Nigeria Might Still Break Up Under
Buhari
-By Lloyd Ukwu- September 18, 2015
American and Western European experts predicted
that Nigeria will disintegrate in 2015. With the
political desperation and frenzy that marked the
political campaigns of the 2015 presidential
election, many thought that Nigeria was at the
point of the predicted 2015 disintegration.
Surprisingly, the election took place without the
much anticipated violence. And following the
election, the incumbent president, Goodluck
Jonathan, conceded defeat to the victorious
opposition presidential candidate, Mohammudu
Buhari. This forestalled the anticipated violence
and predicted breakup. Refreshingly, the
doomsayers were proved wrong.
Disturbingly, Nigeria is still not completely out of
the woods; as it may still break up. The
possibility of conflict and dissolution of the
country continue to loom because Buhari is
stoking trouble. He is actively stirring up issues
that can lead to serious national conflicts. Nigeria
is a very complex country, and its governance is
complicated by tribal, religious and sectional
rivalries. In my viewpoint, Buhari is insensitive to
this complexity and lacks the finesse and
dexterity needed to govern Nigeria. With a military
background and orientation, and a total lack of a
liberal education, he is ill-equipped to preside
over a democratic Nigeria. He has no refinement,
and as such, only understands the language of
force. He also does not understand the world
order. Recall that he once referred to Germany as
Western Germany and Chancellor Angela Merkel
as President Michelle. Those were just tip of the
iceberg.
There is no doubt that corruption is killing
Nigeria, and that something needs to be done
urgently to deal with it. But you do not pull the
entire house down simply to kill the rats in the
ceiling. It demands that you methodically take out
the rats one by one, so that, after the rats are
gone, you still have a house to live in. He needs
to respect the equality of all Nigerians under the
law. His 95 per cent formula is naive and
counterproductive. A successful war on corruption
is not necessarily a function of the number of
people jailed. The emphasis should not be just on
sending people to jail for corruption, but also, in
deterring acts of corruption. In his fight against
corruption, Buhari refuses to understand that
Nigeria is a representative democracy, and not a
military dictatorship or a neo-military
dictatorship.
A democracy is guided by the rule of law and not
the impulsiveness and arbitrariness of a retired
army general. The legal process is usually slow
and painstaking. Buhari is impetuous; he does
not have the patience and tolerance for the
measured pace of the law. He wants, at his
whims and caprices, to jail southern politicians
and his enemies of northern extraction such as
Col. Sambo Dasuki for corruption. He wants to
rearrange the judiciary, and reconstruct and
expand Kirikiri Prison. He will then fill the prison
with his political enemies, as all those he fingered
for corruption will automatically be arrested by
the Economic and Financial Crime Commission
(EFCC) and jailed for one hundred years or
more by a compliant judiciary, dominated by
northern judges.
Is Buhari’s hypocrisy not conspicuously obvious?
To tackle corruption, he must first purge himself
of his excess baggage. He must approach equity
with clean hands. How on earth can he fight
corruption when the likes of Tinubu, Okorocha and
former governor, Amaechi are his political allies?
Please explain it to me! Amaechi is the man that
funded Buhari’s campaign with the money he
stole from the coffers of the government of Rivers
State. Buhari, of course, knew that the funds were
stolen and laundered by the former governor. At
the time he was splurging stolen money on the
Buhari Presidential Campaign, he was a sitting
governor. He was not a multibillionaire in the
mold of Dangote. So, the source of the money
was obvious to Buhari.
It is understandable that a president appoints
people that he is comfortable with to work with
him. But to appoint only his friends and relatives
to pivotal positions as the Director Generals of
the Directorate of State Security (DSS), Customs
and Immigrations and the Chairman of the
Independent National Election Commission (INEC)
is nepotism. Nepotism is corruption. And he
insulted the sensibilities of Nigerians by justifying
the appointments on the grounds that the
appointees are loyal to him as friends and
relatives. It is wrong for him to give the
impression that only his friends, relatives and
others from the northern part of Nigeria are
competent, and committed to his vision. In
addition, his punishing of those regions of the
country that did not vote for him in the
presidential election is grossly unfair. It is not
only setting a dangerous precedent but inflames
ethnic fury.
My honest advice to Buhari is to first of all
stabilize the economy and embark on institutional
reforms that will strengthen the judiciary and the
legislature before delving into other major divisive
issues. However, he is neither reforming nor
strengthening our national institutions. Actually,
he is weakening them; he meddles in the judiciary
and remote-controls the Senate and the House;
thus, undermining the separation of powers. This
is posing a serious problem for Nigerian
democracy because these branches of government
need to operate independently.
What we are experiencing today is a military
regime masquerading as a democracy. Buhari’s
hounding of his political enemies with Gestapo-
styled DSS raids on state government houses,
private homes, etc attests to this reality. The
lopsidedness of his administration’s actions is
causing some silent but powerful and dangerous
ripple. Nigeria is boiling. I see 1966 coming full
cycle. And if this continues, Nigeria will break up.
Lloyd Ukwu, an international lawyer writes from
Washington, D.C. USA.
