all this out for the sake of his fast-disintegrating anti-corruption credentials.

I did not know loans are so easy to secure in Nigerian banks today. Perhaps Buhari could introduce me to his bank manager. I would also not mind taking this kind of soft loan. I am sure I can always come up with some unproductive excuse or the other for it. Is such a loan even legal today under Nigeria’s stricter banking laws?

How many honest Nigerians can afford to give a non-refundable 27.5 million naira to a political party, on the off-chance that they will be able to secure the party’s presidential ticket? If they win the nomination and even get elected president, how would they pay back the money?

Fazemood:
I wasn't here in the 1970s but I read history and asked questions and my conclusion was 'this man is a green snake.' I did what I could to ensure he didn't get the presidential mantle, but my fellow Nigerian youth did the opposite and he is in power.

I hope we the youths don't repeat thesame mistake over again.

Peacemaker5128:
Can't Ibo face their leflendum struggle and leave zoo alone?
If good thing happen it is Jubril and if bad thing happen it is Buhari
Do you get sense at all?

Peacemaker5128:
Can't Ibo face their leflendum struggle and leave zoo alone?
If good thing happen it is Jubril and if bad thing happen it is Buhari
Do you get sense at all?

Fazemood:
I wasn't here in the 1970s but I read history and asked questions and my conclusion was 'this man is a green snake.' I did what I could to ensure he didn't get the presidential mantle, but my fellow Nigerian youth did the opposite and he is in power.

I hope we the youths don't repeat thesame mistake over again.

toplinetrtrend:


Vera Ifudu, an NTA newscaster, revealed that Saraki told her in an interview that the missing money was traced to Buhari’s account at Midland Bank in London.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/10/muhammadu-buhari-running-president-anti-corruption-bank-loan/

MalcoImX:
No one expects anything good from a GEJ apologist, especially when free money is no longer within reach.

ODUBEZE:
So anyone that criticises the presidency now have one problem or the order
Femi is not poor! He is mainly speaking for every lovers of true!

MalcoImX:
No one expects anything good from a GEJ apologist, especially when free money is no longer within reach.

kutchs:

Yes he's a GEJ apologist, but can you counter the things he said about buhari?
Is it not true that the said $2.8b was traced to his Midland Bank account?
Is it not true that he's refuses to fight corruption on his APC?

allthingsgood:


The greater mistake would be supporting a known thief and money launderer who is a fugitive from US!

Meanwhile, Sai baba 2023!

MalcoImX:

My conclusions were obvious:

1. Femi is a GEJ apologist.

2. Quoting Aribisala is akin to implicating yourself.

MalcoImX:

Maybe it's the $2.8 billion he used to buy 150 cows.

toplinetrtrend:


Kindly point out facts that oppose what femi aribisala said. If not, kindly shut up

MalcoImX:


I have nothing to point out to you since your 'Facts' are from Femi Aribisala. What have I got to prove to you or anyone when it comes to a man whose arguments are not any different from the FFKs, the Omokris or Kanus.

toplinetrtrend:

Your comment sounds like that of a proven failure. This is the usual response from brainless BMC members when they have no lie to defend obvious truth

MalcoImX:

You've believed Aribisala just as you've believed FFK when he said Buhari is being sponsored by Al-Qaeda, Omokri for saying Emir Sanusi is the sponsor of Boko Haram and sister Nneka Calistus Kanu for saying Buhari is one Jubrin from Sudan.

There's nothing to argue for with such except to show you they are fools.

toplinetrtrend:


Newswatch Magazine confirmed what Aribisala said, and it is common knowledge that Newswatch do not report without evidence.

And what is more Newswatch reported this several years before Aribisala mentioned it.

Buhari is a thief. He was indicted by Senate committee headed by Olushola Saraki. It is a common knowledge. Only an intentionally blind idiot will claim not to know

MalcoImX:

I Found Nothing After Probing Buhari’s PTF – Obasanjo

http://www.nigerianmonitor.com/i-found-nothing-after-probing-buharis-ptf-obasanjo/