Hold Elite Responsible For Nigeria’s Woes — Buhari
Jacob Okereke's picture
Tue, 27/09/2011 - 1:43am | CHUKS OHUEGBE

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Former head of state and presidential flag-bearer of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the April general election General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) has attributed the country’s current woes to the elite who, he said, should be held responsible for whatever goes wrong.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja at a one-day conference on “Development from Global Perspectives: Agriculture Versus Oil and Gas” organised by Muregi Associates and the LEADERSHIP Newspaper Group, Buhari said that strong institutions in the country have been destroyed by strong people.

He said: “Nothing is working in Nigeria today because of irresponsible elite. We have to talk to the elite. They are responsible for the sharing of the national cake. If anything happens they are to be held responsible.

“It was the strong people that destroyed the strong institutions we inherited from the British. They left us with accountability. We need strong people to retake these institutions to make them work.”

In his remarks on the occasion, the minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, said that military intrusion into the nation’s governance in 1966 destroyed the emergence of a national elite.

“In Nigeria, people believe more in the regions, instead of the centre. We need a new movement for the integration of the country,” the Information minister said.

On the belief that Nigerians are corrupt, the minister said that there is a co-relation between the so-called corrupt Nigerians and the trans-Atlantic companies that aid the act.

Corroborating the views of the minister, one-time national chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Audu Ogbeh, said that some expatriate companies operating in the country aided corruption.

Ogbeh cited the construction of the second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja that was quoted to cost N64 billion by an expatriate construction company, an amount that could build four brand new airports.

“So, when we are called corrupt, we accept guilty as charged. How about those who aid this corruption?” Ogbeh queried.

In his lead paper entitled “Corruption, Governance and Development”, Professor Francis Fukuyama identified weak state, high degree of ethnic/ religious fragmentation and petro-state liabilities as the sources of Nigeria’s institutional underperformance.

Fukuyama, who lectures at the Centre on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at the Stanford University, California, in the United States of America, also described Nigeria as a “limited access order” as politics is a route to wealth instead of entrepreneurship.

He said that there is the need to diversify from energy, noting that oil has been a curse.

A panacea, according to him, is investing in electricity and infrastructure.

Fukuyama, the renowned author of The End of History and the last man, said that the accounting system requires transparency and disciplining mechanisms and the need to implement Freedom of Information law.

He added that agencies should publish flow of funds on a monthly basis, while grassroots monitoring should be a possibility through technology.

In his paper entitled “Agriculture and oil and gas: A synergy for economic transformation in Nigeria”, Chief Audu Ogbeh said that the country failed to use the black gold to develop the green gold, namely, agriculture

“So, we turn to imports, which is where the calamity comes. We expend at least $10 billion on food imports annually. On wheat - $4.23 billion; rice - $2.32 billion; milk - $1.5 billion, not to mention cookies and biscuits, fruit juice concentrates, tomato paste, salt, palm oil, starch, ice cream powder, vegetable oils. The list is endless.

The question is: how long can we survive this onslaught of imports?” Ogbeh asked.

The occasion, also had in attendance other eminent personalities including the United Nations under-secretary, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, former vice chancellor of the University of Abuja Professor Nuhu Yaqub, former minister of FCT Dr. Modibbo Umar, and former minister of sports Barrister A. H. Gimba.

He said: “Nothing is working in Nigeria today because of irresponsible elite. We have to talk to the elite. They are responsible for the sharing of the national cake. If anything happens they are to be held responsible.

“It was the strong people that destroyed the strong institutions we inherited from the British. They left us with accountability. We need strong people to retake these institutions to make them work.”

Correct. Buhari has done his best to rescue Nigerians, it is the turn of Nigerians to rescue themselves.

Quite insightful, let's take a look at this:

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-769443.0.html

This guy is just unrepentant!!!!

Yes, elites have their own share of the blame but the lion share of it should go to him who forcefully truncated a democracy and gave opportunity to the likes of IBB and Abacha to further corrupt the elites.