( lawgroupinternational@gmail.com ) http://pointblanknews.com/pbn/articles-opinions/nigeria-might-still-break-up-under-buhari/#.Vf7Ck2N20UF.facebook
Buhari
-By Lloyd Ukwu- September 18, 2015
American and Western European experts predicted
that Nigeria will disintegrate in 2015. With the
political desperation and frenzy that marked the
political campaigns of the 2015 presidential
election, many thought that Nigeria was at the
point of the predicted 2015 disintegration.
Surprisingly, the election took place without the
much anticipated violence. And following the
election, the incumbent president, Goodluck
Jonathan, conceded defeat to the victorious
opposition presidential candidate, Mohammudu
Buhari. This forestalled the anticipated violence
and predicted breakup. Refreshingly, the
doomsayers were proved wrong.
Disturbingly, Nigeria is still not completely out of
the woods; as it may still break up. The
possibility of conflict and dissolution of the
country continue to loom because Buhari is
stoking trouble. He is actively stirring up issues
that can lead to serious national conflicts. Nigeria
is a very complex country, and its governance is
complicated by tribal, religious and sectional
rivalries. In my viewpoint, Buhari is insensitive to
this complexity and lacks the finesse and
dexterity needed to govern Nigeria. With a military
background and orientation, and a total lack of a
liberal education, he is ill-equipped to preside
over a democratic Nigeria. He has no refinement,
and as such, only understands the language of
force. He also does not understand the world
order. Recall that he once referred to Germany as
Western Germany and Chancellor Angela Merkel
as President Michelle. Those were just tip of the
iceberg.
There is no doubt that corruption is killing
Nigeria, and that something needs to be done
urgently to deal with it. But you do not pull the
entire house down simply to kill the rats in the
ceiling. It demands that you methodically take out
the rats one by one, so that, after the rats are
gone, you still have a house to live in. He needs
to respect the equality of all Nigerians under the
law. His 95 per cent formula is naive and
counterproductive. A successful war on corruption
is not necessarily a function of the number of
people jailed. The emphasis should not be just on
sending people to jail for corruption, but also, in
deterring acts of corruption. In his fight against
corruption, Buhari refuses to understand that
Nigeria is a representative democracy, and not a
military dictatorship or a neo-military
dictatorship.
A democracy is guided by the rule of law and not
the impulsiveness and arbitrariness of a retired
army general. The legal process is usually slow
and painstaking. Buhari is impetuous; he does
not have the patience and tolerance for the
measured pace of the law. He wants, at his
whims and caprices, to jail southern politicians
and his enemies of northern extraction such as
Col. Sambo Dasuki for corruption. He wants to
rearrange the judiciary, and reconstruct and
expand Kirikiri Prison. He will then fill the prison
with his political enemies, as all those he fingered
for corruption will automatically be arrested by
the Economic and Financial Crime Commission
(EFCC) and jailed for one hundred years or
more by a compliant judiciary, dominated by
northern judges.
Is Buhari’s hypocrisy not conspicuously obvious?
To tackle corruption, he must first purge himself
of his excess baggage. He must approach equity
with clean hands. How on earth can he fight
corruption when the likes of Tinubu, Okorocha and
former governor, Amaechi are his political allies?
Please explain it to me! Amaechi is the man that
funded Buhari’s campaign with the money he
stole from the coffers of the government of Rivers
State. Buhari, of course, knew that the funds were
stolen and laundered by the former governor. At
the time he was splurging stolen money on the
Buhari Presidential Campaign, he was a sitting
governor. He was not a multibillionaire in the
mold of Dangote. So, the source of the money
was obvious to Buhari.
It is understandable that a president appoints
people that he is comfortable with to work with
him. But to appoint only his friends and relatives
to pivotal positions as the Director Generals of
the Directorate of State Security (DSS), Customs
and Immigrations and the Chairman of the
Independent National Election Commission (INEC)
is nepotism. Nepotism is corruption. And he
insulted the sensibilities of Nigerians by justifying
the appointments on the grounds that the
appointees are loyal to him as friends and
relatives. It is wrong for him to give the
impression that only his friends, relatives and
others from the northern part of Nigeria are
competent, and committed to his vision. In
addition, his punishing of those regions of the
country that did not vote for him in the
presidential election is grossly unfair. It is not
only setting a dangerous precedent but inflames
ethnic fury.
My honest advice to Buhari is to first of all
stabilize the economy and embark on institutional
reforms that will strengthen the judiciary and the
legislature before delving into other major divisive
issues. However, he is neither reforming nor
strengthening our national institutions. Actually,
he is weakening them; he meddles in the judiciary
and remote-controls the Senate and the House;
thus, undermining the separation of powers. This
is posing a serious problem for Nigerian
democracy because these branches of government
need to operate independently.
What we are experiencing today is a military
regime masquerading as a democracy. Buhari’s
hounding of his political enemies with Gestapo-
styled DSS raids on state government houses,
private homes, etc attests to this reality. The
lopsidedness of his administration’s actions is
causing some silent but powerful and dangerous
ripple. Nigeria is boiling. I see 1966 coming full
cycle. And if this continues, Nigeria will break up.
Lloyd Ukwu, an international lawyer writes from
Washington, D.C. USA.
( lawgroupinternational@gmail.com ) http://pointblanknews.com/pbn/articles-opinions/nigeria-might-still-break-up-under-buhari/#.Vf7Ck2N20UF.facebook
