Buhari’s broadcast: Matters arising

President Muhammadu Buhari’s Monday broadcast after his return from the 103 days medical vacation in London is a mixed bag. EMEKA NZE reports the divergent perspectives

Mixed reactions have continued to trail President Muhammadu Buhari’s Monday broadcast after his return from 103 days medical vacation in London, for some observers the broadcast was a welcome development. However, there are others who having distilled the contents, said it was not a true refl ection of the mood of the country, arguing that the president missed the opportunity to appreciate Nigerians for their prayers while he was away. Deplorable state Why not?

Th e Buhari enemies had wished him death or so it appeared and they harrangued the citizens via the social media of the deplorable state of the president’s health. But he has come hale and hearty against their wish. In the camp of his admirers, there was and still is joy and jubilation.

Yet by the position he occupies as President of Nigeria, many people said there is no way a presidential broadcast to the nation would be glossed over without evoking sentiments, comments from the citizenry essentially after the long medical vacation abroad. Th ey argue that it is typical of a plural and democratic society. Equally, had the country been peaceful devoid of agitations from groups such as Biafra, Arewa Youths, Niger Delta, et’al, few sentiments would have come from the Buhari’s speech.

Uninspiring Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister expectedly is one such persons who expressed disappointment by the president’s broadcast. FaniKayode had this to say: “During his President’s) thoroughly uninspiring six minute broadcast this morning instead of appealing to Nigerians for patience and understanding and instead of apologizing to them for the ineptitude and sheer incompetence that his government has displayed over the last two years, President Muhammadu Buhari has returned home after 105 days on his sick bed in the United Kingdom and not only insulted Nigerians but also threatened them.” Fani-Kayode continued: “He (Buhari) made no attempt to reach out to the people, to build bridges and to calm the troubled waters in what is clearly a traumatised and divided nation and instead he sought to intimidate and talk down on our people and his perceived enemies.

“Th e President appears to have failed to appreciate the fact that times have changed and that he cannot impose his will on others. Referendum “He claims that his view represents the thinking of the majority of Nigerians yet he refuses to accept the idea or acknowledge the legitimacy of a national referendum. “He is meant to be a servant leader and a democratically-elected President and not a military dictator, a Caliph or a King. “If he wants to enhance national unity, which is of course a noble and righteous venture, and if he really wants Nigeria to remain one then he must desist from Buhari’s broadcast: Matters arising He is meant to be a servant leader and a democratically-elected President and not a military dictator, a Caliph or a King his dangerous and provocative rhetoric, he must treat all Nigerians like human beings and as equals, he must exhibit a much higher degree of sobriety and accommodation of contrary and dissenting views and he must display far more sensitivity, understanding and restraint in his interactions and discourse with the opposition and those that do not agree with him.

“Failing that and without a quick recourse to the devolution of power from the centre and the neat and timely restructuring of what is essentially a fake pseudo-federation and a functional unitary state, the agitation for emancipation will become more pronounced, the various ethnic nationalities in this country will eventually exercise their right of selfdetermination and our nation will eventually break. “Th e fault lines are there and they are visible for all to see. We must recognise our diff erences, acknowledge our fears, concerns and anxieties, sooth frayed nerves, bridge the gap, make the necessary concessions and heal the wounds or we must prepare for the very worse in the not too distant future. Th at is the way forward and that is the only way to ensure and guarantee lasting peace and unity.

“Since the President mentioned the late and revered Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the Ikemba Nnewi, the former Head of State of the old Biafra and the Eze Gburugburu of the Igbo, in his morning address let me add the following. “If this great man were still alive today to witness what his Igbo people have been subjected to over the last two years under the Buhari administration he would have been the fi rst to insist on Biafra all over again. “And the truth is that Ojukwu, Major Chukwuemeka Kaduna Nzeogwu and the great Zik of Africa, the Owelle of Onitsha, Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe, have collectively resurrected in a young lion from the east called Nnamdi Kanu who he must handle with the utmost care.

“What the President is unable to grasp and fails to comprehend is this: we are not children, we are not animals and we refuse to be second class citizens. “Simply put we would rather die as free men, standing on our feet and resisting evil, tyranny and subjugation than live as servile slaves and pliant bonded servants with bowed heads and on bended knee.

“Worse of all other than saying that every Nigerian has the right to live in any part of the country, which in itself is undoubtedly a welcome and gratifying Buhari assertion, he refused to order the arrest or threaten to cage and bring to justice those that gave the Igbo people a chilling quit notice and that have promised to unleash genocide, ethnic cleansing and mass murder on them if they refused to abide by it and leave the north by October 1st. Omission “Th is strange omission and instructive refusal by Mr. President is unacceptable and it feeds into the narrative that there may well be some kind of frightful hidden agenda unfolding. “It was also a missed opportunity to allay the legitimate fears and genuine concerns of many Igbos and southerners that live in the north. “I sincerely hope that history does not repeat itself in this regard. “Finally the President expressed his concerns about the social media.