Well said Buhari.

“So, when we are called corrupt, we accept guilty as charged. How about those who aid this corruption?” Ogbeh querie.

In his paper entitled “Agriculture and oil and gas: A synergy for economic transformation in Nigeria”, Chief Audu Ogbeh said that the country failed to use the black gold to develop the green gold, namely, agriculture

“So, we turn to imports, which is where the calamity comes. We expend at least $10 billion on food imports annually. On wheat - $4.23 billion; rice - $2.32 billion; milk - $1.5 billion, not to mention cookies and biscuits, fruit juice concentrates, tomato paste, salt, palm oil, starch, ice cream powder, vegetable oils. The list is endless.

The question is: how long can we survive this onslaught of imports?” Ogbeh asked.


Fair enough

who are the elite,is he not one of them?

badmrkt:

who are the elite,is he not one of them?

i wonder oh,see kettle calling a pot black

X-factoria:

This guy is just unrepentant!!!!

Yes, elites have their own share of the blame but the lion share of it should go to him who forcefully truncated a democracy and gave opportunity to the likes of IBB and Abacha to further corrupt the elites.

I love when Nigerians are objective and speak sense!

Nonsense. The old bigot will point everywhere and blame everyone but himself.

This was the same eddioot who was responsible for truncating Nigeria democracy at the very nascent; the same foolish tribalistic myopic man who frustrated Lagos Metroline plan over 25 years ago (offering rather to pay of 40% of loan as fine, rather that conclude the transaction, simple because the idea was not North bias). But whenever he speaks Nigerians with short memory will savour all the idiocy he regurgitate from his bigoted belly and lips.

If anyone is to be held responsible for Nigeria woes, it should be the [b]bigoted myopic elitist [/b]Buhari and his band of military interventionists, foremost before others. End of story!

can someone muzzle this malo already.

Is he excusing himself from one of the elites?

X-factoria:

This guy is just unrepentant!!!!

Yes, elites have their own share of the blame but the lion share of it should go to him who forcefully truncated a democracy and gave opportunity to the likes of IBB and Abacha to further corrupt the elites.

and our democratically elected leaders have performed better?

Last time I checked, Muhammadu Buhari, you were one of them !!!!

I think there is sense in what this guy said, Buhari was a military head of state, I remembered well during the time of Shagari there were austerity, even Obey release that song austerity "tawa yii gan lola, O pa olowo o nba mekunun"

I think the Elite should be held responsible, Dangote, Sharaki etc

omo9ja1:

I think there is sense in what this guy said, Buhari was a military head of state, I remembered well during the time of Shagari there were austerity, even Obey release that song austerity "tawa yii gan lola, O pa olowo o nba mekunun"

I think the Elite should be held responsible, Dangote, Sharaki etc

Sure he makes sense, but after these incessant security breaches all over the country I believe this man might be the worse of the lot.

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Becos u probably think he is responsible right?

Animal Nigerians without head. You will soon reap what you sowed.

I am sure ordinary Nigerians are better than you commentators here.

Sure it is the children of the stealing elites that would never see the truth that Buhari keeps saying.

He cried during the election and we laughed. Today we have a GEJ. The masses are dying. But don't worry, it will soon get to most of us.

Then in shame we will come to realise the saint that Buhari is.

cursed people! cursed land.

I am ashamed to be part of you

Parnassuss:

Sure he makes sense, but after these incessant security breaches all over the country I believe this man might be the worse of the lot.

No thinking required; the guy practically told his goon to get ready to massacre other Nigerians if he loses  the election, and that was exactly what happened! That man is a bundle of evil; thank God he didn't win!

Is he excusing himself from one of the elite
This guy is just unrepentant!!!!

Yes, elites have their own share of the blame but the lion share of it should go to him who forcefully truncated a democracy and gave opportunity to the likes of IBB and Abacha to further corrupt the elites.

