THE QUESTION: Will President Buhari ‘punish’ states that didn’t vote for him?

President Muhammadu Buhari’s trip to the United States is looking like a sad ending to a story with a happy, promising beginning.

His invitation so early into his tenure by Barack Obama, the US president, was seen as yet another proof of the international goodwill that the retired general has been enjoying since emerging president-elect on April 1. Bilateral talks with Obama went so well that the American not only vowed to rev up his country’s support for the war against Boko Haram, he also described Buhari has a man “who comes to office with a reputation of integrity and a very clear agenda”.

First threat to the ‘success’ of that trip was Buhari’s speech on Wednesday at the United States Institute for Peace (USIP), in which he lamented that the Leahy Law had “aided and abetted” Boko Haram’s campaign of bloodletting. The law prohibits the US Department of State and Department of Defence from providing military assistance to foreign military units that violate human rights with impunity, but Buhari urged the US government to review it so that Nigeria could secure more arms and ammunition to fight the insurgents.

Despite further clarifications that the comment was not meant as an indictment of the US, Senator Patrick Leahy, sponsor of the law, had some harsh words for Buhari and Nigerian soldiers, whom he described as “murderers and rapists”. It is not a controversy that has the potency to last long, though,  or diminish Buhari’s in-country popularity. Instead, it is his suggestion – while speaking at a question-and-answer engagement at the same institute – that constituencies that did not vote for him at the election cannot expect to be treated as those where he recorded high votes.

An elderly white woman who described herself “as a student of Nigeria for many years” had asked to know the president’s plans for the Niger Delta, “with particular reference to amnesty, bunkering, and inclusive government.”

This was Buhari’s response: “I hope you have [a] copy of the election results. Literally, constituencies, foe example, that gave me 97% cannot in all honesty be treated, on some issues, with constituencies that gave me 5%. I think these are political realities. While, certainly, there will be justice for everybody but well, the party in constituencies that by sheer hard work got their people to vote and ensured that their votes counted, they must must feel that the government has appreciated the effort they put in putting the government in place. I think this is really fair.”

So, does this expressly mean Buhari’s government will ignore the states where Goodluck Jonathan won, particularly those in the south?

NO, HE BELONGS TO EVERYBODY

It would be very unfair to judge the president on one statement he made on the spur of the moment. It was an interview; he was only answering an impromptu question, and he could have spoken without the chance to give much thought to the weight of his words.

It would be far more important to hold Buhari by the declarations of his inaugural speech – one he had all the time to prepare for – to be sure of the exact messages he intended to pass across. In that speech, the president had declared: “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.”

In any case, there is the concluding part of Buhari’s answer to the woman that has been maliciously omitted in the text of most quotations in the media. After saying what was quoted above, Buhari had also added: “By the constitution, no state can be excluded from government. So there is no way, even if I want to show gratitude to those constituencies that voted for me and those that didn’t even vote for me… they have the protection of the government. And I have made an undertaking that I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody. If I come clearly and show and marginalise a certain group because they didn’t vote for me, then I have already contradicted myself. And I am sure people will be too quick to pick that.”

YES, HE BELONGS ONLY TO HIS PEOPLE

The uproar generated so far by Buhari’s comment is a bit surprising. Is there anyone (other than APC apologists) who thinks that this president belongs to everybody? After two months in office, Buhari has already proven the people he belongs to, and they are his northern brethren and APC bigwigs. Just look at all his appointments.

At the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), he has appointed Abdullahi Muhammadu from Niger state (north-central). As accountant-general of the federation, he has appointed Ahmed Idris who hails from Kano state (north-west). To replace Attahiru Jega at the helm of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), he appointed Amina Bala Zakari, an indigene of Jigawa state (north-west).

After Ita Ekpeyong resigned as director-general of the Department of States Service (DSS), Buhari appointed Lawal Daura from Katsina state (north-west). At the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA), he has appointed Haruna Baba Jauro from Yobe state (north-east). Tukur Buratai from Borno state (north-east) is the chief of army staff, while Riku Morgan from Benue state (north-central) is the chief of defence intelligence.

In short, with the exception of Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, a rear admiral who was named the new chief of naval staff, all of Buhari’s major appointments have been from the north and (partly) the south-west, whose votes propelled him to the presidency.

Welcome, therefore, to the administration of the president who does not belong to everybody!