“Th e truth is that the internet has always been the nightmare of tyrants and dictators all over the world ever since it came into existence. “Th is is because it is designed to ensure the free fl ow of information and to expose their excesses and atrocities. “Now that our President has acknowledged his disdain and hate for this medium we will increase our eff orts to make life more diffi cult for his government through it. “We will keep them on their toes and hold them to account by utilising the social and traditional media all the more. What he wishes to hide shall be made manifest and known to all.

“His morning address was shallow, insensitive, uninspiring and divisive and, judging from what I saw, I believe that he should resign, go home and take care of his health. “Th at would be the best thing that he could do for Nigeria and that would be the best way to enhance national cohesion and unity.” “Barr Eze Onyekpere, Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) also said: “Th e speech was disappointing in the sense that Mr President had over 100 days to do some refl ection about the situation of Nigeria, which is like a mid-term refl ection that he wasn’t in charge, to know the policy that has been implemented and how successful they are. And also come to new directions. “Mr President merely reaffi rmed the old position what they have been reaffi rming since the ‘60’s that the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable. He also acknowledged that there were legitimate diff erences but only said people should go about it within the constitutionally recognised means. “But he did not proper a solution to those legitimate grievances. By merely reaffi rming that Nigeria is indissoluble or the unity is not negotiable does not solve the problems of agitators. “So, I affi rm that there could have been something deeper. We had expected him to make a statement on the health sector. If the health sector had been functioning, he won’t be in London for this number of days.

‘Broadcast: A mixed bag’

Signals To Hon Felix Alari, Commissioner representing Edo State, Public Complaints Commission (PCC), “Mr President speech has rekindled our hope as to the unity, security and economic wellbeing of our nation. He stand on the non -negotiable status of our country and his resolve to deal ruthlessly with those who by reason of their hate comments have crossed the national red lines in the words of the president is a most welcome development. Th e president should match words with action to ensure that in no distant time the majority of Nigerians begin to feel the impact of this speech as it translate into tangible benefi ts. As the president has come back stronger so will Nigeria come out of this present state stronger Nigerians love Mr President. Things left out Hon Bernard Mikko, PDP chieftain noted that “Every president has a peculiar style or signature trait. For me, the speech signifi es his personality and character. If some Nigerians were expecting something diff erent, they should realise that the major source of disappointment and frustration is expectation.

“I believe that as he receives further briefi ng on the state of the nation, he will address them. Fulani herdsmen and other secessionist problems cannot be solved with national broadcast. I also feel the president has substantially complied with the relevant provisions of the constitution.” Missed opportunity – PDP Th e Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said rather than rekindle hope and confi dence of Nigerians, the presidential broadcast is a ‘monumental anticlimax’ where in “Th e President and his handlers missed a golden opportunity to reconnect with the people by addressing issues that have direct bearing to their well-being. In its statement by the spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the PDP said: “Indeed, the President’s speech did not contain anything new; just a rehash of statements that already had been made by both government and various leaders of thought across the country.

“Th e PDP had cause to commend the then Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, for going round the Country to engage with relevant stakeholders, which certainly was a better approach.” Th e statement further noted: “Th e Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) believes that rather than rehashing the worn out clichés about Nigeria’s unity not being negotiable, Nigerians would have loved to hear their President come out defi nitively to tell them what realistic measures his government intended to take to uproot the Causes of the Perennial Agitations and counter agitations that are now becoming a recurring decimal in our national discourse.

“Th e party believes that instead of always mouthing the indivisibility of this country, the government should be seen walking the talk by instilling confi dence in all the people across board that it belongs to all. “Th e casual mention of ‘elements of Boko Haram’…kidnappings, farmers versus herdsmen clashes’ etc, were also somewhat on the perfunctory side and do not imbue confi dence. “President Buhari returned to the Country in a week that saw the Closure of all our Public Universities as a result of the Strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

“Yet, not even a whimper from our President. Has the future of the future leaders of our Country sunk so low in the estimation of our current leaders that the Issue was considered not important enough to command a mention in the President’s address? “To this end, the PDP once again welcomes the President back home and continues to pray for his total recovery as well as God’s guidance. “But we believe Nigerians deserve a richer statement from a President that was away from them for more than a hundred days during which a lot happened that should have elicited more than a mention in that speech.

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