Your Reply
was there no crruption during Shagari's reime?
What there no corruption in the first republic? Although very minimal. Go and read "WHY WE STRUCK", insight of the first military coup.
Now Abacha and IBB are no more in government,
has the corruption stopped?
The fact is those civilian you are talking about they truncated are also the appologists of the military. Some of them served in the military regime. Majority of those who ruled with Abacha and IBB are the ones holding political offices now. Nothing has changed.
My advice to you Buhari haters is that if you want to be a well informed person, dont look at the messanger, rather look at the message. If our political elites should for onece see themselve as the bane of Nigeria development, then it better for us.
re the ones holding political offices now. Nothing has changed.
My advice to you Buhari haters is that if you want to be a well informed person, dont look at the messanger, rather look at the message. If our political elites should for onece see themselve as the bane of Nigeria development, then it better for us.

This man called Buhari should just keep his mouth shut.This is how he incited the Nothern Almajiris to take up arms knowing fully well that he was going to loose elections.He comes out to paint himself as a saint.Was he not the head of the criminal millitary gang that seized power from Shagari in 1983.What is the difference between that and armed robbery.These same gang constituted themselves into the elite that he is part of.I advise the security operatives to watch him.

Hehehe!

spicyhunky:

This man called Buhari should just keep his mouth shut.This is how he incited the Nothern Almajiris to take up arms knowing fully well that he was going to loose elections.He comes out to paint himself as a saint.Was he not the head of the criminal millitary gang that seized power from Shagari in 1983.What is the difference between that and armed robbery.These same gang constituted themselves into the elite that he is part of.I advise the security operatives to watch him.

Abeg tell them oo. The Buhari man thinks that we have forgotten why we didn't vote him. If he want sympathy, let him call off his Boko Haram dogs off the street before he can start talking.

Educate yourselves about Buhari's fight against corruption, see the news stories during his time as Head of State

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-693700.32.html

Buhari did not lead the coup in DEc 1983, he was appointed by his peers after the coup after the coup leader was killed.

Buhari could of course be regarded as part of the elite, but he is referring to the current ruling elite.

just click and read the thread, and you would have a better understanding.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-693700.32.html

[size=20pt]General Buhari's Maiden Speech:[/size]

In pursuance of the primary objective of saving our great nation from total collapse, I, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari of the Nigerian army have, after due consultation amongst the services of the armed forces, been formally invested with the authority of the Head of the Federal Military Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is with humility and a deep sense of responsibility that I accept this challenge and call to national duty.



As you must have heard in the previous announcement, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1979) has been suspended, except those sections of it which are exempted in the constitution.The change became necessary in order to put an end to the serious economic predicament and the crisis of confidence now afflicting our nation. Consequently, the Nigerian armed forces have constituted themselves into a Federal Military Government comprising of a Supreme Military Council, a National Council of States, a Federal Executive Council at the centre and State Executive Councils to be presided over by military governors in each of the states of the federation. Members of these councils will be announced soon.The last Federal Military Government drew up a programme with the aim of handing over political power to the civilians in 1979. This programme as you all know, was implemented to the letter. The 1979 constitution was promulgated. However, little did the military realise that the political leadership of the second republic will circumvent most of the checks and balances in the constitution and bring the present state of general insecurity. The premium on political power became so exceedingly high that political contestants regarded victory at elections as a matter of life and death struggle and were determined to capture or retain power by all means.



It is true that there is a worldwide economic recession. However, in the case of Nigeria, its impact was aggravated by mismanagement. We believe the appropriate government agencies have good advice but the leadership disregarded their advice. The situation could have been avoided if the legislators were alive to their constitutional responsibilities; Instead, the legislators were preoccupied with determining their salary scales, fringe benefit and unnecessary foreign travels, et al, which took no account of the state of the economy and the welfare of the people they represented. As a result of our inability to cultivate financial discipline and prudent management of the economy, we have come to depend largely on internal and external borrowing to execute government projects with attendant domestic pressure and soaring external debts, thus aggravating the propensity of the outgoing civilian administration to mismanage our financial resources. Nigeria was already condemned perpetually with the twin problem of heavy budget deficits and weak balance of payments position, with the prospect of building a virile and viable economy.




