The President, Major General
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday, revealed that at the heat of the bloody
clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria, the United States President,
Donald Trump, once asked him why he was
killing Christians.
This was just as the President
charged ministers and other top government officials to go “on the offensive”
in defending his regime and its achievements.
Buhari said these in his closing
remarks at the two-day ministerial performance review retreat held at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja.
At a point, the President
digressed from his prepared speech and narrated his encounter with Trump on the
bloody clashes.
He said he managed to explain to
the American leader that the clashes were not about ethnicity or religion.
He said, “I believe I was about
the only African among the less developed countries the President of United
States invited.
“When I was in his office, only
myself and himself, only God is my witness, he looked at me in the face, he
asked, ‘why are you killing Christians?’
“I wonder, if you were the
person, how you will react? I hope what I was feeling inside did not betray my
emotion, so I told him that the problem between the cattle rearers and stagnant
farmers, I know is older than me not to talk of him. I think I am a couple of years older than
him.
“With climate change and
population growth and the culture of the cattle rearers, if you have 50 cows
and they eat grass, any root, to your water point, then they will follow it. It
doesn’t matter whose farm it is.
“The First Republic set of
leadership was the most responsible leadership we ever had. I asked the
Minister of Agriculture to get a gazette of the early 60s which delineated the
cattle route where they used meagre resources then to put earth dams, wind
mills even sanitary department.
“So, any cattle rearer that
allowed his cattle to go to somebody’s farm would be arrested, taken before the
court. The farmer would be called to submit his bill and if he couldn’t pay,
the cattle would be sold, but subsequent leaders, the VVIPs (very very
important persons) encroached on the
cattle routes. They took over the cattle rearing areas.
I told Trump herdsmen, farmers clashes had nothing to do with
ethnicity, religion – President
“So, I tried and explained to him
(Trump) that this has got nothing to do with ethnicity or religion. It is a
cultural thing.”
In asking government officials to
defend his regime, Buhari said they should ensure that they stop the spread of
what he called “irresponsible and politically motivated statements” against his
regime.
“I have charged all of you to
defend the government vigorously and not allow any irresponsible and
politically motivated statements to keep spreading falsehoods about this
government.
“Information to the public should
be better packaged, go on the offensive, we are proud of our achievements and
we should blow our own trumpets,” the President said.
While attributing some of the
challenges being faced by his regime to the drop in the price of crude oil,
Buhari urged the elite to judge his regime fairly.
He said, “We promised three
things: security, economy and fighting
corruption. We repeated the same thing last year. But I want the Nigeria elite,
please encourage us and judge us fairly.
“Between 1999 and 2014, I will
like you to please check, the average production (of crude oil) was 2.1m
barrels per day; the average cost was
$100 per barrel.
“When we came, it collapsed to
$37 to $38 per barrel and the militants were unleashed on the administration,
the production went down.
“I want you to please reflect
what was the condition of the infrastructure, roads, then in spite of the
earnings. There was no power and up till now, there is no power. Where did the
money go?
“So, please encourage your
friends the elite to reflect on what this administration has done. What the APC
(All Progressives Congress) has done and what we have achieved. Well, I am
doing my best, God has given me two chances.”
Buhari reiterated his position
that ministers should always channel their meeting requests to him through his
Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari.
He said, “Let me also reiterate
that all submissions for my attention or meeting requests should be channelled
through the Chief of Staff, while all Federal Executive Council matters should
be coordinated through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
“I have directed the Minister of
Finance, Budget and National Planning, the Governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria and all other responsible agencies to ensure speedy and timely release
of funds to MDAs for implementation of the N2.3trn Economic Sustainability Plan
and the capital projects in the 2020 budget.
“I also enjoin ministers to
ensure that funds released are utilised efficiently and transparently in
implementing the programmes and projects under the line priorities areas of
government.
“I hereby charge the ministers,
permanent secretaries and all heads of parastatals to be continuously conscious
of their commitment and responsibilities.
“On behalf of the people of
Nigeria, I demand uttermost levels of performance, deliverables and results. I
look forward to a result-oriented year with tremendous benefits that will
continue to change lives of our people positively.”
Buhari decried what he called
“insufficient collaboration, coordination and synergy” among implementing
ministries, departments and agencies, saying that era should end.
In that regard, he said he had
directed that essential coordination delivery unit in the Office of the
Secretary to the Government of the Federation be revived to ensure that
government focuses on results.
Killings in Nigeria not cultural, your conversation with Trump weak,
CAN tells Buhari
Meanwhile, the Christian
Association of Nigeria, in its reaction, described Buhari’s revelation of his
conversation with Trump as weak.
CAN’s Vice President and Chairman
of the association in Kaduna State, John Hayab, in an interview with one of our
correspondents, said, “Buhari and his
government will never stop from amusing us with their tales by moonlight
because what is happening in Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Birnin Gwari, Southern
Kaduna, Taraba, Plateau and others cannot be described as a cultural thing.
“President Buhari’s weak story
about his conversation with President Donald Trump further confirms why his
government does not care about the killings in our country by calling them
cultural things.
“Just this (Tuesday) evening, I
received a report from the Kaduna Baptist Conference President about the number
of their members that have been killed by bandits in Kaduna State from January
2020 to date to be 105 and our President
will call it a cultural thing? All we can say is may God save our Nigeria.”
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You can imagine the statement coming from a president of a nation whom I think has lost touch with reality. It is the same issue that made some of us worked for a change from the administration before PMB but alas, we got something worse than the one we rejected. It is obvious that PMB is not in tune with the reality facing the ordinary Nigerian on the street. It is a pity that we have jumped from frying pan to fire. Anyone that criticize this government is seen to be from the opposition. That is unfortunate. The big regret I have is that I supported the government in the 2015 election thinking that the change will bring good tidings to every Nigerian. APC government has proven to be worse than PDP government that we voted out in 2015.
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