Letter to President Muhammadu Buhari

BY ABBAS YUSUF

Mr President, I find it expedient to write this letter to you as one of your ardent supporters since you indicated interest to join politics in April 2002.

My President, even before you joined politics when Nigeria returned to democratic rule on May 29, 1999, which ushered your boss General Olusegun Obasanjo as President, there were a group of people who cut across the media,  and politicians that called on you to join politics. Many of them voluntarily offered themselves to serve you personally and in your famous campaign organisation, THE BUHARI ORGANISATION, TBO.

Sir, as you are aware, from your efforts to secure the ticket of the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party ANPP in the year 2003 and 2007, CPC in 2011, APC in 2015 and eventually as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, there have been ups and downs on how to make your supporters dream come to fruition.

As newspaper reports indicated then and insiders’ stories, many problems plagued your campaign.

But let me digress a little bit sir. From 2003 you have foot soldiers that have followed you to ensure that you become the President of this country. As a spectator and a young kid then who is struggling to reach his early 20’s I monitored the efforts of the following personalities: Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN), Alhaji Buba Galadima, Dr Aliyu Usman Tilde, Hajiya Najaatu Muhammad, Alhaji Sule Yahaya Hamma, Malam Yau Shehu Darazo, Chief Rotimi Fashakin, Pastor Tunde Bakare etc, etc.

Sir, these personalities mentioned especially Mike Ahamba SAN and Dr Aliyu Usman Tilde tried their best to help you pursue your presidential ambition. Najaatu Muhammad, the iron lady, has superseded many many men in expressing her fearlessness to fight your course.

I can remember when some Nigerians were searching for an alternative to General Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003, Dr Aliyu Tilde in his Friday Discourse column of the weekly Trust wrote ” Buhari Please Join Politics now ” and when you Joined politics he came with another column titled ” Buhari in Politics ”

Your excellency, I am not writing on these to remind you or draw your attention but to refresh your memory on the contribution these people rendered as you geared to stage a comeback as president of our great country Nigeria.

Mr President as the saying goes all the rest is now history, in the tough journey to become the president, some of these people are said to have left the struggle due to internal Wrangling in your presidential campaign organisation. It is now part of the trending history that you are the president of this great country which you and your colleagues laboured to unite, and you are about to clock three years in office trying your best to reposition our country to greatness. Mr. President, you need a more competent team to re-engineer Nigeria, everybody is a stakeholder in the Nigerian project. reabsorbing these old political allies is not a setback to your administration but a plus at this critical time in our nation’s history.

Starting with Dr Aliyu Tilde, a well-known media guru, there have been complaints from renown media experts that your presidential media team are goofing in the course of selling the programmes of your administration despite your modest achievement as President. If people like Dr Aliyu Tilde whom you meet from the onset of your joining politics will be reabsorbed and head your media team, even if we did not see magic miracles will abound in projecting your administration’s programmes and policies to Nigerians and to the world .

Sir to Err is human and to forgive is divine, even if these your former foot soldiers offended you, the ones you are working with currently may not have pleased you hundred percent.

Coming back to the iron lady sir, Hajiya Najaatu Muhammad, we in Kano are all living witnesses to the effort made by this woman to sale you in the international and our local Media, as I said she is more fearless than many men, she laboured hard to ensure the emergence of our former Governor Malam Ibrahim Shekarau,the woman defied all odds to ensure your candidature sail through,if the incompetence associated with your aids whom you met on the eve of 2015 elections are anything to go by, I believe this woman will make a difference, sir please try her and give her a sensitive ministry, one of your change agenda will be realized due to her no-nonsense posture, you can relieve Fashola of one of the ministries especially works and Housing, give it to Hajiya Najaatu she will make a difference. Due to the work load you placed on the shoulder of Babatunde Raji Fashola many of our roads are now major death traps and the renown legal luminary and Former Governor of Lagos state has developed a grey hair all over his head.

My charismatic president not to bore you to much due to the monotony that is associated with my letter, revisit the case of one of your field Marshalls in politics, Alhaji Buba Galadima who pitch his tent with former Governor of Kano State Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso during the APC primary elections in 2014 ,Alhaji Buba from the way I have been hearing his voice in the Hausa service of BBC almost sacrificed his life for your cause. One of the critical sectors of your administration needs this no nonsense man, despite being an Engineer, Buba Galadima will impact more, by the time you recall him ,I know due to his love for you, will repent and serve Nigeria under your popular administration.

Sir, lastly while I am composing this piece one of your dogged fighters that tried to ensure Justice is done to the many election victories declared against you come to my mind, due to issues sir I forget whether he is alive or not, this man can make your good attorney general, if he is recalled ,do not hesitate to reshuffle your cabinet and Mike Ahamba becomes your minister of Justice and Abubakar Malami redeployed to any ministry especially that of special duties and you will see surprises in justice sector reform .

Sir, I wrote this letter in anticipation of your zeal to fulfill your campaign promises as 2019 is around the corner.

Yusuf can be reached via [email protected]