Buhari Versus Retrogressive Forces

When President Muhammadu Buhari was taking his Oath of Office on May 29, 2015, he had declared pointedly: “I am for everybody and I am for nobody”. The statement may have been startling to some, but clearly sent a signal of a non-aligned posturing that was determined to do the right thing, no matter whose ox was gored. What that presupposes is that his coming is meant for the good of all without fear or favour.Some pessimists are of the illusion that Buhari was just making a political comment and, to such people, it would be a matter of time before he knew that some cabals are untouchables. Yet, there are those who still believe that for daring to send them ‘out of business,’ they are equally prepared to make Nigeria ungovernable for the people’s President. To those of us who followed the 2015 campaigns closely, one can safely say that Buhari did make only three major promises that were centred on tackling insecurity, corruption and improving the economy. Buhari has succeeded largely in keeping two of the three promises, namely; the issue of corruption and insecurity with the processes of actualizing the third in top gear with the passage and signing of the 2016 Budget. It is instructive that even the President’s die-hard critics would admit that the current administration’s anti-graft war deserves everybody’s commendation, not so much for wiping out the malaise, but at least, for halting it as a first step towards reducing it to the barest minimum. On insecurity, those from the North-east are the major beneficiaries of the fulfillment of the promise made by Buhari. Barely one year in office, the APC-led government has achieved what those before it could not achieve in years. On the economic front, the President cannot be blamed for the depression being experienced presently, simply because he had the ill-luck of coming on board when the mainstay of the nation’s economy was facing its worst challenge in many decades. Simply put, the price of crude oil in the international market dropped in a geometric dimension from over $100 to less than $40 per barrel. The economic situation was made worse with the massive stealing of our Commonwealth. All these are incontrovertible facts known to every Nigerian, whether for or against Buhari, but what many are yet to fathom is the reason behind the current hardships Nigerians are facing. Before now, we have never heard of herdsmen killing people across the states, but in a frantic effort to make nonsense of Buhari’s success in the fight against Boko Haram, the enemies devised a means of creating another monster just to get at the President. The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) has joined the league of forces struggling to rubbish the efforts of Buhari. Treasury thieves whose activities have been halted have vowed to fight back by creating problems in the economy through fuel and foreign exchange scarcity with a view to casting aspersion and toga of incompetence on the government. The resultant hardship Nigerians are currently experiencing was created by the enemies of the Nigeria who do not wish for a better tomorrow. The fact of the matter, however, is that Buhari’s coming on the saddle was aptly timed as appropriate, but the environment was not conducive to avoid the pains that Nigerians are made to go through. Buhari’s ill-luck was that he has been forced to manage the pains of Nigerians created by others who are still lurking in the corner, hatching out plans to inflict more pains on innocent citizens in order to justify their absence from power Even though some Nigerians are quite aware of these facts, majority are still in the dark on the genesis of the pains we are going through and the time has come to rise up against these common enemies for a greater tomorrow. What Nigeria needs at the moment is a collective resolve to move the country forward. This cannot be achieved by fanning embers of discord, using all sorts of sentiments. All religious bigots, tribal champions and other advocates of retarded development in our country should have a rethink by turning a new leaf. Nigerians are fast becoming wiser and gone are those days when political leaders capitalize on the ignorance of the electorate to divide our ranks for personal aggrandisement. The time has come for all hands to be on deck in order to move the country forward. It is my CANDID VIEW that those who pose as Buhari’s enemies today are actually engaged in fighting against a better Nigeria. They should, therefore, be considered as our collective enemies.