Buhari’s second term declaration expected

Last week’s declaration by President Muhammadu Buhari, that he would seek a second term in office came as a surprise to no one. Opposition and critics of the administration feigned shock and surprise by their utterances as it is an open secret that no Nigerian President or leader has ever jettisoned the idea of running for second term in office at the expiration of his initial term.

Buhari came to power in 2015 with so much goodwill and promise. Three years down the line, his actions, inaction, utterances and style of governance have frittered away a lot of that goodwill. Buhari’s alleged sins are numerous; nepotism, lack of communication with the citizenry, lethargic response to critical issues in the polity, selective prosecution of the anti-graft war, rising wave of insecurity and non-adherence to the rule of law e.g in the cases of Sheikh El-Zakzakky, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd), and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

However, he does have a few plus; he succeeded in lifting Nigeria out of economic recession which began under the previous administration in 2014, though biting poverty is still ubiquitous and endemic among the populace. His release of two bailout funds and Paris Club Refunds (totalling over a trillion naira) to states is commendable as it was pivotal in lifting the economy out of recession.

• Buhari will win again in 2019—Kalu

No matter what people think or say, his selective prosecution of the anti-graft war has only affected the guilty and not the innocents. Those among the guilty who are currently being shielded from prosecution by the powers that be, will have their day in court someday when a Pharaoh arises that does not know Joseph.

PMB is going into 2019 with a lot of baggage unlike in 2015 – one, the incessant killings by herdsmen coupled with his lackadaisical attitude and lackluster response to the issue, has eroded a lot of support for him especially among those who have borne the brunt of these attacks. It has also fuelled conspiracy theories of the Hausa/Fulani agenda to take over Nigeria and rule as overlords over the rest of the country.

Two, the anti-graft war has negatively impacted a lot of looters who are major donors to Nigeria’s influential Pastors and Churches. Recent revelations have shown that a lot of monies looted from our collective patrimony during the past administration, found it’s way into the churches. For example, a major witness in the trial of Major General Emmanuel Atewe (rtd), one of the Army Generals accused of looting billions of naira meant for the purchase of arms to fight the Boko Haram insurgency.

Peter Ovie Akus,

Ifo, Ogun State.