By Job Osazuwa
The President of the Movement for Better Nigeria in Diaspora (MBND), Mr. Dickson Kalu Uwakwe, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to listen to be open-minded to critics rather than his loyalists.  
He said for the country to overcome its present economic and political challenges, the president must ignore every agent of sycophancy and pay attention to the reality on ground. He opined that those singing Buhari’s praises were doing so only for their selfish interest.
Uwakwe, who was in Lagos recently from Benin Republic, told Daily Sun that those hailing the president would soon abandon him as they did to his predecessor. He advised Buhari to address the genuine yearnings of Nigerians, especially in the area of food insufficiency and rising unemployment in the land.   
“I remember few years back when the same people gathered for their selfish interest, praising former President Goodluck Jonathan exactly the way they are praising Buhari now. But at the end, they turned against him. Buhari should love those criticizing his government and take them as his best friends because there is a lot going in this country which he did not know, and those dinning with him simply refuse tell him the truth,” he said.
Uwakwe, who is also the Founder of South East Renaissance Project (SERP), said he was in Ghana to monitor the just concluded general elections in the country. According to him, Nigeria has a lot to learn from the manner the country conduct its elections, ranging from being free, transparent, violence-free to fair.
“I was in Ghana for four days during their election as a Diaspora observer sent by MBND, as their President.  I didn’t see military and police the way I saw them in River State during it rerun election last weekend. I wonder where we are going if we should continue in this manner.  Using all institutions in the country, our democracy needs to be protected, not to be abused,”
On dealing with corruption, he urged Buhari to fish out the corrupt members of his party and cabinet using them as scapegoats. He said it is then that Nigerians would believe that the president means well for the country and fighting a genuine cause. He said a lot of corruption and impunity was going in this government, which Buhari might not know.
Uwakwe said if the president continues to keep mute over the matter, it would be a suggestion that the alleged corrupt members in his cabinet have his backing, adding that it would, therefore, contradict his anti-corruption crusade.
He said many of the president’s loyalists are using his good name to cause political crises in different state.
“Still, Buhari keeps quiet and the impunity continues. They are praising him, calling him the best president, whereas, Nigerians are dying of hunger. There is hardship throughout the country; massive job losses, yet, none of Buhari’s friends is willing to tell him truth. This is democracy and nobody should be afraid to say the truth.
“Save the country now as it is your obligation to do so. Buhari must stop blaming past governments because former President Olusegun Obasanjo didn’t blame the military or other governments before him when he assumed office as the president in 1999. But he saw it as a task before him, to contribute his best for the development of the nation.”
However, Uwakwe noted that the problem of Nigeria should not be limited to Buhari alone, accusing virtually all politicians of neglecting their statutory responsibility for financial gains.
He believes that one of the ways Nigeria can be freed from recession is for Nigerians, especially politicians, to demonstrate an unflinching love, patriotism, tolerance and unity towards one another and the country.
Speaking on political developments in Abia State, where he hails from, Uwakwe decried the level of underdevelopment in the state. He advised the people of Abia to give their full support to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to lead the state out of backwardness, pointing out that the underdevelopment was due to lack of love and unity among the Igbo.
“We can’t be distracting our governor through court cases and expect him to give us his best. When you genuinely lose an election you prepare for another four years, which I see as the better option than dragging the winner to different courts. This is what has been happening in Abia since 1999 till date.”
He said the state has all it takes to make Abia State the best among other states of the federation.
According to him: “ I had one time brought investors to invest in agriculture, real estate and power plants which could create massive jobs for Abians and make the state one of the best in the country, but the people who do not want anything good in  Ikpeazu’s administration refused to work with me.”
While advising the governor to be wary of those around him and to be focused in delivering his campaign promises to Abia people, Uwakwe called on people of the state, irrespective of tribes and religions, to join hands with the governor, through prayer in rescuing the state from total collapse.