Today,
December 17, President Buhari turns a year older. His Special Adviser on Media
and Publicity, Femi Adesina, wrote this piece, listing the reasons people love
and admire President Buhari. Read below
"That's
him, that's him," the two old women, wrinkled and bent with age,
exclaimed. You could see wonderment and fulfillment in their eyes. And as if on
cue, they both began to cry.
It was in
Bauchi earlier this year. President Muhammadu Buhari was visiting to
commiserate with the people on the ravages of windstorm, which had destroyed
many homes and other property. As he waved at the tumultuous crowd, the two
women saw him, perhaps for the first time in their lives. And so great was
their satisfaction, their pure joy, that they began to cry.
That is the
kind of emotion that courses through millions and millions of Nigerians when
they behold their President, the honest man (mai gaskiya), the man of
integrity, man of accountability, one whose word you can take to the bank. The
man who loves them, and they love and trust in return.
Don't
misunderstand me. Not all estimated 196 million Nigerians share this sentiment.
Not possible. There are those who are passionately opposed to the President.
They are a very vocal minority, who abhor his integrity, hate his sense of
accountability, and even want him dead. But we are not talking about those who
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti called "opposite people." On this day of his 76th
birthday, we are talking of the teeming masses who love Buhari, and who can go
to the ends of the earth for him.
Why do they
love Buhari? Or better still, why do we love Buhari? The old, the young, men,
women, boy, girl, the strong, the infirm. Why do we love the tall man from
Daura? For many reasons.
I have said
it before, and say it again. It will take a while before Nigeria will see
another political leader with such ability to pull an unsolicited and uninduced
crowd like Muhammadu Buhari. Anywhere he goes, he doesn't have to procure the
crowd. They turn out in their numbers to see and hear him. They will trek from
Africa to China, walk from Cape Town to Cairo, all to see, hear and cheer the
man they love.
Why?
Many
reasons. He is an honest man. My father, that stern educationist, who ran the
home and the schools he administered with an iron hand, used to tell us:
"Honesty is the best policy." That was true over 50 years ago when he
drummed it into our ears, and it is still true today. And will remain true
tomorrow, and forever. That is why we love Buhari. He is an honest man, who
will tell the truth to his own hurt.
At a recent
meeting with governors, while discussing the seemingly knotty issue of minimum
wage, the President told them to level with him. He said he knew that general
elections were by the corner, "but I don't like to lie to anybody. I will
still like to tell Nigerians the truth, and nothing but the truth, as to what
we can truly afford to pay." Consultations are still ongoing.
Some people
will give you fibs, just because they want to hoodwink you, and get your votes.
They will announce that they've increased the salaries of fictitious workers,
even when truly they are owing many of their employees. But not President
Buhari. Nothing for him is a matter of life and death. Truth is the best thing
in a man's keeping. Make yourself an honest man, and there is one rascal less
in the world. That is why we love the man.
Accountability.
I will never forget a promise Buhari made to the crowd at a campaign rally in
Lagos in 2011, when he ran with Pastor Tunde Bakare of Latter Rain Assembly.
Two honest men. "Every kobo that comes into the treasury will be used for
the good of Nigerians." That's the accountable man, who would not dip his
hands into the treasury for private gains, who will not line his pocket at the
expense of the people. That is why we love him.
Just over a
week ago, I met a man who was an accountant at the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF),
when the then Gen. Buhari was chairman. Executive Chairman, who could do
anything he wanted, since the place was awash with billions of petrol money.
"I told
him his salary would be N200,000 monthly," the man recounted. "He
said it was too much, since he still drew pension from public coffers as a
retired General and former head of state. I don't know how he calculated it,
but he said he would rather be paid N84,000 monthly. And that was what he
earned."
Yet some
people say don't follow this honest man. Till he has one tooth left in his
mouth, and is bent double over his walking stick, we will, no matter what they
say. Honesty is still the best policy. Today, tomorrow, and forever.
See all the
positions he has held in this country. Governor of North-east, then made up of
what is now six states. Minister of Petroleum for over three years. Head of
State for 20 months. Chairman of PTF for many years. Yet he remains a man of
modest means. That is why we love him.
