Chief (Sir) Don Ubani; KSC, JP[b][/b]
(Okwubunka of Asa) Umuiku-Isi-Asa Ukwa-West
E-mail: Ubanidon@yahoo.com
P.M.B. 7048, Aba
Phone: 08035523360
AUGUST 28TH, 2015

BUHARI BELONGS TO SOMEBODY AND NOT TO EVERY BODY
SCRIPTED BY CHIEF (SIR) DON UBANI

Apart from corruption, no other ill has adversely affected Nigeria’s social and economic development as much as nepotism and tribalism. For purposes of having, at least, an elementary knowledge of nepotism and tribalism, a simple definition of the two words would be given hereunder. Nepotism is the giving of special favour by a person in a high position of authority to his relatives. As for tribalism, it means holistic inclination by an individual or group to distribute resources of a larger group merely on primordial consideration.

In trying to explain further, one could say that the sociological distance between nepotism and tribalism might only be found in number and scope. The two evils are products of parochialism and evidence of lack of broad-based education. The application of either of the two runs counter to the concept of meritocracy. In any set-up where nepotism or tribalism stands as a determining factor, productivity can not be high, as best hands who may not be related to persons in charge or may not be of the same tribe with them would be discriminated against. This will certainly deter progress. Take for instance, a football coach that allows either nepotism or tribalism to dictate his choice of players for a match or matches would end up not only losing matches but would surely hinder the growth of his club. Performance and good results are products of ability and skill.

Looking from a wider horizon, one may not be wrong to assert that the same negative effects that result from nepotism and tribalism prevail in a situation where a leader or person in authority, who gives the impression that he would fight corruption, deliberately becomes selective in his choice of supposed corrupt citizens to be probed.

One aspect of President Muhammadu Buhari’s inaugural speech delivered on May 29th, 2015 at the Eagle’s Square in Nigeria’s Federal capital of Abuja, which elicited a lot of interest in Nigerians, was his declaration that he belonged to everybody and belonged to no body.

Many Nigerians, on the strength of Buhari’s declaration, had assumed, if not concluded, that such a statement emanating from their leader would epitomize sincerity of purpose and patriotism of the highest order. Their assumption must have been anchored on their appreciation of the fact that Nigeria, having wobbled to a cross-road, engulfed in doubts and fears, needed nothing short of a statesman to navigate its apparently rudderless ship from a tempestuous tide. Nigerians interpreted Buhari’s speech to reflect the appearance on stage of a leader who would tower above primordial encumbrances of nepotism, tribalism, religion or partisanship. Many Nigerians were boldly tempted to assert that, unlike Odinga’s ‘Not Yet Uhuru’ in Kenya, ‘Uhuru’ had finally berthed in Nigeria.

Some critics may question why much emphasis would, in the first instance, be placed on Buhari’s every body and no body’ declaration. This, they may argue on the ground that Buhari was not the first Nigerian leader to make promises; promises, a good number of which, were not fulfilled. But for those who had placed emphasis on the President’s declaration, they had their reasons which could be convincing when stated. They were not unaware that Nigerian political leaders were fond of making public pledges that they would distance themselves from immediately after their oath of office, not minding the feelings of the masses. In the case of Buhari, they felt that Buhari, being aware that one major factor that counted against him when he was a military head of state in Nigeria was his open discrimination against some sections of the Nigerian polity, based on region and religion, would have a re-think, especially now that he has attained the chronological status of a septuagenarian. Thinking deeper, they reasoned that at 73 years of age, he would like to erase those records that portrayed him a despot and an ethnic jingoist.

The hope and expectations of Nigerians that had soared very high were, however, to be shattered by Buhari’s speech when he visited the United State of America, on the invitation of President Barrack Obama. In one of his meetings in America, he shocked the world when he publicly said that the parameter for distribution of resources, including political appointments, by his All Progressive Congress- led Federal Government would be determined by the voting pattern of Nigerians during the March 28, 2015 presidential election. As he put it, any geo-political zone that gave him ninety seven percent of its total vote cast should expect ninety seven percent patronage from his administration while the zone that gave him five percent of her votes should not expect reward that exceeds the same percentage of support he got from it.

