FEATURE ARTICLE

Temple Chima UbochiFriday, August 28, 2015
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Bonn, Germany

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BUHARI'S APPOINTMENTS:
THE SOUTH-EASTERN REGION SHOULD RATHER FORGET IT, AS BUHARI HAS NO PLAN FOR IT

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We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools (Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

From the equality of rights springs identity of our highest interests; you cannot subvert your neighbor's rights without striking a dangerous blow at your own (Carl Schurz)

n August 27, 1985, General Ibrahim Babangida justified the coup that removed Buhari, as the head of state, in these words: "Regrettably, it turned out that Major-General Muhammadu Buhari was too rigid and uncompromising in his attitudes to issues of national significance. Efforts to make him understand that a diverse polity like Nigeria required recognition and appreciation of differences in both cultural and individual perceptions, only served to aggravate these attitudes". One can say now, without fear of contradiction, that IBB was right then, because, Buhari has remained the same till today. Instead of Buhari defeating the Boko Haram sect within three months, as he promised during the campaign, he's only interested in appointing only northerners into positions of authority. Ironically, it was the same Buhari who was crying in 2003, 2007 and 2011 that the governments of those days were marginalizing the north in appointments; but now, he's the one marginalizing the south in his appointments. Buhari's conduct in office so far has been opprobrious. Can somebody please tell him to practice what he has preached in the past! On fighting corruption; Buhari vowed to fight until he kills the menace before it kills Nigeria, but has got no mettle to stand up to the looters and get them into jail, because, he's not clean himself.

During the campaign period, some of us warned Nigerians that Buhari remains an ethnic bigot who has learned nothing from his old age and experience, but, some people disparaged us with all sorts of names. Now, many Nigerians are seeing the points we were making before that election. Some of us noted, before the election, that Buhari has no agenda or plan for Nigeria, and only wants to rule again to settle old scores, and nobody listened to us. Now, Buhari has brought his vindictive and parochial tendencies to the fore since he was elected. He has been ruling all alone, and had refused to appoint ministers till now. He forgot that what we have now is not a military rule, but, a democracy. What he has been doing is to set one probe panel after another without a minister of justice; he set up an economic team without a minister of finance; and he has been travelling all over the world without a foreign minister. Fani Kayode has said that "NIGERIANS WANTED ''CHANGE'' AND NOW WE HAVE GOT IT. NO-ONE SHOULD COMPLAIN BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT OUR PEOPLE WANTED. THOSE OF US THAT WARNED THE COUNTRY THAT THIS WOULD HAPPEN WERE INSULTED AND LAMPOONED. NOW WE HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR CHOICE FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. WELCOME TO THE NEW NIGERIA. WELCOME TO ''CHANGE''.

What's disturbing is the impunity or style Buhari employs in ruling Nigeria. Calling Buhari a civilian dictator might be an understatement. What's going on, and the worse is that nobody in Nigeria is speaking out loud or confronting him on his style of governance in a democracy. Buhari came into office with a lot of people's goodwill, but, he has betrayed that, and, nobody was complaining seriously about that, until now. Now, a plethora of criticisms and dilemmas have begun piling up on his desk. President Buhari has made some appointments so far, but, what's upsetting about it is the lopsidedness of those appointments. When Buhari was sworn in as the president, some of us who opposed his candidacy based on his past records, gave him the benefit of doubt, hoping that in a democratic setting, he would be a different and a better ruler than he was when he ruled as a military head of state. But, Buhari seems worse as a democratically elected president than as a military dictator. One can safely say that there was no difference between Buhari the head of state and Buhari the president, as the difference is blurred. Why on earth would Buhari be appointing only northerners into positions of authority in a country of about 170 million people from six regions?

Now, Nigerians have started speaking out, after keeping quiet for so long in order not to be seen as being antagonistic to Buhari. Now his party, APC, is complaining about the appointments which favor only the northerners; now, some northerners with conscience are worried that the lopsidedness of the appointments might overheat the polity and cause far more harm to the Buhari's government; and now, many Nigerians can't understand whether we have a northern Nigerian government or a government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. How can Buhari justify what he's doing? I can't wait to hear what Buhari's apologists will say about the appointments so far, and how they can justify this huge mistake. This is not how Nigeria will survive, infact, Buhari might hasten the demise of Nigeria, if he continues this way, unless he implements the report of the national conference. We warned Nigerians that Buhari has been a bigot as he favored the north during his reign as a head of state; and also, when he was the chairman of PTF, 70% of all projects and appointments went to the north. Even then, he refused to visit Abia State, when the people of state cried out to him for help due to the deplorable condition of roads over there, but, during the last campaign, he went to Aba and even received a chieftaincy title there.

