Buhari 2019 Campaigners: Lying to Sell a Truth

As the campaign for the continuity of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 begin to take shape, observers like me are dismayed at the dimension it is taking.

Let us recall that since Buhari joined partisan politics in 2003 his support base has been the ordinary people, especially those of Northern extraction. Northerners, and indeed Nigerians supported Buhari for a number of reasons. One, he was once a head of state and his no-nonsense leadership style of those days is highly needed now that indiscipline is even more entrenched in our public life. Second, Buhari has never been associated with corruption. This is someone who was a Governor, a minister, a head of state and a PTF chairman and could challenge his political opponent who was a serving president to investigate him from the beginning and never forgive him if found guilty of corruption. Thirdly, my dear, Buhari won the support of Nigerians because of his truthfulness. Buhari is not hypocritical when it comes to issues. For example, in February 2000 Buhari was the lone voice against the false claim that National council of state had decided to suspend Sharia following the Kaduna crisis.

These qualities were all that Buhari needed to get the support of Northerners whose love for justice is due to their religious belief. Even when in 2015 Obasanjo and his friends wanted to unseat Jonathan they did not go for Buhari because he was a nationalist. He, everyone knew, was the only politician who had the massive grassroots support needed to unseat a sitting president. As a matter of fact, it is well known that Buhari was not declared a winner in 2003, 2007 and 2011 due to PDP rigging but not because he lost those elections.

Buhari has now been the president for three years and although there have been some disenchantments, the love Buhari enjoys among his people is still there. What is needed is explanation on why things did not happen as expected. Why, for instance, are the south-westerners said to be the people benefitting more from the programmes of this administration even though the number of votes they gave is nothing compared to what he got from us? Apart from the improvement in power supply (we must give that credit to Buhari) which is benefitted by all Nigerians, what else do Buhari’s people (I mean the people of Katsina state) have to show in terms of development for these three years? Why are Buhari’s people (North-westerners) being killed, day in day out, by bandits and other criminals with no solution in sight from the Government they religiously voted? What is Mr. President doing about the problem of begging in Northern Nigeria? Why is Buhari not even mentioning almajiris when his predecessor who is not a Muslim built schools for them? Many thought that a Buhari regime will improve on those schools and establish more. There are many more questions in need of answers.

As the rest of us are waiting for explanation or at worst a mum, I m particularly disappointed at the kind of things coming from the Government and her social media campaigners. Last week, for example, many newspapers bore various headlines like, ‘Good News: FG Declares Tuition FREE At All Federal Universities In Nigeria’, ‘Beware that tuition fee is now illegal in Federal Universities’, etc. My God! As someone who has been in a Federal University for almost a half of my short life I know that tuition has been free in Federal universities from the beginning. My parents did not pay for me and I m not paying for my children. My students are not paying. Why then present the issue as if tuition fees were being paid and the Government of the day is now banning it? This is exactly the picture given by one of my Facebook pals and I quickly keyed in a comment telling him that tuition has always been free for Nigerians in Federal Universities. Instead of this propaganda what we expect from the Government is an explanation on why this year’s budgetary allocation to Education is one of the lowest. What is the Government doing to improve primary education and make it qualitative and affordable to all Nigerians? Why are our polytechnics and colleges of education no longer attractive and what is the Government doing about it? There is a lot of work to do in the education sector for any Government that is serious.

Of course, not all the lies being spread to sell our beloved president are coming from the Government. A lot of lies are circulated in the social media in the name of campaign for PMB. Last week, after travelling from Kano to Jibia and back, covering a little more than 400 kilometers (note that Jibia is farther from Kano than Katsina) I opened my Facebook account only to see a post being circulated that work on the 250 km Katsina to Kano expressway is now more than 60 %. I was shocked. The distance between the Kano and Katsina ends (Dawanau and Dandagoro) of the road is only about 160 km and of that the work has covered only about 22 km. The level of falsehood in that post is better imagined and it is meant to promote PMB, a man we supported and campaigned for free of charge because of truth and trust.

