Where APC and Badaru got it wrong
It’s undisputable that never in the history of the nation’s political long haul and roughhouse, both within the military and democratic regime has a federal government been glaringly paranoid and vindictive as the the present APC’s regime under President Muhammadu Buhari. Though, the addicts and bootlickers of Nigeria’s days of yore might not find the prevailing wind of happenings with astonishments due to the fact that, it was under the miltary regime of Buhari that the most dreaded and repressive Decree 4 was enacted to shield and bulwark the regime from the public criticsm particularly in the press.
All still living journalists from The Guardian who were jailed by Buhari, namely, Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor had been asked to forgive in the prelude to the 2015 general elections and as expected Buhari was forgiven thinking that, that event of 30 years would be consigned to the garbage of history. But, in an impenitent and dictatorial attitude to free press and freedom of expression, recently Mr. Olalekan Adetayo, a State House Correspondent of The Punch was expelled for publishing a story concerning President Buhari’s health.
It quite unfortunate for a government that promised during its electioneering campaigns to fight impunity and corruption, wihich gave its citizens higher expectation of all-inclusive and fair hearing, to turn around and joined the Nigerian media to the list of its perceived political opponents or adversaries. It seems that the present APC- led federal government is hell bent on settling scores with imagined opponents or enemies rather than actually executing people-oriented policies for the benefit of the over 170 million Nigerians who are in dire need of salvation from the biting economic hardship occasioned by the prevailing recession which in itself is largely attributed to the inept and short sighted economic and fiscal policies of the present administration.
President Buhari has during his inaugural speech gave a resonating catchphrase that, ‘I belong to all and belong to nobody’. Politicians, public affair commentators and the public, in both literal and imaginative reasoning, described the statement as a body language for unbiased treatment to all Nigerians and zero tolerances to impunity. Well, in a contradiction, the government seems to be the most biased and selective in all ramifications.
No two ways, about it, corruption has been the bane and bête noir of our nation’s development but impunity and the choosy nature of who to vilify in the name of probe choicy war on corruption has been more treacherous and dangerous than the corruption that it said it is fighting.
Nobody in his right sense can be against the fighting of corruption but the persecutions, political galling and ill-treatment meted on only the opposition party members isn’t only condemnable but also presbyopic and impolitic. This is capable of plunging the nation into anarchy and political harum-scarum, as he who comes with equity, must come with clean hands.
It’s further bewildering that presently, many Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members are either in detention with unrealistic bail conditions or have been denied bail while those who seek political protection and promote impunity, have decamped to APC and are now enjoying the political Garden of Eden. In spite of the alledged embazzlement of Rivers State funds by Mr. Rotimi Ameachi, and despite evidence provided by the Rivers State Government to buttress their claim against him, Ameachi still has been made Minister of Transport.
Evidently, the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir David Lawal was accused of corruption by the Senate Committee that investigated him, it took a lot of foot dragging before Babachir was recently suspended. Instead of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to investigate the suspended SGF, a specail inhouse committee was again set up to investigate the case. Again, this has gone a long way in telling the world that the present war against corruption and impunity has recognition and double take on one’s political inclinations.
There are a couple of such dirty cases such as the NIA claim of ownership of the money found in Osborne Towers, the MTN alledged bribe to Abba Kyari, the lopsided and abysmall recruitments into the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Directorate of State Services (DSS), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) that the government is either nothing coming hard on it simply because its party men are involved or has decided to keep quiet on.
In a show of a political witchhunt of Alhaji Sule Lamido, a former governor of Jigawa State, the state government has filed a petition at the Zone 1 Police Headquarters in Kano accusing Lamido of inciting comments capable of distrupting the upcoming local government elections in the state. Because the instrument of administration is under their control, Sule Lamido without fair hearing has been detained for two days and subsequently arraigned in Dutse where he was sent to prison as orchestrated by those who were threatened by his political whirlwind. But, where the APC and Badaru got it wrong is, that Lamido has fought the military junta and the most irritated army generals in his effort to see to return democracy to Nigeria, so it is not a new thing as far as the former governor is concerned. However, Badaru should not forget that Lamido made it possible for him to be the current governor through his struggles th gave birth to the return of democracy. Enough is enough for the wise. Kera Kaduna wrote this piece from