President Muhammadu Buhari astounded the nation last Wednesday when he switched into lamentation mood over the nation’s growing insecurity. The President, who was speaking through the Secretary to the Federal Government, Boss Mustapha, at a security summit organised by the House of Representatives in Abuja, said insecurity was hampering the accomplishment of his developmental plans for the country.
The president said, “Insecurity, as you are aware, impacts on the citizens and the economy and the governance machinery without regard to political, religious, ethnic or other affiliations. It challenges the foundation of our nationhood and stands in the way of our achieving our highest ambitions for Nigeria.
“I am certain that we shall overcome just as we have done many times throughout our history. However, success at this time requires that we set aside all other considerations and commit ourselves to a common endeavour in the national interest.”
If President Buhari’s desire was to elicit sympathy, he missed the mark by a mile, but if he intentioned to get Nigerians exasperated and infuriated, he hit the target perfectly. The reason is simple. The President was elected to solve three major problems confronting the nation; insecurity, corruption and economy. He promised Nigerians that he was going to solve these problems when he campaigned, hence Nigerians entrusted their destiny to him by supporting him to defeat a sitting president. So, Nigerians expect him to go ahead and solve the problems, not to whine and gripe over the issues because he has been amply supplied with the resources required to accomplish the task. Leaders are provided resources to get results. President Buhari controls all the country’s resources; men, money and material. So, he should deploy the resources at his disposal to give Nigerians the result they desire. The President has no business complaining, he should just get the job done and spare the nation the agony of his frustration.
Rather than delving into a jeremiad lamentation despite the resources at his beck and call, Nigerians expect President Muhammadu Buhari to mow down insecurity, cage corruption and unleash the economy so that Nigerians can live a good life and maximally utilize their potential. But rather than do any of these, the President has been moaning about his limitations and frustrations.
What this suggests to me is that despite being the Head of State from December 31, 1983 till August 27, 1985, and being an elected president since May 29, 2015, Buhari has yet to have a grasp of his responsibility as the nation’s chief executive officer.
President Buhari’s handlers and aides need to drum this into him, by accepting to lead the nation, he lost the right to complain because he has the power to fix what is not right. The President needs to understand that the buck stops on his table. Everyone else in the country can come up with an excuse for why something cannot be done, but not the President. The Chief of Army Staff or the Chief of Defence Staff or the Inspector General of Police may give 1001 reasons for the escalating insurgency and unceasing banditry, but not the President. Everyone looks up to the President for direction, he cannot afford to look down in confusion. It is not the calling of leaders to duck or pass responsibility, President Buhari should not set an un-presidential precedent.
The President needs to understand that whatever he encourages increases while what he discourages reduces. By allowing himself to slide into complaints and grumbling about what he has been empowered to handle, the President inadvertently sets a template for his ministers and other appointed officers. If the President is a go-getter, the same mindset is entrenched in his lieutenants, but if the President is one who picks up excuses no matter how untenable, those who work with him will not be able to rise above their principal’s capacity.
This probably explains why the nation’s challenges have been compounding since 2015 when President Buhari took over. The economy has become battered, inflation has shot through the roof and the currency has hit rock-bottom; insecurity has worsened and corruption has escalated because rather than seeing these issues as challenges to provide answers to, President Buhari has largely been grumbling, complaining and blaming others for them. This has therefore set the limit for those working with him and they have subsequently failed to challenge themselves to proffer solutions to the problems.
If the family head is a moaner, every member of the household will be a loser.
Re: Is hope strong enough to arrest insecurity?
Sir, I am an avid reader of your Sunday Tribune column. Your piece of yesterday, titled ‘Is hope strong enough to arrest insecurity?’ gladdened my heart. It was superlative. The problem of Nigeria is lack of good and visionary leaders. When Rwanda had a good leader, their situation changed for good. May God give us good leaders. God will bless you and by the grace of God, all the good wishes you expressed and suggested in your piece will come to pass in Nigeria.
Mr Tosin Taiwo – 0906-563-1224.
Without any doubt, your piece with above title in your column in Sunday Tribune of 9th May 2021 is fantastic, indeed it is the crux of the matter for the well being, nay, the survival of this country! My only hope (“hope” again!) is that the concerned people, i.e. the alleged leaders, would have access to the write-up; beyond that, that they would have the sense to understand and digest it, and have the heart to act on it appropriately, and in good time.
The problem with our country now is that those of them that are not evil minded among them are selfish or/and self conceited, in all ramifications. Oh God, give us a Kagame in our country now!!
Olaitan Makanju – olaitanmakanju@gmail.com
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