Sadly, even some of our royal fathers are involved. A case in point is the comment by the Emir of Katsina when Buhari paid him a condolence visit on the death of Liman Lawal last week. The emir was quoted to have said that the killings taking place around the country are sponsored by people who do not want Buhari to continue after 2019. As I read it in the Nation newspaper, I wondered what some of our traditional rulers are up to. In particular, Katsina emirate has been having its own share of banditry even before Buhari came to power in 2015. What explanations does his royal highness have for that? What we expected from the emir is an advice to the President on how to curb banditry particularly in Katsina and the neighbouring Zamfara. After the killing of over 40 travellers in Zamfara three months ago, the emir of Zurmi who is of a lower status openly gave the Government information on the bandits’ location. I thought the emir of Katsina will add to that and insist on action by the Government.

As politicking for various offices continue, I would like to call on PMB to stop the lies as they cannot give what truth has not achieved. Whether he spends four or eight years in office he will one day leave it somehow and eventually stand before his creator who will ask him about his responsibilities as the Nigerian President, especially the primary one of protecting lives and property.

Please Address Security Challenges, Mr. President

I m not a Buharist, whatever that means. If Buharism is a religion, I don’t believe in it. I am a Muslim. If it is a cult, I am not a member; I don’t join cults. If it is an association, I have not registered with it. I don’t even know its office. I simply like Buhari because I believe he is one of the least corrupt leaders Nigeria has produced. But I also believe that Buhari is only another human being who is not infallible. I have thus criticized him from time to time. In fact when, in those days of PDP, he was contesting and losing and people of questionable characters kept using his name to win elections, I almost travelled to Kaduna to advise him to quit politics.

Buhari is now the president of Nigeria and many nasty things have happened to his people under his watch. Fulani have been killed in large numbers in Taraba state. People live in constant fear for their lives and property in Zamfara state and my own part of Katsina state. And most recently the ‘Dapchi girls’ scandal has occurred. In all these cases, many people, including me are not satisfied with the way Mr. President has reacted. I agree with the person who used the adjective ‘timid’ to describe Buhari. But timidity when it comes to protecting their people has been the character of most of the Northern Muslims who ruled this country. I m not here to discuss the details.

Many commentators are now satisfied that Buhari is going to pay visits to Zamfara, Taraba, Yobe and Benue to commiserate with the people. That, however, is not what we expect from Mr. President. Is the President going to those states to confirm that lawlessness has taken place? Is he going there to lead a military expedition against the Boko Haram in Yobe, the bandits in Zamfara or the ethnic militia in Taraba? Even someone like me who is not a security expert know that Mr. President, being the commander-in-chief of the armed forces can address those issues effectively from Abuja if he decides to do so.

The visits may end up adding salt to the injury. In each of those states he goes, he will be received at the airport by the state governor. Then he will go and pay a courtesy visit to the paramount traditional ruler of the state. He will probably meet with the “opinion leaders” of the state who are carefully selected by the state governor. If there are any victims in the hospital the president will go and visit them. He will most likely pledge to pay all the medical bills. At the meeting with the opinion leaders and the traditional ruler he will appeal to the people to live in peace. 

The governors will not take him to the scene of genocide in the case of Taraba state, or the hideouts of bandits in the case of Zamfara because the governors themselves have not been there. After the President leaves, the crimes will continue.

So Mr. President, please address the security challenges as they should be addressed. If you do, you can attend your weddings and party meetings without any “Allah Ya isa” coming from your people.  

Fulani “Herdsmen” and the Way Forward

Recently there was an attack in Benue state that claimed many lives. The claim by the state Government is that the attack was carried out by Fulani herdsmen, whatever that means. But this is not the first time lives were lost in Benue due to the problem of clashes between farmers and herders encroaching upon their farmlands. Two years ago there was a similar attack on Agatu community of the same state that claimed many more lives. There are also similar attacks in other parts of the country especially South and North Central states where the pasture is greener.

Like on every issue, Nigerians are divided. First, since the issue has to do with Fulani, a tribe closely associated with Islam, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Southern press took their side. It is an opportunity to pour out the anti-Islamic venom on an issue that is purely criminal. As a regular reader of online newspapers I always find the headlines of southern newspapers and the comments revealing. They have a regular pattern. From the headline you would know the side taken by the newspaper. The news will be twisted to make you believe what you are required to believe. Then the comments will follow along the same line. If they are not abusing the ‘clueless’, ‘certificateless’, ‘boko haram sponsor’ etc. at the top they are attacking Islam for being a jihadist, blood-spilling religion.

In its contradictory response, CAN accused the Federal Government of protecting the Fulani herdsmen while at same time calling on her to act. They also called for prayer ‘against’ the herdsmen, not for peace as would be expected of a religious body that has followership across all segments of the Nigerian society including herdsmen.

