Waiting For Mr President?

On Monday, June 29 marked one month when the APC government headed by President Mohammadu Buhari assumed power in our dear country, Nigeria. The applause and enthusiasm that heralded the coming of these progressives seem to be wanning. Trust Nigerians, they are highly impatient beings. They are always in a hurry. Checkout the way they drive on the highways, walk on the streets, talk and generally the way they go about their daily affairs. That element of hurry is pronounced. So, it’s understandable when they say their patience is running out with the APC government that has not done anything tangible in four weeks in terms of appointments, forming a government or making major pronouncement to give the policy direction of the government, Nigerians are still all ears. Except for the NNPC, other boards of parastatals and the agencies are still intact, doing business as usual the PDP way. They know that their days are numbered, so, they are eating with both hands. More so, it’s not in the character of the progressives to probe. Eat as much as you can and go with your loot so long as you cover your tracks well and the food must not smear your mouth!
Given the high expectations of Nigerians across religious and ethnic divide, I beg to share in their sentiments. Some have gone to the extent of tagging the president Baba go slow! This is a government that assured Nigerians that it will hit the ground running in view of the enormity of work to be done, a government that came to power on the crest of CHANGE and zero tolerance on corruption. Unfortunately, 32days after, the government is yet to hit the ground let alone running. Rather, it has been a lot of motion without movement, motion in terms of infighting amongst the leaders for the spoil of office. Everybody is flexing muscle to stamp his/her authority on the new government, crying at the roof top to whoever cares to listen as to the sacrifices made in terms of financial commitment and risk to life to unseat the PDP after 16 years in power. But they seem to forget that the ordinary Nigerians out there made sacrifices too, probably the greater sacrifice. They were always there, at times with little or nothing in the stomach under the rains and scorching sun shouting CHANGE. Some of them may have trekked to the campaign ground to shout CHANGE because they believe in it. Do we say the same thing about these fat cows? Of course no. From their posh hotels, they are chauffer driven to the venue in the best cars money can buy while others flew from the comfort of their homes without stress. Some of these hoipoloi even lost their lives for CHANGE but they are unsong by virtue of their poor status. But if one of the fat cows had passed on in the course of the campaigns, aside the world, heavens would have noticed it. Chai!, there is God ooooooooooo.
I hear these fat cows are holding Mr. President hostage in his bid to hit the ground running as promised. It has been a tussle and test of political might between the North and South on one hand and amongst the different regional political blocks on the other hand. As much as they claim to be fighting for their people, deep down their hearts, they are only trying to perpetuate their hold on power, nothing but a selfish agenda, where their bread will be better buttered. In all these, the common man is worse for it because he gets poorer while the rich gets richer by the day! Yes, the party made him but he is no longer of the APC but president for all Nigerians, he belongs to all us the moment he took the oath of office and oath of allegiance. So, Mr. President has to break himself loose from the chains as the person on the driver’s seat. As politicians, these party leaders are prepared to abandon Mr. President in the vehicle for another one with a better engine in case of any breakdown and they will bat no eyelid for this. He bears the greater burden of governance and not the party leaders. How does one explains a situation whereby list of Special Advisers is cleared by the upper chamber in a jiffy while names are yet to be attached to the list and announced, three weeks after? A situation whereby the president has been operating without a chief of staff and the secretary to the Government of the Federation is nauseating and irritating. Are we saying that a man who said he wants to hit the ground running does not need these key staff to run like a chittay in the Savannah? These party leaders and ethnic jingousts must let Mr. President be, Nigerians are in a hurry, they want quick fixes to all the battered areas of our national life.
One cannot say that a man who undertook three strategic foreign trips barely two weeks on assumption of office is not in a hurry to perform. But it’s rather unfortunate that the party leaders are dragging him back, they have clayed his feet. To do this successfully, some of them decided to make Abuja their permanent homes. The presidential election was held March 28, Buhari was declared the winner and congratulated by the sitting president even before final results were announced by the electoral umpire. That means there was no dispute as to the election, he was only waiting to be sworn in May 29. Hope nobody is trying to create the impression that Mr. President has been sleeping since March 29, about three months without putting his team together, not even his personal staff. I won’t buy that for whatever price because it’s unthinkable. With due respect and all sense of responsibility, I must say that this is not the Buhari we used to know for which we voted massively March 29 with our hands and feet. Has age slowed him down or it’s all in the spirit of democracy and party supremacy? Questions and questions begging for answers. Buhari must be himself and remain the no- nonsense man we voted for. He is the face of CHANGE we know and the change must manifest in all facet of our national life as a people. I must sound a note of warning here that the PDP hawks and strategists are not sleeping, they are waiting patiently on the wings, 2019 is just here.