One thing is for sure: Muhammadu Buhari would like to be the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He has tried three times and has failed every time. Finally realizing it is a lost cause, he said he would not try again. But now he is persuaded to try again. His supporters are impressed that he won 12 million votes against Goodluck Jonathan in 2011. However, they need to be reminded that he lost to Jonathan by over 10 million votes.
Since the third time did not turn out to be a charm for Buhari, what are we to call his fourth attempt? Listening to the declaration of his new-fangled presidential bid in Eagles’ Square, Abuja a few days ago, it is seems this fourth time is going to be one big charade.
The sign was provided by none other than Buhari himself. Since his one credential is that he is a man of integrity who, as president, is expected to wrestle corruption down to the ground, Buhari decided to burnish his anti-corruption image by revealing that he obtained his 27.5 million naira APC nomination form with a bank loan. However, what this declaration did was to tell Nigerians that Buhari is a pretentious anti-corruption crusader. His Mr. Clean posture is nothing but a public relations gimmick.
Question marks
In fairness, some of us have known this all along. Under Buhari’s watch as Petroleum Minister in the late 1970s, $2.8 billion (worth billions of naira today) was missing from the NNPC account. The matter was subject to Senate investigation under the chairmanship of Olusola Saraki in 1983. But before the report could be dealt with, Buhari conveniently overthrew the Shagari government in a military coup d’état.
Vera Ifudu, an NTA newscaster, revealed that Saraki told her in an interview that the missing money was traced to Buhari’s account at Midland Bank in London. For this disclosure, Vera was summarily sacked by the NTA. However, she appealed against her dismissal in court and won. She even received a handsome financial compensation for wrongful dismissal from the NTA. Instead of clearing his name as a man of integrity, Buhari refused to appear before the Oputa Panel set up to look into the matter (among under things) by the Obasanjo administration.
Buhari claims to be an anti-corruption crusader, nevertheless, he agreed to serve under Sani Abacha, one of the most corrupt Heads-of-State ever in the history of Nigeria. While there has been no proven allegation that Buhari corruptly enriched himself as Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund under Abacha, it is abundantly clear that this fabled anti-corruption crusader failed to curb the rampant corruption that prevailed in the organization. Group Captain Usman Jibrin, a board member of PTF, resigned from the organization in protest over Buhari’s irregular appointments of consultants.
In 2000, the Obasanjo administration set up an Interim Management Committee to look into the affairs of the PTF, under the chairmanship of Haroun Adamu. The Committee discovered that billions of naira was stolen under Buhari’s chairmanship.
Political platform
Now the same Buhari who would not or could not curb corruption in the PTF wants us to believe he will fight corruption as president of Nigeria. However, he has chosen the APC as the political platform on which to undertake this. But the APC is an unscrupulous political party that is choc-full of corrupt politicians. It is the party of Murtala Nyako who was impeached as governor of Adamawa State for converting state money to personal use. It is the party where Buhari himself and others went cap-in-hand to Otta to beg Obasanjo to be their “navigator.”
Surely Buhari knows that he cannot fight corruption by being the presidential candidate of the APC. Whatever anti-corruption crusading Buhari had in him in the past must have ended when he decided to join the APC. Should he become president, does he intend to probe his corrupt party-members? Has he made them understand he would be coming after them once elected? If he has, does he really expect them to help him get elected so he can retrieve their stolen loot and send them off to jail?
A 72 year-old man with Buhari’s experience, who was overthrown in a preemptive coup by members of his own government, knows that in Nigeria, nobody gets elected as president on the platform that he is going to be an anti-corruption crusader when he gets into office. That is a sure signal for all the politicians in all the parties to gang up against him and make sure he never makes it.
If you really want to be anti-corruption, you have to keep your mouth shut about your plans until you get elected and then catch your corrupt colleagues by surprise. You must also have resolved not to seek re-election for a second-term. It is not only the populace, but the politicians in particular, who insist on “stomach infrastructure.” But if you are talking anti-corruption while still seeking the nomination of your party, it must be because it is well known to your corrupt colleagues that your anti-corruption stance is merely for public consumption.
Cleaning up APC
It is not surprising, therefore, that despite all the noise about anti-corruption coming from Buhari and his cohorts; he has failed to fight against corruption in the APC. We did not hear him raise a voice against the incongruity of a so-called progressive party demanding a cynical nomination fee of 27.5 million naira for its presidential primaries. One would have expected a truly anti-corruption crusader to make the point that the nomination fee is unacceptable. Instead, Buhari readily acquiesced to the requirement in order to safeguard his all-important presidential ambitions.