The last general election was anything but free and fair. The only political parties that could complain of election rigging are those parties that lacked the resources to rig. There is ample evidence that rigging and thuggery were relative to the resources available to the parties. This conclusively proved to us that the parties have not developed confidence in the presidential system of government on which the nation invested so much material and human resources.While corruption and indiscipline have been associated with our state of under-development, these two evils in our body politic have attained unprecedented height in the past few years. The corrupt, inept and insensitive leadership in the last four years has been the source of immorality and impropriety in our society. Since what happens in any society is largely a reflection of the leadership of that society, we deplore corruption in all its facets. This government will not tolerate kick-backs, inflation of contracts and over-invoicing of imports etc. Nor will it condone forgery, fraud, embezzlement, misuse and abuse of office and illegal dealings in foreign exchange and smuggling.



Arson has been used to cover up fraudulent acts in public institutions. I am referring to the fire incidents that gutted the P&T buildings in Lagos, the Anambra State Broadcasting Corporation, the Republic Building at Marina, the Federal Ministry of Education, the Federal Capital Development Authority Accounts at Abuja and the NET Building. Most of these fire incidents occurred at a time when Nigerians were being apprehensive of the frequency of fraud scandals and the government incapacity to deal with them. Corruption has become so pervasive and intractable that a whole ministry has been created to stem it.



Fellow Nigerians, this indeed is the moment of truth. My colleagues and I – the Supreme Military Council, must be frank enough to acknowledge the fact that at the moment, an accurate picture of the financial position is yet to be determined. We have no doubt that the situation is bad enough. In spite of all this, every effort will be made to ensure that the difficult and degrading conditions under which we are living are eliminated. Let no one however be deceived that workers who have not received their salaries in the past eight or so months will receive such salaries within today or tomorrow or that hospitals which have been without drugs for months will be provided with enough immediately.We are determined that with the help of God we shall do our best to settle genuine payments to which government is committed, including backlog of workers’ salaries after scrutiny. We are confident and we assure you that even in the face of the global recession, and the seemingly gloomy financial future, given prudent management of Nigeria’s existing financial resources and our determination to substantially reduce and eventually nail down rises in budgetary deficits and weak balance of payments position.The Federal Military Government will reappraise policies with a view to paying greater attention to the following areas:



The economy will be given a new impetus and better sense of direction.
Corrupt officials and their agents will be brought to book.
In view of the drought that affected most parts of the country, the federal government will, with the available resources, import food stuffs to supplement the shortfalls suffered in the last harvest.
Our foreign policy will both be dynamic and realistic. Africa will of course continue to be the centre piece of our foreign policy. The morale and combat readiness of the armed forces will be given high priority. Officers and men with high personal and professional integrity will have nothing to fear.



The Chief Justice of Nigeria and all other holders of judiciary appointments within the federation can continue in their appointments and the judiciary shall continue to function under existing laws subject to such exceptions as may e decreed from time to time by the Federal Military Government. All holders of appointments in the civil service, the police and the National Security Organisation shall continue to exercise their functions in the normal way subject to changes that may be introduced by the Federal Military Government. All those chairmen and members of statutory corporations, parastatals and other executive departments are hereby relieved of their appointments with immediate effect.



The Federal Military Government will maintain and strengthen existing diplomatic relations with other states and with international organisations and institutions such as the Organisation of African Unity, the United Nations and its organs, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, ECOWAS and the Commonwealth etc. The Federal Military Government will honour and respect all treaties and obligations entered into by the previous government and we hope that such nations and bodies will reciprocate this gesture by respecting our country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.




Fellow Nigerians, finally, we have dutifully intervened to save this nation from imminent collapse. We therefore expect all Nigerians, including those who participated directly or indirectly in bringing the nation to this present predicament, to cooperate with us. This generation of Nigerians, and indeed future generations, have no country other than Nigeria. We shall remain here and salvage it together.