As stated above, the political party that got Buhari elected is now complaining, as the Punch tells us that "there was an outrage in the ruling All Progressives Congress on Thursday, August 27, 2015, over the announcement of new appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari. Leaders of the APC, who spoke to the Paper, complained that the appointments tilted in favour of the North, and said the party must move fast to cope with the backlash of expected rumblings in the polity. According to one of the Party officials, "The President does not consult before making most of these appointments and I can tell you that Nigerians are going to term the party and the President as a northern party and the President of Northern Nigeria". Before the latest appointments, the President had also named only one southerner among the initial nine appointments he made. The northerners in the first appointments are the Director-General of the State Services, Lawal Daura; Acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mrs. Amina Zakari; the Director, Department of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Mordecai Danteni Baba Ladan; and the Accountant-General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris. Also in the first appointments are the President's Chief Security Officer, Abdulrahman Mani; State Chief of Protocol, Mallam Abdullahi Kazaure; Aide- De-Camp, Lt. Col. Muhammed Abubakar; and the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu. Only the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, hailed from Osun State in the South-West.

Speculation raised the hope of the south-easterners that the post of the Secretary to the federal government will go to one of their own, but, lo, Buhari disappointed them at last. Pointblanknews wrote that "President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Engr. Babachir David Lawal as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, in what appears to be the end of speculation that the position had been zoned to the South East or the South-South by the All Progressive Congress, APC. Chief Ogbonnaya Onu and Former Governor Rotimi Amaechi amongst others have been speculated as the preferred choice for the SGF's position. In fact, Onu was allegedly favored for the position". As noted above, northerners with conscience are worried: The President, Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, said the appointment is seen to be lopsided. Shettima said: "It is unfortunate the way the situation is, because one becomes worried. We must be seen to be nationalistic than being sectionalised. I am beginning to feel uncomfortable because the complaint is that the appointments are seen to be lopsided. I also do not think that is the intention of the government. However, no matter how we pretend, the reality is that things are not done in the right way." He, however, said "the government should be seen to be more nationalistic than sectionalised. If we truly believe in true federalism and federal character, it should go round. We cannot say that a particular area has the best brains in the country. I think the government should look into that area thoroughly in as much as the President has good intentions" Also speaking, a retired Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav said: "I see the appointments as lopsided. Nigeria is too big to have majority of the appointees from one section of the country. We have competent people in every part of Nigeria. For that reason, he (Buhari) should spread the appointments to every part of Nigeria. "If he (Buhari) is looking for honest people, there are honest people in every part of Nigeria, just as we have dishonest people in every part. Most Nigerians voted for him, even those who did not vote for him are his subjects and he is bound to carry every one along." (The Citizen Ng)

As if they saw it coming: On Tuesday, August 25, 2015, in Akure, Ondo State, Southern leaders under the auspices of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly (SNP), met and warned President Buhari over what they described as his lopsided appointments and selective fight against corruption. There, Chief Edwin Clark said: "As Nigerians, we are all equal without regard to race, creed and tribe. It is therefore my candid appeal to President Buhari to live his priceless mantra 'I belong to everybody, but I belong to nobody' in the manner, that the affairs of state are conducted, regardless of who gave him 95 percent votes and 5 percent of votes." But, the person who made the most remarkable statement, during the gathering, was Rev. Gbonigi, the former Bishop of the Akure Anglican Diocese, who appealed that the President should ensure that "no section of the country is marginalized in appointments and sighting of development projects. In his words: "Elections are over and President Buhari is now the President over all Nigeria and Nigerians. No section of the country should be over patronized at the expense of others. It is therefore our sincere hope that the lopsidedness in the appointment made by Mr. President to date is not an indication of the trend of future appointments." According to the Vanguard, "Bishop Gbonigi also condemned a "situation where the President, Senate President, the Speaker and Chief Justice of Nigeria are all from the North as not acceptable. Hear him: "The south is not subservient to the North and the situation in which only the deputies are zoned to the south is not acceptable". Former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, during the SNP meeting, also called for the restructuring of the country in line with true federalism; and was supported by the host governor, Olusegun Mimiko, who also called for the implementation of the 2014 National conference, saying that the total restructuring of the country will bring "us to the Nigeria of our dreams", adding that "it will be a disaster to confine the report of the conference to the dustbin of history."

