Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to
President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, said wicked people tagged
his principal ‘Jubril of Sudan’ because they wanted him dead.
He said this in a birthday
tribute in honour of the president.
Titled “Why we love Buhari”,
Adesina described the president as a man of integrity, man of accountability,
one whose word you can take to the bank.
He wrote: “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.
“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.
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.”
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What is the value of honesty compared with divisiveness, religious bigotry and one sided appointments exhibited by the same person?
ReplyDeletePS it is Jubril that came from the brink of death.
ReplyDeletePlease your explanation came late, all what we know is that we have Jubril in Aso Rock and not Buhari
ReplyDeleteHa ha haaaaaaaa Ghost Ghost Ghost Ghost Ghost Ghost run for your dear life Ghost Ghost Ghost Ghost Ghost everywhere in Nigeria
ReplyDelete