Since Buhari cannot, or does not, fight against this corrupting nomination fee in the APC, and insist on its reduction to something far more reasonable, how can he expect us to believe that as president in a political system with the separation of powers; against a legislature likely to be controlled by the PDP; he would be able to fight corruption? Somebody is fooling somebody here. Or else, somebody is living in a cloud cuckoo land.
Charity, they say, begins at home. If Buhari is truly anti-corruption, he should begin his crusade in the APC. Is it progressive for a political party in Nigeria to ask its candidates to come up with 27.5 million just for the nomination papers for an election where only one person will emerge as the winner? Is it not corrupt politicians that are likely to have this type of easy-come easy-go money? Is this not an open invitation for the winner, if he actually manages to secure election to the presidency, to recoup this extortionate fee from public funds?
Anti-corruption bank loan
What did anti-corruption Buhari do about this outrageous APC requirement? This is where the whole matter becomes ridiculously implausible. According to Buhari, rather than fight against the measure, he took out a ban loan to pay for it.
Buhari told us about his “loan” out of embarrassment; in a pathetic bid to validate his anti-corruption credentials. But this so-called loan indicates that Buhari does not understand what it means to be anti-corruption. For Buhari, anti-corruption is a posture; it is a swagger; it is a badge; but it has no bite and, in the usual Nigerian fashion, it will be prosecuted with hypocrisy.
Buhari wants us to believe that he cannot afford 27.5 million naira. Nevertheless, he rides around in a bullet-proof Jeep and maintains a convoy of Land Cruisers. He cannot afford 27.5 million naira. Nevertheless, he declared his candidacy lavishly in Eagle Square, Abuja. Did he also take out a bank loan for that? Four months to a make-or-break election, Buhari would have us believe he has no money. How does he propose to finance his presidential campaign? Is he going to take 1 billion naira loan from the World Bank for this?
Dubious loan
Why would a bank lend Buhari that amount for a presidential pie-in-the-sky that failed to materialize three times in the past? Is that not likely to be a bad loan? How long did it take for the loan to be processed? What did he put down as anti-corruption collateral? How does he propose to pay the money back? Mr. Integrity needs to spell all this out for the sake of his fast-disintegrating anti-corruption credentials.
I did not know loans are so easy to secure in Nigerian banks today. Perhaps Buhari could introduce me to his bank manager. I would also not mind taking this kind of soft loan. I am sure I can always come up with some unproductive excuse or the other for it. Is such a loan even legal today under Nigeria’s stricter banking laws?
How many honest Nigerians can afford to give a non-refundable 27.5 million naira to a political party, on the off-chance that they will be able to secure the party’s presidential ticket? If they win the nomination and even get elected president, how would they pay back the money?
Not presidential material
It is clear that Buhari is not only lacking the money to pay for APC nomination papers, he does not have the funds to pay for advisers, to counsel him about what to tell the public and how to prosecute an effective presidential campaign. His advisers might have educated him that there is something called “fund-raising.” Surely, the most popular politician in the North-West can find some of his ardent supporters to give him 27 million naira. Certainly, a former governor of the Central Bank can easily cough up the money.
Buhari wants to fight an election that will take place in four months time. From what he tells us, he does not have 27 million to prosecute that election now. If this is true, he is not the right man to be president of Nigeria. For a man who is running for election for the fourth time, that is the height of cluelessness. It shows Buhari is lousy at marshaling resources. Otherwise, he is fooling nobody but himself. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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I did not know loans are so easy to secure in Nigerian banks today. Perhaps Buhari could introduce me to his bank manager
ReplyDeleteI guess the writer of this write-up has collected money from opponents, because his reason is not going along with what people that can analyse what GMB has done in the past. Moreover, can he provide evidence for all his allegations? Yes, if he cannot, he does not know anything about what he is dabbling to.
ReplyDeleteYour not a smart person are you?
DeleteWhat is loan and what is the condition to obtain it? Does your GMB not know what is mean by loan.
DeleteSo PDP cannot use religion again to blackmail Buhari but are bent to destroy his hard earned uncorruptibility, no way. Aribisala, many had read from source of your incomplete version of GMB story, so you are educating nobody. Buhari has been pure since when he never dream to vie for presidency. If yo must know GMB doesnt pay for rallies but the crowd.
ReplyDelete...you just reduce General to nothing...I just hope he will forgive n forget...coz if he finally made it to Asorock hmmmm! your name will be sorry.