May God bless us all. Good morning.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-693700.32.html

Godman_n:

Animal Nigerians without head. You will soon reap what you sowed.

I am sure ordinary Nigerians are better than you commentators here.

Sure it is the children of the stealing elites that would never see the truth that Buhari keeps saying.

He cried during the election and we laughed. Today we have a GEJ. The masses are dying. But don't worry, it will soon get to most of us.

Then in shame we will come to realise the saint that Buhari is.

cursed people! cursed land.

I am ashamed to be part of you

I will be of the same mind with you, but for the bolded learn to make use of your tongue wisely particularly when it's come to reference in a public forum like NL thanks.

It surely is about time some Good Samaritan hauled off and seriously bust a cap on Ayatollah Buhari.  

Smoke that bird-brained genocide instigator of the Boko Haram and lost elections fame, and turn him into an oozing jellyfish like his hero Osama Bin Laden wound up, when the Navy Seals got done with him.  Nobody will miss that waste of space, except perhaps his illiterate murder-mobs, who rely on Ayatollah Buhari to funnel Al Queda terrorist blood-money for the perpetration of their ongoing bombing campaign against innocent civilians in Nigeria.

@topic (Buhari)

Abi?

Jakumo:

It surely is about time some Good Samaritan hauled off and seriously bust a cap on Ayatollah Buhari.  

Smoke that bird-brained the genocide instigator of the Boko Haram and lost elections fame, and turn him into an oozing jellyfish like his hero Osama Bin Laden wound up, when the Navy Seals got done with him.  Nobody will miss that waste of space, except perhaps his illiterate murder-mobs, who rely on Ayatollah Buhari to funnel Al Queda terrorist blood-money for the perpetration of their ongoing bombing campaign against innocent civilians in Nigeria.

Well said, no one will miss him; or maybe perhaps those who enjoy seeing him continuously make a mockery of himself as a perpetual election loser, and litigant. Other than that and his recent orchestration of mass murder of innocent corpers and other Nigeria, and his enthronement of Boko Haram, what has that old senile murderer contributed to Nigeria?

You are right sir, he wont be missed; the celebration of his exit will only be matched by that of Abacha's - both murderous sons of bi*&S*cth!

[size=18pt]05 January 1984   -  ITN News (video clip)
MILITARY GOVERNORS SWORN IN AND WARNED OF PENALTIES FOR CRIME AND CORRUPTION. (video clip)[/size]

http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//ITN/1984/01/05/AS050184005/?s=nigeria&st=2&pn=96&sortBy=date
(this clip starts moving after first 35seconds)

Nineteen military governors were formally appointed by the new Head of State, Major-General Mohammed Buhari, and other members of the country's Supreme Military Council (SMC) in Lagos on January 4 to run Nigeria's federal states.

General Buhari attended the official swearing-in ceremony, which came four days after he led a bloodless coup ousting former President Shehu Shagari.

Speaking at the ceremony, Buhari reminded his new governors of their duties.All were chosen, he said, for their ability to discharge their responsibilities in the best interests of the country.He went on to warn them that crime and corruption for personal gain, one reason for the coup, would be ruthlessly punished.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-693700.32.html

Jakumo:

It surely is about time some Good Samaritan hauled off and seriously bust a cap on Ayatollah Buhari.  

Smoke that bird-brained genocide instigator of the Boko Haram and lost elections fame, and turn him into an oozing jellyfish like his hero Osama Bin Laden wound up, when the Navy Seals got done with him.  Nobody will miss that waste of space, except perhaps his illiterate murder-mobs, who rely on Ayatollah Buhari to funnel Al Queda terrorist blood-money for the perpetration of their ongoing bombing campaign against innocent civilians in Nigeria.

you are so funny.i'll love to give you a treat you'll never forget

PointB, you are nothing but revulsion. I don't read from you a single meaningful post all the way through your wasted days here, I misfortune the kind of graduate you are, learn to use your number 6 before liberating any of your comment.