Welcoming President Osinbajo’s Era In Nigeria with A No Confidence Vote (Part I)
Some Nigerians have been asking about the whereabouts of President Buhari, but I for one could care less. Indeed I say good riddance to him as one of the pioneers of the #BuhariMustGo movement. Nigerians voted and allowed Mr. Buhari into the presidency due to nostalgia. At a time of desperation and insecurity in 2015 some Nigerians wanted to crown him a change agent notwithstanding the facts and history that clearly stated otherwise.
Thus, Buhari was ushered into power due to these fivemajor factors- first the unleashing of Boko Haram on all sectors of societiesin the northby the Northern Nigerian elites. The second reason involved the politicization of the Boko Haram attacks by former President Jonathan. The third centered on the massive corruption under Mr. Jonathan’s administration and the fourth was how the funds from corruption were used to sponsor Mr. Buhari. The fifth factor was therefusal of Nigerians to think outside the box in selecting a candidate for Aso Rock.
Therefore, the massive corruption of the Jonathan administration was essentially complimented by the cries of the Northern elites who wanted to get back the presidency by any means necessary. They aggressively radicalized and weaponized Boko Haram whose leader was murdered at the beginning of the President Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration in which Mr. Jonathan was the vice-president. Boko Haram was systematically unleashed on all sectors in the north for maximum effect.
Consequently, they started their carnage by targeting their numero uno perceived enemy, the Igbos in the north. When Boko Haram did not get reaction from the Nigerian government they proceeded to attack other Southerners and Churches.But the Jonathan administration refused to protect her citizens which allowed the terrorists to be emboldened with their attacks. Boko Haram will go on to killMuslims and destroy Mosque without adequate confrontation. Then they slaughtered innocent secondary school kids, kidnapped others while burning down villages, and terrorizing states.
However, President Jonathan and his cohorts only mustered the least concern for their fellow Nigerians. They showed their total disdain for the sanctity of black lives. In the so-called “giant of Africa” with the largest concentration of contemporary African humanity the then Nigerian government ensured that Black Lives Did Not Matter.The plan was to let northern Nigeria burn with the assumption that the middle belt and the entire southern Nigeria will reelect Mr. Jonathan in a landslide.
These erroneous calculations were reinforced by the massive corruption in the government and the belief that the elections could be easily bought. It was a chop I chop regime with the likes of Dr. Ngozi Okojo-Iweala Minister of Finance, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Olusegun Aganga Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, and Mr. Lamido Sanusi Governor of the Center Bank of Nigeria holding sway. These crème de la crème of Nigerian society and global institutions in conjunction with others in Naija orchest rated vast streams of stealing sprees.
With all her education and experiences Dr. Okojo-Iweala the former Managing Director of the World Bank could not plug the holes of corruption. For examples, state governors were allotted millions of dollars from petroleum revenues with zero checks and balances. Mr. Sanusi the current Emir of Kano only paid lip service to the trillions of naira that were siphoned from the Naija Center Bank. Mr. Aganga used his prior experiences as Managing Director in Goldman Sachs to hedge our funds with the elites.
Some of those so-called elites include the chief sponsors of the All Progressives Congress Mr. Babatunde R. Fashola the current Minister of Power, Works, and Housing and former Governor of Lagos State. But Governor Raji was outdone by Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi the current Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State. Governor Rotimi became the chief sponsor of Dictator Buhari’scandidacy through exploiting the loopholes that were left uncovered by Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and his band of criminals.
Moreover, the fifth reason why Mr. Buhari landed at Aso Rock in Abuja can be squarely placed on the shoulders of Nigerians. We remain a very gullible society and are quick to settle for the status quo. Our problem is not that young people don’t want to run for political officerather the old crooks remain glued to power. These old guards have thought us how to settle for empty phrases preferably with Hallelujah, God, and Amen.But speaking about change and effecting actions are not the same.
Nnamdi F. Akwada, LGSW is a Social Justice Activist
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