This pronouncement by President Buhari in far-away United states of America is, indeed, lamentable. It is lamentable because the President of the most populous country in Africa and the whole of the black world should depict statesmanship in his carriage, utterance and conduct. He should see himself as having transcended the level of political party leadership. At the level where God and man have put Buhari, he should, of necessity, tower above partisanship and parochialism. For him to have made a speech that clearly bordered on segregation and discrimination was quite antithetical to his status as father of all. That statement, unfortunately and regrettably, conflicted with and contradicted his inaugural declaration that he belonged to everybody and belonged to no body. In the Bible book of Luke 6:45, it is said, ‘for out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks’. At the Eagle’s Square in Abuja on 29th May 2015 what President Buhari did was to read a prepared speech, which merely gave the impression, erroneously, that he would belong to everybody and would belong to nobody but during his official visit to the United States of America and during which time he spoke extempore, Buhari spoke out of the abundance of his heart.

Actions speak louder than voice. What the President revealed in America, has since been put into very strong but embarrassing actions. Before going further, it has to be stated, just to refresh actions. Before going further, it has to be stated, just to refresh memory, that Buhari, in the said presidential election, scored almost ninety-seven percent of the votes cast in the North-West region, a region he hails from. He almost recorded the same margin in North-East, a core Muslim region. In both North-central and South-West, his All Progressive Congress recorded reasonable majority of the votes cast in the regions. On the contrary, the people of the South-East and South-South voted, to the best of their mobilization, massively for Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party.

As at the time of putting this piece together, President Buhari had made forty-two appointments. True to his discriminatory stance, as made clear in the United States of America, thirty-five of these appointments went to his kinsmen of Northern Nigeria while only seven went to the South of Nigeria. No matter what any body would like to say in defence of Buhari’s choice of appointees, so far made, the truth remains that Nigeria is a very heterogeneous assemblage selfishly and forcefully made possible by the British colonial government. Because Nigeria is not, in any way, homogeneous, patterns of appointments and distribution of national resources can easily ignite suspicion. Besides, Nigeria is believed to be a federation that should be governed on the basis of the rule of law. Section 14 (3) of the constitution of Nigeria (1999), as amended, emphasizes that major appointments in the country shall reflect the federal character of the people of the federation.

Constitutionally-speaking, this section demands and implies that, irrespective of voting pattern in a presidential election, the diversity of the Nigerian people must seen to be reflected in distribution of strategic appointments. But for President Muhammadu Buhari, the constitution of Nigeria could go to hell as long as the interest of the North is, at any given time, placed above national consideration. There had been no time the Nigerian Federation had been as northernized as now under Buhari. The President is north, the President of the senate is north, the speaker of the House of Representatives is north, the Chief Justice of the Federation is north, the head of the Nigerian army is north, the secretary to the government of the federation is north, the Aide de Camp of the President is north, Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service is north, the Acting Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission is north, Director-General Budget office of the Federation is north, the Director-General Department of State Service is North and twenty-two other strategic positions that space would not accommodate here are North. Even during the dark era of military dictatorship in Nigeria, when rulers like Buhari ran the polity on the basis of ethnic discrimination and hate, what happened then was just a child’s play compared to what President Buhari has started to unfold as his Northern agenda.

To buttress the fact that he belongs to somebody and not to everybody, President Buhari has parochially limited his so-called probe agenda to the era of former President Goodluck Jonathan. This expresses Buhari’s determination to witch-hunt his imagined enemies. It is very probable that out of his desire to have his pound of flesh from Jonathan and the People’s Democratic Party, he has forgotten that government is a continuum. He has also refused to ask how and when did his financial sponsor, Alhaji Bolaji Tinubu, suddenly became a billionaire, if not trillionaire. To add salt to injury, President Buhari, according to Trent News, has directed that the chapel at the Presidential Villa; Aso Rock, be closed. This means that his administration does not want to the presence of the symbol of Christianity in the Presidential Villa. He is, therefore, anti-Christians. If President Buhari continues on this tract of parochialism and hate, he would certainly end up destroying himself and his political party. May be, Buhari has not come to terms with the realities of Nigeria being a democracy, as opposed to the Nigeria he ‘conquered’ in 1983. Many patriotic Nigerians, such as Bishop Mathew Kukah, Barrister Ebun Adegboruwa and organizations like Ohaneze Ndi Igbo and Southern Nigeriam People’s Assembly have advised President Buhari. The ball lies in his court.



Chief (Sir) Don Ubani

It is fact Buhari belongs to the north and the northerners alone. It is fact that Buhari can never be described as a man that is fair in his decision making and appointments. Nepotism, tribalism and "my personal person" has become the profile of the order of his appointments.

So when he said "i belong to everybody and to nobody", he was only passing a message to his power rival, BAT to stay clear.

Now Nigerians have seen and can tell whom and where he truly belongs.

Very true sir,nly dat d lying liars wudn't agree with this