Gen. Buhari as the Victim of His Actions and Utterances.

It is true that some Nigerians say that General Buhari is a 'good man'. But it is also true that his life has been dodgy and has been beclouded by one controversy to another since he came to national limelight in 1975. To make matters worse, his foot is always in his mouth when he talks.  

  As a colonel in the Nigerian Army and Managing Director of NNPC in 1977, the lump sum of 2.8 billion was said to have disappeared under his watch up till today nobody can say what happened to that money.  

  The statement unbecoming of any honest man is to say that General Abacha did not loot Nigeria. Immediately General Abdulsalami took over in 1998, the NTA and all other news media in Nigeria were awash with the fact that Mohammed Abacha had seven million US dollars cash with him in Aso Rock Villa when his father died. His Mother Maryam Abacha was reported to have three million US dollars cash. Mohammed Abacha who never worked for one day all his life is now the gubernatorial candidate of CPC, General Buhari's party in Kano State. General Buhari where did Mohammed Abacha get the money he is using to campaign?  

  In January 2006, the Embassy of Switzerland Charge D' Affaires in Abuja, one Mr Fabio Baiardi announced to the Nigerian press that his home government had repatriated 1.3 billion US dollars out of the five billion Abacha loot in Swiss banks back to Nigeria from 2000 to 2005. Curiously in 2008 in Kano, General Buhari was quoted to have said Abacha did not loot Nigeria. It is understandable that General Buhari served under General Abacha as PTF chairman but it is high point of dishonesty to say Abacha never looted Nigeria! Haba Buhari.  

  As for the Oputa panel, no honest and reasonable person will run away from any law however mundane it is. Unfortunately for General Buhari he refused to appear before the Justice Oputa panel which was just a fact finding committee headed by an eminent jurist like Justice Oputa. If General Buhari is clean and honest why did he run away from Oputa panel?  

  His foot soldiers are quick to mention PTF as a success, yet it is on record that roads in the South like the Lagos-Ore-Benin road, the Ibadan-Ilorin-Jebba road, the Ibadan-Ife-Akure and Lokoja roads were never re-habilitated during the PTF years. It was Chief Obasanjo's government that gave contract for the re-habilitation of the Abuja-Lokoja-Akure road.  

  Under his watch at PTF, his late brother in-law Alhaji Salhijo Ahmed became a billionaire and so were many others. Therefore for people to claim that General Buhari is a decent man is a fallacy.  

  General Buhari is always a weak leader and has acted before he thinks. His sharia statement in Sokoto in 2000. His recent call to war statement at his rally in Kaduna is classical examples of his putting his foot in his mouth.  

  It is also obvious that the CPC he has formed has now been hijacked by some few cabals and is seen in the acrimonious primaries that were conducted in various states in the North.  

  As if he does not learn from his past mistakes, he jumps from one mistake to the other in his political odyssey. His selection of the cantankerous Pastor Tunde Bakare may be the last straw that will break his political back. It is on record that there is no love lost between Tunde Bakare and other Pentecostal Pastors nationwide. He is one person who claims to be pious and condemns other pastors. He is simply dropping the name of the revere man of God Pastor EA Adeboye. By the way we saw Pastor EA Adeboye pray for Dr Goodluck Jonathan live on TV too.  

  It is also true that General Buhari has visited Pastor EA Adeboye of RCCG. It might do him well to visit Pastor WF Kumuyi   of Deeper Life, Bishop Oyedepo of Winners Chapel, Dr Odukoya of Mountain of Miracle and Fire as well as all the Catholic Reverend Fathers and all ECWA Pastors if he wants to placate Christians and win their votes.  

  As it is now, Buhari still moves from one controversy to another. Will he still have an attempt shot at the elusive presidency 2015 which has eluded him since he was ousted out of power in 1985? Only time will tell.  

  Audu Garba Girei writes from Yola Adamawa State