In the early
days of this administration, when oil prices had crashed to as low as 39
dollars per barrel (from as high as 115 in preceding years, stabilizing at over
$100 for a long time, yet we had no savings, no reserves), it was usually a
spectacle to see the President and the then Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun,
seated and apportioning funds for the week. Depending on what was in the
coffers, they prioritized spending, just like traders with low capital base.
Nigeria had
been run into a hole. No reserve for the rainy day, and we were being badly
beaten by the rain. Yet salaries must be paid as at when due. At least 27
states could not meet their obligations, till President Buhari gave them a
lifeline. And then, one day, a counsel was given at a meeting: "This is
the time to ideally cut the strength of the federal civil service by at least
half, as we may not be able to carry the load for long." It made a lot of
fiscal sense. But to the President, it was nonsense. "If it lies within my
powers, I will ensure that no single person loses his or her job. Yes, it may
be the right thing to do, looking at the state of our finances, but I won't do
it," President Buhari said.
And you say
we shouldn't love this President? We will love him till Africa and China meet.
A
confederacy has arrayed itself against the honest man. A crooked confederacy.
Anybody that is anybody in the pantheon of questionable character is there. Are
Nigerians fools? After their eyes have been opened, will they willfully afflict
themselves with blindness again? Not on their lives! The country will never go
back to the slave market. Not after we have known prudence, experienced
accountability, and we are are inching out of the morass in which we were
soused and marooned.
For more
than five decades, mere lip service was paid to diversification of the economy.
But we remained a mono-product country. Oil. So, whenever the price of oil
crashed in the international market, we simply crashed with it. Now gradually,
and inexorably, we are on the road to a diversified economy. Wonders are being
done in agriculture. Mining is flexing muscles. Manufacturing is showing
prospects. All in less than four years.
What of
infrastructure? The sum of N2.7 trillion spent in two years. The roads are
roaring to life. The rail is snaking in. Power is powering back. Wonders are
being unfolded in different parts of the country. And we shouldn't love this
President? We will, no matter what the naysayers say.
Hear
pensioners rejoice: This is the best administration we've had since the advent
of Contributory Pension Scheme 14 years ago.
Governor
Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State spoke at a meeting of governors with the President
last Friday. He said since the creation of the state, this was the first time
pensioners were being paid, adding that pension liabilities have been cleared
by about 40%. Just because there is a President that cares.
Former
Nigeria Airways workers. Railway workers. Former Biafran policemen. And many
others, have had their pensions paid. And we shouldn't love the 'birthday man?'
They should tell it to the marines.
When you
have a heart for men, it is God himself that keeps you alive. We have seen a
practical demonstration in President Buhari. From the brink of death early
2017, there is now an unmistakable glow in him, evidence of good health from
the inside. It is God at work. No wonder wicked people came with the idiocy of
Jubril of Sudan. Otiose. Hollow. Products of addled minds. That was why we
ignored them, till the President himself responded to a question from Nigerians
in Poland two weeks ago.
And you know
what? Our love for this President is at no cost. No charge. Whether we work for
him, and for him, or we don't, the real cost of our love is no charge.
Do you know
that classic song, No Charge, made popular by Shirley Caesar and Sonia Spence?
It told the story of a small boy who decided to charge his mum for all that he
considered favours he had done her.
"For
mowing the yard, five dollars
And for
making my own room this week, one dollar
For going to
the store, 50 cents
And playing
with little brother while you went shopping, 25 cents
Taking out
the trash, one dollar
And for
getting a good report card, five dollars
For raking
the yard, two dollars
Total owed,
fourteen seventy-five."
The woman
looked at her son, standing there expectantly. Then she collected the paper
from him, and wrote on it:
"For
the nine months I carried you,
Growing
inside me, no charge
For the
nights I sat up with you
Doctored
you, prayed for you, no charge
For the time
and tears, and the cost through the years, no charge
When you add
it all up, the full cost of my love is no charge."
For millions
upon millions of Nigerians who love this President, it is an unconditional
love. The full cost of our love is no charge. Happy birthday, Mr President.
.Adesina is
Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity
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