When Buhari said that he will favor those who voted more for him, some of us thought that the statement was an unconscious blunder, and that he didn't mean it, but, now, we can see that he really meant it, as he has started implementing it. If Buhari loves Nigeria and really wants to move it forward, there was no way he should have made the comment about favoring those who gave him 95% votes vis-�-vis those who gave him only 5%; if Buhari is a true leader of Nigeria; there's no way he would be making the appointments which favour only a region. The point here is not only that the new appointments have marginalized the South-East, "who didn't vote for Buhari", but, what of the South-West that voted for him? In all and all, it doesn't matter who voted for Buhari or who didn't; the point is that the appointments so far tilted in favor of the north vis-�-vis the south. In few days time, we will be in September, when President Buhari promised to appoint the ministers. From the way things are going, the south-easterners are not expecting much from that. What Buhari should know is that oil drives Nigeria's economy, as about 90% of the government revenue comes from it, and, this oil is in the southern part of the country, just as Ayo noted that if Buhari's appointees are mostly from the north and they are paid with money from the south, then something seems unfair. President Buhari should know that all Nigerians elected him; even those who gave him only 5% votes also helped to elect him, because, without that 5%, his votes would have diminished. So, what we want is an all-encompassing and all-inclusive government with people from all the zones of Nigeria being represented. Just as Mr. Tsav said above, there are good and bad people everywhere, and since Buhari is "looking for virgins in a brothel", he might as well find them, if he's a magician. He should spread the appointments or incur the wrath of Nigerians who are already getting agitated.

To be continued!

Read more:

Dr. Joseph Ogundu tells us the appointments President Buhari has so far made and more, when he wrote that:

"No pluralistic society can survive with this type of lopsidedness in political appointments that favors one section of the country over others. I remember reading an article were General Ibrahim Babangida said that his main quarrel with General Buhari, now President Buhari is that he does not understand the diversity of Nigerian society. Many people in APC including Alhaji Lai Mohammed lampooned the esteemed General. Now, President Buhari through his appointments has shown that General Babangida was right in his assessment. Also, the nation need to understand that President Buhari never hid this agenda because in 2003, 2007 and 2011 general elections, he made it clear that the North was being marginalized regardless of the fact that under Obasanjo, Jonathan and Yar'Adua, the North occupied the largest number of top political positions in the country. Though I do not know Mr. President directly, I will appeal to him to respect and ensure Federal Character in appointments into offices of the Federal government and its agencies. Judging by his current appointments, it appears that he is more interested in dividing Nigeria than in uniting her. Those of you in APC, specifically Rotimi Amaechi and Tinubu need to appeal to him to understand that Nigeria is a diverse country and need the input of all its ethnic and religious makeup to succeed. Though Fani Kayode wrote severally on this issue during the 2015 election and APC members lampooned him but he has been vindicated by the current actions of the president that showed him as president of Northern Nigeria and not President of Nigeria. There is still time for the president to change course and correct the injustice he is knowingly perpetrating against the southern part of the country. His actions are encouraging division not only in the polity but in the entire country. I do not believe that this was what Tinubu, Amaechi and the rest of APC bigwigs from the Southern part of the country bargained for when they spent their time, political capital and the people's money under their custody to sponsor Buhari's candidacy for the office of the president.

Mr. President and APC, this is not change. This is clear discrimination against Southern Nigerians. If this continues, it could lend credence to those that have been calling for the dissolution of Nigeria as a nation. This is an opinion of a sincere observer and a nationalist that believes in the Nigerian project. Please see the list below and it is disheartening.

1. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria - North.

2. Senate President- North.

3. Speaker of the House of Representatives- North.

4. Chief Justice of the Federation- North.

5. President of the Court of Appeal- North.

6. Chief Justice of the Federal High Court- North.

7. Secretary to the Federal Government- North.

8. Chief of Staff to the President- North.

9. Chief of Army Staff- North.

10. Chief of Air Staff- North.

11. Comptroller General of Customs- North.

12. Director-General of State Security Services (SSS) - North.

13. National Security Advisor- North.

14. Director General NIMASA- North.

15. Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) - North.

16. Comptroller-General Immigration- North.

17. Accountant-General of the Federation - North.

18. Commander of Civil Defence Corps- north.

19. Chief Security Officer to the President- North.

20. ADC to the President- North.

21. Principal Secretary to the President- North.

22. Senior Special Assistant to the President on media- North.

23. Chairman of the EFCC- North.

https://ikoloreports.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/sgf-position-buhari-has-demonstrated.html

TIT BITS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iingHEco15w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uagufW76mYc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF8BRvqGCNs&list=PLFbWuc6jwPGeqFkoDBq87CcmlurwrlEGv

THE THANX IS ALL YOURS!!!

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