Shekarau’s understanding of governance 

BY BUKAR RAHEEM

Criticisms are undeniably the tonic of democratic governance anywhere in the world. But in Nigeria, criticisms hardly ascribe to anything sensible because the invectives are contrived out of spite and malice, than a selfless inspiration. And most times, it is designed to re-stamp a fading relevance on the political turf.

Immediate past minister of education under the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan presidency, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau has been so restless with his soul about the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB). Not long ago, Shekarau bemused himself by mouthing claims of insensitivity of Buhari to the plight of Nigerians. And yesterday, he again mounted his consolatory lane by bluffing about President Buhari’s failure to fulfill his campaign promises to Nigerians.

During an interview with reporters at the Islamic Vacation Course (IVC) ceremony in Gombe, Shekarau said; “The government has made a number of promises, particularly Mr. President (Buhari) himself and we have not seen things on the ground. There is hardly any concrete thing on the ground that you can see.”

Since his boss,miserably lost the 2015 presidential election in 2015, it is understandable that Shekarau is still smarting from the pains of defeat. He imposed a near solitary confinement on himself. However, the realization of his political blight has suddenly woken him up from slumber, but on the wrong side.

What else for a man, who fatally lost a presidential ambition in 2011 on the eve of his departure from Government House Kano,  simultaneously with his anointed successor and governorship candidate on the banner of  ANPP in 2011,  Alhaji Salihu Sagir Takai.  He has repeatedly and fruitlessly tried to plant Takai as governor of the state, the last attempt in 2015; but each trial is resisted by Kano people. His failed electoral escapades since 2011 are symbolic expressions of his rejection by Nigerians and Kano people.

A politician who suffers such serial electoral misfortunes needs political asylum for rehabilitation. It’s imperative because he becomes vulnerable to blurred sights and artificial senility to the extent of failure to even notice how much his environment has transformed.

To make Nigerians rehearse and get familiar with his name, Shekarau speaks before thinking or utters any irrationality that comes to his mind, no matter how absurd, just to get noticed.   Again, stoking the fire, Shekarau decided to pour vituperations on the administration of President Buhari which Nigerians hold in high esteem. Whatever Shekarau says about the failure of Buhari to stick to his campaign promises is innately barren of the slightest truth to inspire the conviction of any Nigerian, including his adherents.

Even unrepentant critics of the administration, including Shekarau’s party- the PDP have turned a new leaf at the dawn of the New Year by decorating the Buhari government with accolades for his final defeat of terrorism in Nigeria. Shekarau can also ask former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who recently recanted his earlier criticisms and confessed to Buhari’s indomitable leadership in the defeat of terrorists in the country.

So, no one needs Shekarau’s encyclopedia to feel the impact the Buhari administration has docked in Nigeria these past 19 months.

It is not strange for a man with such mindset to turn a blind eye to reality and claim Buhari has achieved nothing in his leadership of Nigeria. Even the administration’s frontal and timely tackling of insecurity loudly proclaimed in the manifest defeat of Boko Haram terrorists, with the capture of the Sambisa forest, for which Nigeria has earned international fame are not enough to unveil his eyes.

Nigeria is cursed with plenty of awkward leaders like Shekarau, who have enjoyed years of unrestricted pillaging of national wealth. They would naturally resist leaders like Buhari who would not fawn to such manipulations in the interest of the Nigerian masses.

It is this singular reason the likes of Shekarau would forever mortgage reasonableness or logic in their perception of the Buhari administration. It is the same Shekarau who admitted at various fora in the past that the preceding government led by his party- the PDP ruined Nigeria for 16 years until Buhari was saddled with responsibility of righting the wrongs.

Of course, Shekarau is aware that the PDP squandered every shilling in Nigeria’s foreign reserves; he knows the prices of crude oil in the international market have kept plummeting steadily and militancy in the Niger Delta would not even allow the country meet its daily crude oil production quota.

Furthermore, Shekarau has forgotten that the departing PDP government also piled debts for the incoming administration of President Buhari. As a key player in the previous government, he is sufficiently aware of the severity of the problems, further amplified by a sickening economic crunch.

Yet, he dreams, Buhari should have solved all of them in mere 19 months because he made promises. Maybe, Shekarau would import marabouts from India and Saudi Arabia like some of his cohorts who collected illicit money from the arms procurement fund did in 2015 to perform the magic. But Buhari will not be part of his headache.

These are the many enormous problems Shekarau and his buddies in government created when they held power. But he wants Buhari to rectify them in a jiffy. They deliberately grounded all aspects of governance when it became clear the PDP was to be ousted, in order to cripple the successor from performing. Now that Buhari has disarmed them with his performance, a politician of the old ilk, like Shekarau is constrained and veiled permanently never to see  the laudable efforts a leader like President Buhari is making to redeem Nigeria. It’s a pity!

Raheem, a public affairs commentator contributed this piece from Kaduna.