Buhari: the facts, the lies – part 1

True we are not happy with the state of things in Nigeria. We are not happy because we know we have the capacity and resources to achieve a much better life. We all wish things were better and that President Buhari could do much more. Yes, we wish he could do much more.

There is nothing wrong with wishing for better life of course, but perhaps carried away by our wish we tend to lose our objectivity in looking at issues most times; we become unrealistic in our expectations.  At no time is this tendency more prevalent than now. The commonest thing you hear on the street today is that Buhari's government is a disaster.

I beg to disagree. I am not the one to allow politics or sentiment to blind me to obvious facts. Nor am I the one not to look at issues on their own merit. I give credit where and to whom credit is due. Haul insults at me as you want, that is your problem. But I must say my mind.

Yes, times are hard and things are truly tough, perhaps more than ever before. Yes, the economy is comatose; yes, we want President Buhari to perform much better. But please do not tell me his government is a failure on all fronts; that there is not one thing he has done right, unless of course you do not intend to be objective. Or you were not in this country three, four, five years ago, when Boko Haram held sway such that terrorist attacks were expected anytime anywhere in the country.

 We may have issues with Buhari's administration, his government has not totally failed as some people  would now want us to believe

I remember fear of Boko Haram pervaded the length and breadth of the land; people lived in fear. My friend Yemi Saka became an over-night terrorist threat assessment expert. He began giving daily potential terror attack target alerts, and did quite a good job of it too. He identified several potential targets in Lagos, Ibadan, Calabar, Enugu, Port-Harcourt, Jos, Abuja and other major cities in Nigeria. The pictures he painted were so alarming that I remember, at one point, calling him an alarmist. But no one was in doubt that Boko Haram had the capacity to extend its deadly operations beyond the north east.

Come to think of it they even struck at Abuja, the seat of power, and Kano and Kaduna and Makurdi and…… No place was impregnable for Boko Haram. Not even Police and Army barracks. And all sorts of things became attributable to Boko Haram. Even Prophet T. B. Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Lagos, attributed his church guest house collapse to Boko Haram attack. Though that turned out a lie, such was the measure of the fear and threat of Boko Haram at the time.

 I also remember going to church one day in Lagos only to be subjected to body scanners. The irony was not lost on me – that a church would rely on body scanners for protection instead of God.

Today all those fears are gone.

So, if you say Buhari is a total failure it is probably because you are alive today and your family is intact. The people of the North east will most likely not have the same view as you.

The people of the northeast have seen both worlds; they have been ruled by the terrorist sect and by legitimate government. They have seen how the ragtag terror sect overran a legitimate government, murdered tens of thousands, sacked whole towns, communities and cities and wreaked havoc on at least 3 states in Nigeria. Until Buhari came to liberate them.

Try telling these people that Buhari is not performing. For them life is that they are alive today and are free, thanks to the Nigerian military under the command of Buhari. Life is not, for them, in the choice they can make or the variety or quality of food or good life they can have, for they had no choice before now.  All they wish now is simply to be alive and free to rebuild their life. For them, it is enough that they are alive to tell the story of Boko Haram.

I have a friend from Adamawa who lives and works here in Lagos. When Boko Haram sacked his village in 2014 his father and siblings ran in different direction – his father to the north of Cameroun, while two of his siblings found themselves in the southern part of the predominantly French-speaking country. Another two were unlucky. They were bombed out and their bodies dismembered by Boko Haram. His mother was captured and forcefully married off. One can only imagine what she must have gone through in the hands of the terrorists. If my friend was not living in Lagos only God knows what would have happened to him. Today his family – those who survived –  are all re-united. So, try telling my friend Buhari has failed.

I have two other “friends” who man my entrance gate. They are from Niger Republic. Their village is located on the side of Niger north-east of Borno State. They are in fact more Borno than Niger. They usually visit home every year, but for three years they could not visit home because the road to Niger was closed due to Boko Haram insurgency. Today they frequent home as they like. Try telling them Buhari has failed.

Last year I was at a forum where the Managing Director of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). Ahmed Kuru, was guest speaker. The man narrated how for four years he could not visit his village, Biu, in Borno State to see his family because of Boko Haram. He too lost members of his family to the terrorist sect. Today he travels to Biu at will. Try telling him Buhari is not performing.

And of course, we all know of Chibok girls. Try telling those of them who have regained their freedom that Buhari is a failure. We pray for the safe return of the rest of course.

I have gone into all these to show that though we may have issues with Buhari's administration, his government has not totally failed as some people (my friend Yemi Saka inclusive) would now want us to believe. Let us assess the government objectively and look at issues on their own merit without allowing sentiments or politics to becloud our judgment. We all want Buhari to do better of course, but saying that he is a disaster is uncharitable.

As far as I am concerned, the man is doing his best. What I think make his government look so bad are his media team and the Central Bank of Nigeria. More on this another day.