By Sunday Ani and Chukwudi Nweje
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and others have described the statement by President Muhammadu Buhari that governing Nigeria is a tough job and he cannot wait to finish his tenure on May 29, 2023, to retire to his Daura, Katsina State home, as confession that he has been overwhelmed.
Buhari told a gathering of businessmen and civil society organisations at a dinner in honour of the 2022 Committee of Business, Political, Media and Civil Society Leaders, at the Presidential Villa that he looked forward to when his tenure would end, and that he would also be leaving a legacy of a united, peaceful, and prosperous Nigeria with 24 years of uninterrupted democracy.
HURIWA, civil rights advocacy group, called President Buhari to resign immediately if the job was tough for him to minimise the damage his “crass incompetence and gross dereliction of duty would cost the country if he stayed on till May 29th 2023.
HURIWA faulted the president’s call on ASUU that enough was enough of its over five-month strike, stating that “the administration bears the largest chunk of the blame for totally abandoning public tertiary institutions because the children of the president, governors, senators, ministers and heads of government agencies were all schooling in foreign educational institutions.
Reacting, National Publicity Secretary, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Alex Ogbonnia said: “He is simply sincere. So, it is just a confession. He is admitting that he is almost overwhelmed. He didn’t know that the job will be so challenging. But, his statement is also an indication of the workload that is waiting for whoever that is coming after him.”
President, Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr. Pogu Bitrus, advised if he cannot manage it up to May next year when his tenure would constitutionally end, nobody stops him from throwing in the towel.
“He can honourably do what obtains in advanced countries of the world. Let him hand over to his vice and go home to rest,” he said.
He lamented that the economy has collapsed, insecurity has taken over the country to the extent that insurgents could operate freely at the federal capital, take out criminals from custodial centres without hindrance, attack the president’s convoy even as kidnappers are running riot all over the country.
“Things are not just working. So, if he feels that he can’t manage the situation to the end, let him hand over to the vice president to complete the term for him. But let that not be an excuse for him to hand over to people who are not democratically elected because such statement can be pregnant and nobody knows what it will give birth to. So, we should pray that undemocratic process should not take over.
“Was he not aware of the enormous responsibilities of the Presidency all the while he was running for the office? To say he doesn’t know is too much of an assumption. What we can say is that today, he has aged. He is no longer as young as he used to be. Today, things are not as normal as they used to be and depression is so much. So, he has made his confessions and he has the right to do that. We will not interfere in whatever his confession is. “What we are saying is that his vice president has not complained that he cannot do the job. Let him allow the man to take control and complete his tenure. What is to be done is to manage the country until we have a good election where Nigerians will have newly elected president and leaders that will run the country. So, it doesn’t make much difference. If he cannot do it as he has confessed, let him hand over to his vice president and let him manage it to the end.”
Former President of Aka Ikenga, Chief Goody Uwazurike said President Buhari’s legacies to the country included unfulfilled promises of restructuring, failed economy, insecurity and a wasted generation due to unresolved (ASUU strike.
“Mr. President prepared for this job for 12 years. He contested three times before he eventually won, so he should have been well prepared. Saying that ruling Nigeria is a tough job should not arise because he prepared for 12 years.
“Remember when Buhari was contesting, the APC set up a manifesto on restructuring, and when he was being sworn in, he said he had three areas to work on – security, economy and fighting corruption. For him to say he has achieved almost everything he set out to do is trying to say that corruption has reduced because there is no country that is corruption free. But I can tell you that he has not done well in that area. In the area of insecurity, when Buhari was sworn in, Boko Haram was restricted to the North-East; today, they are almost taking over the whole country. As it is today, Mr. President has failed in the area of providing security. You don’t need to look too far on the economy. Go to the market and find out what the economy is. When Buhari was coming in, a paint of garri was N300, today it is as high as N1,000. When he was coming in, the minimum wage of workers was N18,000 and with that you could buy a bag of rice for N7, 000 and use the rest to take care of your family. Today, even with the increase in the minimum wage, workers can no longer afford a bag of rice, the lowest quality is N30,000. Look at our education sector, ASUU has been on strike for several months. Buhari still has a few months to go and unless he does something, the legacies he will be remembered for are failed promise to restructure Nigeria, worsening insecurity, a failed economy and a generation of young Nigerians that are sitting at home wasting because the Federal Government has failed to resolve the ASUU strike.”