Buhari’s medical leave and a cabal’s opportunity

BY YUSUF BALA IKARA

What comes to mind when changes happen is the recurring question of whether it is for better or for worse. The ruling APC Government has seen a lot of changes in its almost two years of existence. The party rode on the crest of change as its fulcrum to win the last election, and a bumpy ride of change lies ahead of it.

From the long waiting for the Ministerial list to the much awaited Board appointments. To the strong anti-corruption stand of the government and the oppositions cry that it is being persecuted. What remains to be seen is if there is any proof by the opposition that there wasn’t any shortchanging of the masses in the country, during its sixteen years of calling the shots.

It is given that arguments have continued to flow between the pro-Buhari group and the die-hard anti-Buhari group. The latter will never see any good in President Buhari’s government. They have called him names at different times depending on the occasion at hand, like ‘Baba go-slow’ at the beginning of his government apparently for his meticulous style of trying to leave no stone unturned in his selection of cabinet members.

This style was questioned by those who felt that it should be business as usual. Pocketing the grassroots and the masses that normally bear the brunt of any social or economic upheaval in the country.

The poor masses without any form of economic empowerment in the past have been duly recognized by PMB’s Government with various programs like the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) and School feeding Programs among others. Sermonizing on PMB’s behalf will not be justified without grabbing the Bull by the horns; in this case the suffering masses and his intention to make life more meaningful for them.

His fight against insurgency shows a renewed effort to nip that cancerous uprising in the bud.The largely degraded Boko Haram is now in its dying days. His good intention is king where many had the same opportunity yet opted to look the other way. In Edmund Burke’s words “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.

Another challenge facing the government of the day is the serious economic crises bedeviling the country. The sharp rise in the exchange rate of the dollar has pitched buyers and sellers of commodities against each other. I remember vividly that the front windscreen of a Honda Accord Baby boy Saloon car cost about nine thousand naira, as of today it cost eighteen thousand.

The argument made by the spare part traders for this one hundred percent hike in price is very hazy and unconvincing. They may mumble something like dollar rate but between you and I, we all know it is not true. I equally cannot see the connection between the dollar rate and the locally produced vegetables in the market.

Some, attribute all these changes to Baba Buhari, yet I remember a popular saying that “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown” so it is only natural for people to heap blames at his doorstep without reading between the lines. In a game of Chess, there are different pieces with different roles and different moves with one main objective – to capture the opponent’s king.

Be as it may, running a country requires different people playing different roles to achieve one major objective;the emancipation of the people in a very peaceful, safe and secure environment, devoid of any form of human pestilence with a high index rate of growth and development.

In all these situations we find ourselves, we have forgotten the fact that we chose what we are facing today. Former Anambra state governor Peter Obi said; the former minister of finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former Central Bank Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, now Emir of Kano, advised them to save money for the rainy days but they did not listen. Today we have ourselves to blame for the ugly situation.

Another very important feature in our government is the cabal in the government that is trying very hard to undermine the progress made so far in the country. Rome was not built in a day but it was destroyed in a day. Monumental change takes time to be seen, recognized and felt. This cabal is fighting tooth and nail to discredit whatever the President is doing. Policies that were already in gestation are suddenly being implemented during his medical checkup leave to London, ostensibly to make it look as if he is inept or careless.

In a report titled “CBN new policy aid injection of fresh 370.9 million Dollar cash into the system in 24 hours” there was a sudden injection of 370.9 million dollars into the forex Market, according to these reports; the apex bank carried out wholesale interventions in the interbank forex market by trading a total of $370 million to 23 banks “to meet the visible and invisible requests of customers”. A source at the CBN said the qualified bids ranged from N315 to N360 per dollar, adding that seven banks received full allotments of their respective bids valued at $37,500,000 each.

“Other banks received allotments ranging from $46, 512.50 to $15,578,081.51,” the source added. The report added that Isaac Okorafor, acting director, CBN corporate communications department, said the bank’s intermediation in the forex market was the first wholesale intervention aimed at easing the pressure of access to forex by Nigerians who intend to meet obligations that fall under visible and invisible needs categories.

As part of its new policy action, the CBN also directed all banks in the country to open forex retail outlets at major airports as soon as logistics permit them to do such.

In line with the new policy, the CBN under the leadership of Mr. Godwin Emeffiele whom many assumed is being used also made spot sales of $6 million to four banks, and sold $35 million for the payment of school fees, medical bills and personal and business travel allowances.

In another report in NigeriaToday;“Osinbajo, State Governors ask CBN to review exchange rate policy”, there is an insinuation that the Vice President who is in charge of the Economic Team of the President and the State Governors canvassed for this new Policy, casting aspersions on the President and giving the credit to the Vice President. In as much as I know that the President and his Vice President are a formidable team and work together for the good of Nigeria, there are rabble rousers among the cabal that want to paint a different picture for Nigerians to see. What these members of the Cabal aim to achieve is certainly not in the interest of Nigerians.

The attempt to rubbish the actions of the President is to say the least undesirable. The Vice President’s loyalty to the President is not in question and as such I would advise these undesirable elements to sheath their swords of calumny and let the good intention of the Presidential Team prevail in this daunting task of rebuilding the Nation and restoring it to take its pride of place in the comity of Nations.

Ill-health is not any one person’s preserve and can happen to anyone irrespective of age, tribe, race or creed. The agitators for his demise have at best added more glorious days to his sojourn in this world. Beset by a myriad of problems in the nation it should not come as a surprise for one to become weary, no thanks to these Brutus’. It will come to pass that Nigeria shall rise again under the tutelage of President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo.

These disturbing trends can only make the resolve of our able leaders stronger and more focused, we should keep praying ceaselessly for our great country Nigeria and have faith in ourselves to move the country forward. Religion, ethnicity and socio-cultural dynamics should be seen and used as tools of our unity in diversity.

Ikara is the member of the house of representatives representing Ikara/Kubau, federal constituency of Kaduna