ReplyDeleteReading dis man's writeup for the 1st timewell I wasted most of the time I spent reading he only made sense of the dubious load paragraph but I blve he decided to take a loan from the bank cos he doesn't want ppl sayin he owes dem dis and dat wen he finally becomes the president....dat d only way he can focus well on the Job at stake #MyOpinion
ReplyDeleteThe question you are dodging to answer is how Wilhelm he repay the loan both as a winner or a loose?
DeleteIn as much as I like GMB and dislikes Mr Aribisala write ups sometimes cz it always one sided. I think I reasoned along with him on this one.
ReplyDeleteWhat a Crazy bank will loan a man for an election that the outcome is unclear?
How do GMB plan to pay up this loan? This are serious issues to pounder on. I'm not a fan of any politician all I want is good governance! GMB cannot not fool me on this one. It is wise to listen to the cleric Gunmi advise and forget abt this already failed ambition same goes for GEJ he's not credible enough to run the country for another four years!
Mark.
God will punish aribisala bcoz he always takes pdp sides when it come to politics
ReplyDeleteAribisala, where is your clueless part 3 or has frustration set in your camp and your client{s} asked you to start cooking up stories on the only incorruptible and honest Nigerian leader Gen Muhammed Buhari. In as much as failure has no brother and no amount of window dressing that can sell a bad product, equally, there will be no amount of propaganda you can carry on Buhari that can demystify him. Nigerians are already on the know of who is who including your very self. Every right thinking Nigerian knows Buhari as the ONLY Nigerian leader that has unbroken record of integrity over the years and hitherto. So, whatever crap you are either writing or saying now is an after thought and is dead on arrival. I wonder whom you want to deceive. There is no point beating about the bush, this country requires a mature, intelligent,disciplined, visionary,clueful and zero corruption personae not the opposite as it is the order of today.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I am reading your write up and I am so disappointed. As if I knew it will be rubbish that's why I had never bothered reading anything from you in the past. Just wasted my precious time here.
ReplyDeleteMr aribisala god be with you. GMB can walk into any bank and get a loan instantly. We are talking about a former head of state here. He has capacity to pay back the loan and that's what matters most in loans. I have never heard that GMB is a corrupt man. Whether you pple like it or not, we are tired of PDP / gej. Abeg let's try something new.
Let's try something new but not from North,Something new can as well comes from South East,South South and Middle Belt......If it is North,it is not gonna work,GEJ better remains there
DeleteMr. Anonymous, have heard about PEP (Politically Exposed Persons) . Do you know that it is against banks regulations to grant loans to such individuals?, do you know that banks that do that grants loans to PEP stands the chance of being sanctioned by CBN ??. It is obvious that Buhari has just told the whole world lies, or he has unwittingly exposed the otherwise secret deal between himself and whatsoever bank granted him the loan, thereby exposing the bank to CBNs sanction.
DeleteAribisala just needed contract or any means of getting money from pdp, that's the way I see it.
ReplyDeleteAm surprise people still do not know that this Aribisala works for Jonathan. Please Aribisala or what you call yourself. Let us forget what the leg looks like and focus on the ball. If PDP is sure that Nigerians are behind them, they should not employ you or any other tout to rig the forthcoming election by words or force. Then we shall see how popular your GEJ candidate will be. If only we knew then, what we know now, GEJ would not smelt that seat let alone sitting on it. You and cohorts are all afraid that you will be made to truly face the wrath of the law should Buhari come to power.
ReplyDeleteNo hiding place for you all. The time has come for you all to pay for your sins.
Aribisala up you, Reuben Abati does more than that. thanks for the write up
ReplyDeleteAribisala thank you very much for this eye opener!...next General will tell us he borrowed money to feed bcos he couldn't amass public funds while in office. we are not naive as you may think General!!!
ReplyDeleteThere is no balance to the story by Aribisala; too one-sided as someone said above. For grave allgations such as the "missing" and long-forgotten $2.8 billion (I thought it was N2.8 billion naira - listen to Fela Anikulakpo's Army Arrangement, and you get a better picture of that legendary heist). Aribisala must have forgotten that the "missing" loot was under then Head of State, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, when Buhari was Petroleum Minister - so, under who's actual watch? For a moment while I read the lop-sided story above, I thought it must be Doyin Okupe, but then, the semantics lacks the piercing tone of Okupe's style; however, I detected a note of hate, a cynical undertone that reeks of envy for a man whom many would vouch for in terms of intergrity. Anyway, would Aribisala rather sell Nigerians a President under whose watch $20 billion dollars of oil money is unaccounted for? Under whose watch our girls and women are being abducted with no apparent attempt to rescue them? Aribisala, Nigerians are not as daft as your write up obviously makes out that they are; maybe you are the daft among us.