On the same side as CAN and the southern press are the Fani-Kayodes and the Fayoses. Like a Facebook friend observed, Buhari is becoming too soft for the liking of many Nigerians by allowing the likes of Fani-Kayode and Fayose to attack him at every opportunity including an accident involving his child. The security agencies have a responsibility to not only protect Mr. President from bodily harm but also from personal insults that are distinct from constructive criticisms. We are still expecting them to play this part of their role.

On the other side are the Miyetti Allah organization and their sympathizers who would always claim that the herders have the right to open-grazing, impliedly even on farms not belonging to them, because that is their means of subsistence. On this recent one, the Miyetti Allah association claimed that it was in retaliation to the killing of 1000 animals by local militia. The Miyetti Allah has its powerful sympathizers in the social media. For example, a Facebook pal of mine with large number followers would go to any extent to justify whatever is done by Fulani. For many Fulani when a brother is involved there is no principle, no justice but of the kind obtainable among the pre-Islamic Arabs, “help your brother whether he is the oppressor or the oppressed”.

The extremely sentimental kind of reaction by CAN, southern press and others have pushed many Muslims to blindly take side with the Fulani herdsmen even against the Qur’anic injunction of investigating before forming an opinion. My brothers are further emboldened by the arrest of some armed militia allegedly sponsored by the Government of Benue state or some anti-Islamic outfit.  

But the Government is also divided. While the Benue state Government is adamant on anti-open grazing law the Plateau state Government will not use the word ‘anti’ on any ‘business’. The Federal Government will call ‘stake-holders’ conference to iron out the problem. Meanwhile the president has asked the IG to relocate to Benue state and some herdsmen have already been arrested. The contradictions continue.

As a Northerner, especially one with some Fulani blood running in him, there is a side I am expected to take regardless of my first hand experience of dealing with other Nigerians including Fulani herdsmen. Unfortunately I don’t join the bandwagon. Even when I attend meetings, any meetings, I usually express my own opinions which are not necessarily the opinions of any group I am seen to belong. It has been difficult but it gives me satisfaction.

The conflict between herders and farmers is not new. It only became glaring after the Fulani herdsmen as they are now known began moving down south with desert encroachment on our own part of the country. It is well known that our communities in the North West are made up of a mixture of Hausas and Fulani, the former being farmers and the latter being cattle-rearers. The two groups were enjoying peace with very minor disagreements on farm encroachment until somewhere in the 1980s through 1990s when a strange type of herders began to cross our borders and tramp on our farms with their cattle. The menace became pronounced during the Abatcha regime when security forces were in many cases dispatched to tackle them. In one of such cases which I remember very well, when those “Udawa” became a nuisance to farmers around Funtua in Katsina state a team of MOPOL was sent to counter-attack them and most of them were killed and their cows were slaughtered and eaten by their farmer victims in Funtua township. But there was no problem. Both the herdsmen and their victims were “Muslims”. CAN did not call for prayers or condemn Federal Government. The southern press did not carry any catchy headlines as no Christian was involved and life continued.

I believe the Miyetti Allah association does not expect us to take them serious. It is never an excuse to feed your cows with the farm produce of innocent people just because grazing reserves were sold by some Government officials or traditional rulers. It is even more unacceptable to kill human beings because some cattle were stolen. The Sokoto state Governor has offered to give enough land for open grazing. I expected Miyetti Allah to accept the offer and develop the given land for the benefit of their members. This will, in addition to bringing the desired peace, give an opportunity for them to have economic control over the animals and their products in form of beef, hide, manure, etc. That they have not done that keeps me in doubt about their actual motive.

The North West is not in any way more peaceful than North Central or southern states, no thanks to the activities of Fulani cattle rustlers and kidnappers. These criminals have attacked and killed many innocent people and in some cases raped or abducted their families in Zamfara, Katsina and other North Western states. Two years ago I published how my uncle was killed by these criminals after rustling over 350 cows from his village. These cows belonged to innocent villagers who have never encroached on anybody’s farm to feed them. These criminals are still active but because the victims do not make noise and have no trained militia to launch a counterattack it is allowed to continue. What an irony!

