Femi Adesina and President Buhari
These are very difficult times in our country. Sad, mournful and
dolorous times, as the New Year opened with killings in Rivers, Kaduna,
Taraba, and Benue states, among others. Of course, there had been
gruesome carnage on the Mambilla plateau mid last year, and bloodletting
in Numan, Adamawa State, as well as in other places. Hell suddenly
seemed to have enlarged itself against Nigeria. Sincere condolences to
those who are grieving and mourning the loss of loved ones.
But instead of finding solutions, and joining to chart the way
forward, some people are making political capital out of the killings.
They are trying to use the orgy of bloodshed to advance their political
interests, wanting to make it appear that it is a failure of the
Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Faults are thick where love is thin. There is prejudice in Nigeria.
Plenty. There is insularity, in prodigious quantity. There is animus,
antipathy against anyone that is not of your ethnic or religious stock,
or that belongs to a different political orientation or persuasion. If
you meet him, kill him, if you can't catch him, poison his footsteps,
seems to be the singsong among some people. And as the build-up to
general elections, next year gathers momentum, matters are made worse.
Everything must be politicized, including wanton killings. There
must be spurious handshakes across the Niger, and across the Benue, all
for political gains.
But I stand with Buhari, and will always do. Why won't you? Your
snout is in the honeypot, licking the nectars of office, some cynics
would say. Really? My bank balances do not indicate so. It is not just
about money. It is about conviction. It is about believing in a man who
can bring enduring change to our country if we allow God to have His way
through him.
Standing with Buhari through thick and thin is not about money, or
the spoils of office, which are not even available in these lean times.
In or out of my present position, I stand with Buhari. Sir Walter Scott
wrote: "Other people's resolutions may fluctuate on the wild and
changeful billows of human opinion. Ours, now and forever, is anchored
on the Rock of Ages."
In or out of government, I stand with Buhari. Why? You will get to know shortly.
There is strident attempt to defame, demean and de-market the
Buhari government today. Who are those behind it? The crooks, thieves,
freeloaders, who want business as usual. They hate probity. Their souls
abhor accountability. They prefer the plunder of the past years, and
can't wait to see that epoch return. They engage in all sorts of
misinformation and disinformation. Hate speeches. Fake news. Under us,
you had leeks, onions, and garlic to eat. You were fed manna till you
wanted no more.
When you were tired of the fluffy stuff, we gave you meat, you
gorged yourself so much, till meat began to come out of your noses. They
wouldn't tell you about what William Shakespeare calls "the goodly
apple, but rotten at the cheek." They won't tell you about humongous
amounts of money made from oil, which stood at over $100 dollars per
barrel for about six years, and which they looted to the last cent.
Foreign reserves; depleted. Excess Crude Account; looted. Federation
Account; plundered.
They turned the country into a wasteland, leaving an economy primed
for recession. But deftly and sure-footed, the Buhari administration is
building a new foundation for the economy, erecting an edifice that
will stand the test of time, not a bubble that collapses with just a
pinprick, not a will-o-the-wisp that vanishes in the midday sun.
That is why I stand with Buhari and have stood with him since he
was a military leader in the 1980s. I can trust this President. I can go
to bed, knowing that my leader is not striking deals to fleece the
country from the dead of night. I can trust that every money that comes
into the coffers of Nigeria, will be used for the good of Nigerians.
Am I saying it is a perfect administration? Such has not been
forged from the smithy of the divine powers. Every human enterprise will
have its shortcomings, but on Buhari, I still stand. I stand with him,
and by him, any day.
Some people ask themselves: can we afford to be outside government
for another four years from 2019? We would be dead! No access to the
public treasury, which we know how well to abuse and plunder? To ravage
and savage. They have spat into the sky and collected the spittle with
their faces.
Rather than let Buhari be, we would employ all the tricks in the
books. Defame, demean, de-market him. Is he not Fulani? He is supporting
herdsmen causing murder and mayhem around the country. Trumpet it from
the rooftops, even without a scintilla of evidence. He is sectional and
bent on Islamizing the country. He is fighting a one-sided
anti-corruption war. His war against an insurgency is a fluke, not
winnable.
They refuse to see massive investments in infrastructure, which
would burst into full bloom in another year or two. Roads, rail, power.
They refuse to see the rebounding economy, strides in agriculture and
mining, all with good auguries for the future. They refuse to
acknowledge the stock market, which recently recorded N15.78 trillion,
the highest in the history of the country. What of N1.3 trillion spent
on capital projects in 2016? And almost the same amount for 2017? No,
they rather imagine how much of that amount they would have pocketed if
they were in power, living in obscene luxury, while the rest of the
country went to hell if it wanted. They refuse to see the good things
happening to the country. And none is as blind as those who deliberately
refuse to see. All these and more are the reasons I stand with Buhari,
and will always do. So that Nigeria can have a future and a hope. Our
own Canaan, flowing with milk and honey.
After primitive fury was unleashed in Benue, and about 73 people
were left dead, a sitting President eyeing reelection could also play
politics with it, visiting and muttering the right words to impress the
people. Nothing wrong. But for President Buhari, action speaks louder
than words. Action stations, he told the security agencies. The Deputy
Inspector General of Police in charge of Operations was first
despatched, then the Minister of Interior, the Inspector General of
Police himself, and then the Nigerian Army. Consultations were held with
the governor of the state, with Benue elders, and now, a committee
headed by the Vice President, made up of nine governors, has been set up
to proffer solutions to farmers/herdsmen clashes. Action truly speaks
louder than words.
President Buhari has not thrown his hat officially into the ring
for a second term in office. But they are in mortal fear of him running.
Therefore, they do all they can to dissuade him. Malign him, paint him
black, devalue him before the electorate. But they don't know that there
are many devices in the hearts of men, but only the counsel of God
shall stand. If God has ordained President Buhari to be in power beyond
2019, human effort to stop it can only end in futility.
I stand with Buhari because it is solid ground for Nigeria. All
other ground I see, at least for now, is sinking sand. For us, for our
children, for generations yet unborn, Buhari is engendering a new
country, whose builder and maker is God. Let the wailers wail;
endlessly. Let the heathens rage; till they render themselves hoarse.
Let them throw even the kitchen sink at him, they did worse in the build
up to 2015. I stand with Buhari. I know his heart for Nigeria, and for
Nigerians. Let people shed their prejudices. Let them eschew hate, and
purge themselves of all malice. The future can only then be written in
gold.
***************
By: Femi Adesina - Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity
No comments:
Post a Comment