ReplyDelete"General Yakubu Gowon ruled this country for 11 years part of which was the oil boom era and till date you can see Gowon flying commercial airlines.
ReplyDeleteBuhari ruled for less than two years during austerity measures and till today he travels on a Chatered aircraft . It's even cheaper to own one than to charter an aircraft each time you fly. He is contesting his fourth presidential election. He lost three and pursued the case all the way to the Supreme Court , being able to pay Senior advocates to appear at the Supreme Court . The minimum appearance fee for a SAN at a a Presidential election case at the Supreme Court is 25 million naira . Today he is buying a form for 27 million naira. In all his campaigns for Presidency, he has never spent less than 500 million naira. I can agree if you say he is sponsored. At least we know those who sponsored Obasanjo. We know those who sponsored Yar'Adua, Who are the sponsors of Buhari ?"
It's obvious that many are clouded with primordial sentiments instead of reason and facts over national discuss. Buhari is typically on a journey that will further plunge Nigeria into a state of total anarchy. Single handedly he cannot fight corruption no matter how clean he thinks he is. Buhari need, national assembly and the entire apparatus of Govt your supporters have corruption charges against them, so will you jail them? Nigeria need peace now not some sanctimonious crusade of arrogance on anti-corruption. Buhari need to now Nigerias priority...
ReplyDeleteI think this is not a bad write-up, but I want to suggest that going forward, claims should be backed up with evidences so that we can establish that your intentions are genuine and not partisan. I also will love to get such bank loan but I will use mine for something else other than prosecuting an election.
ReplyDeleteIn this days of BOKO HARAM, i am sorry the best thing for Nigeria's balance is to look for a Christian from the North and a Muslim from the South as a viable ticket. WHY? Because Northern Muslims are reaallly suspect right about now! Get a Christian from Southern Kaduna, Plateau or Benue. Or even Adamawa. and a Muslim from Delta. Finish! Nigeria's problem right now #1 is to avoid Islamization like the country of Turkey(read about it).
ReplyDeleteNormally i dont comment on write ups by people because everyone is free to write whatever he or she feels about the polity, but over sometime i have been following witeups by mr femi aribisala, who by the way i do not know, but i feel the man is not in anyway objective about the way nigeria is being run, if he feels so strongly about supporting president jonathan, i think he should take up a job as his campaign manager rather running down all those who have come out to contest the elections against him. it is people like this that reminds me of the foolishness displayed by our so called statemen during the Abacha race to transform himself to a cilvillian president. they did all they could then to run down opposition and sing the praises of their sponsor despite the fact that the entire country was in a state of anarchy. the truth today is that the country is in a terrible state, insecurity, joblessness, colonization in the so called private companies, nigerian have now become slaves in their own country, graduates now have to pay to get government jobs, serve thier fatherland in the youth service scheme, citizens facing corruption or criminal charges are the president's best friends at the detriment of the masses of this great nation. etc. the truth is that the bulk stops at the table of Mr. President and in any civilised nation he should have either resigned or he would by now have been booted out. the watergate scandal is not even as much as this cash for arms scandal, that the president of the united states had to be impeached, yet hear we are playing politics with the integrity of this nation. soldiers and state security agents paid with tax payers money are now wearing masks in elections and shooting into the air to scare off citizens that they should protect. You see sir, please stop running down people and encourage your president to work on his weaknesses may be it may win some people to his side because what your articles are doing is making more enemies for your president because you are only playing on the intelligence of nigerians.
ReplyDeleteGod help your sense of judgement.
Concerned citizen
iv always and keenly read aribisalas write ups but this one bore me a great deal. first this write up is a mere fiction, secondly it is a case of pointn a finger at some and d other four points at u(gej) thirdly d emphasy on buharis loan to me is stupid ds is an ex head of states for cryn out loud do u think it will b difficult for som1 like dt to secure a bank in 2dys d likes of dangote, femi otedola gt loans worth billion of dollars from banks at short notice and often times without collateral. i recollect buhari complained about d price of presidential form but d apc national chaiman said it ws to seperate d boys from d men and more there isnt much diff btwn d prices of apc and pdp presidential forms so aribisala why is your hammer on apc alone. pls do a reaserch on curruption and insecurity under gej administration and come up with a write up on your findings
ReplyDelete