That some ethnic militia are being trained to launch attack on ‘us’ is no news. Whole Muslim communities were displaced and their property plundered by these militia in different states of the North. But whose fault is it? Instead of us to train our youth to defend us we abandoned them to be recruited by Boko Haram. The average northern Muslim leader is selfish. He/she only cares about their children. That is why we are overtaken in almost everything including building befitting mosques despite the huge human and material resources at our disposal. And instead of us to look inwards we are blaming others for doing what we have failed to do.

To move forward we have to be frank to ourselves and stop supporting criminals just because they are our blood. The Miyetti Allah association should be creative in helping their members if they do not want us to believe that they are benefitting from these crises.

Finally, President Buhari should address this problem once and for all and if necessary apportion blame and punishment to those responsible. And very importantly, the activities of criminals in the North West have not been properly managed. Is it because we have voted for our own?

Rail Lines to Daura and Jibia: Why I am Confused

Since the announcement of the presidential approval for the construction of rail lines to Daura and Jibia among other places, I have been speechless. My wives who have been trying to find out what is wrong with me have not been successful. The duo have known me to be for the man Buhari and I have been able to convince them from the beginning that Buhari is one of the best things to happen to Nigeria. Fortunately, the two of them were not around when Buhari was the military Head of state in the 1980s. Thus, what I told them about the General Buhari regime is what they believe. Of course I did not tell them a lie. Buhari is incorruptible and he did as much as he could as a military leader to force all Nigerians to be like him through his WAI programme, his many decrees and imprisonment of corrupt politicians. But that is where he got it wrong, I have always told them.  It is impossible for all Nigerians, nay majority of Nigerians to become Buharis. The reasons are not for this discussion.

My inability to utter a word on the issue either to my family, friends or in the social media as I usually do is due to the many questions that continue to puzzle my mind. Why these projects at this time when the president is more than half-way to the end of his first and hopefully the last term? Yes, hopefully the last term because those of us who love Buhari would never like him to contest in 2019 even if he gets much better before that date. Our reason is simple. He should stay and manage his health. Of course his ‘supporters’ would never like to hear this. They will continue to prod him to contest even if what remains of him is the skeleton so that the feeding bottle will remain in their mouth.

Another question is, are we witnessing another PDP approach to politics? The PDP understood the weaknesses of Northerners very well and it had always used them to win election. For example, Northerners have a very short memory. The only thing they seem to remember is what is happening now. The PDP thus started projects that have bearing on the life of Northerners few weeks to general elections. Immediately after the elections the projects were abandoned for another three and a half years.  A handy example is the Kano-Kaduna dual carriageway. This road which links the administrative headquarters of the former Northern region to its commercial capital was constructed in the late 1980s by the Babangida administration. Despite being the busiest road in the far North it has been allowed to become a death trap due to lack of maintenance. The PDP administration severally promised to reconstruct it and the Minister of works was always shown on NTA inspecting the road when it was election time. This happened in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015. Today the road remains worse than it was 19 years ago. Incidentally, the Buhari administration has made a similar promise but there is nothing on the ground so far.

Assuming that the Buhari administration is serious about carrying out these projects, how realistic are they given the fact that more than half of his term is gone?  It is obvious that given the slow pace with which projects in this part of the country are executed under Buhari administration it could take Buhari not less than five terms of four years to execute the rail projects enumerated by the Minister of transport last week. The case of Kano-Katsina express road is a good example. This project began almost with the Buhari regime but the work was abandoned at Bichi which is a distance of about 30 kilometers out of 160 kilometers. This is happening when projects in the south are executed by this administration at an unbelievable speed.

Now, which is better? To manage what is on the ground or to pursue phantom dreams? The road network in the North is in a state of total disrepair. There is hardly a road linking any two state capitals that is in good condition. Few weeks ago I lost my new tire and nearly my life and lives of some of my family members to portholes along Kano-Dayi road which is the road linking Kano with Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi and parts of Katsina state. Hardly will a day pass without an accident on that road just like the much talked about Kano-Maiduguri express road whose construction begins and ends between Kano and Wudil, another distance of 33 kilometres. These observations apply to other roads including Kano-Daura road which links the President’s hometown with the rest of the country. With all these, what makes sense is that our choice Government will do what it can to put back our roads into good condition instead of pursuing vividly unrealistic rail projects.

I still wonder how I can explain my position to my family and friends or even the person reading this. Nigerians are a binary people. Most of them understand only two things, condemnation and praise. A critical observation means condemnation and withdrawal of support. But should we continue to blindly follow?