Why Buhari Must Not Allow Tensions to Escalate
For President Muhammadu Buhari to deliver on his campaigns promises, he needs a conducive environment and the responsibility to make this happens rests squarely on him, writes Tobi Soniyi
No Excuses for Failure
When we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to take the lead by showing leadership in resolving crises in the country, his supporters take offence and urge him on to continue to escalate the tension. Well, what those edging him on don’t realise is that the president needs a peaceful atmosphere to generate the resources he needs to actualise his campaign promises. For instance, when Nigeria Delta militants blow up pipelines and other facilities, oil production nose dives. The ill-informed may think that the loss is that of the nation. Yes, but it will also hamper the president’s power to deliver on his promises. And if he fails to deliver, Nigerians will not accept the excuses that he fails because the militants blew up pipelines. They will assume, rightly in our views, that the president is incompetent and also lacks the capacity to deliver.
This is so because, all over the world, it is the responsibility of those in government to solve problems and challenges. That is why they come out to seek election. After winning they select those who can help them deliver. Anyone who lacks the capacity to bring about amicable resolution of crises has not business aspiring to leadership position because when the challenges arise, he will be found wanting.
It is not acceptable as the president had done and continue to do: blaming past regimes for his inability to deliver. When we thought we have had enough of the blame game, the president again alluded to it in his independence day broadcast when he said: “However, in spite of oil prices being an average of $100 per barrel and about 2.1m barrels a day, that great piece of luck was squandered and the country’s social and physical infrastructure neglected. We were left with no savings and huge infrastructure deficit.”
Nigerians knew things were bad and knew that the ugly situation was the handiwork of the Peoples Democratic Party and have chosen the president and his party, the All Progressives Congress to change the course of Nigerian history for good. Reminding them of this at every opportunity is bad politics.
Making excuses by blaming others is an abdication of that weighty responsibility placed in the hands of the president and his party.
The president will not be allowed to say I fail because the militants blew up pipelines or because the Indeginous People of Biara (IPOB) was agitating for secession or that people were calling for restructuring. No. It is the responsibility of the president to manage these crises and others that may come up in the course of his tenure. That is why he must manage them in a way that will allow him to have the peaceful atmosphere he desires to deliver in his electoral promises.
The president and his aides must drop the impression that they are doing the nation a favour by resolving these crises. In reality, they are merely delivering on their mandate. That is what the president was elected to do. That is why he has the nation’s resources at his disposal.
Belated, But Welcomed
Instead of castigating Igbo leaders as he did in his October 1st broadcast, when he said, “I am very disappointed that responsible leaders of these communities do not want their hot-headed youths what the country went through”, the proper step to take was to meet with them and seek their help to douse the tension there.
His meeting last week with leaders of the South-east region led by the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, although a little late, is a big relief and will go a long way in dousing tension. If it is backed up with genuine and concrete steps, may change the narrative in the south-east.
Apart from promising to ensure completion of on going projects in the zone and the president also said that new one would be initiated.
He also promised the leaders, comprising governors and ministers from the region, the President of Ohaneze, Chief Nnia Nwodo and representatives from the National Assembly, that he would visit states in the zone soon.
“I want to assure you that I came into government with a clear conscience and I will also leave with a clear conscience,’’ he said. That is reassuring.
The president also said that the region would benefit more from roads and coastal rail projects, which he said were of critical importance to the economy.
He also declared that 2nd Niger Bridge, the East-West Road and the Coastal rail project, are receiving utmost attention from his administration.
The president should latch on to the promise made by Nwodo that ``we are ready to work with you. We are determined to work with you. We know you are a decisive leader and we know God will continue to give you the wisdom to govern Nigeria.’’
When asked if he believed the president would keep his promises, Nwodo said: “There is no reason for me to doubt them because this is the first time I have had this interaction with him. I have the feeling that he spoke to us very frankly.”
If the president delivers on his own promises, he can also insist the south-east leaders keep to their promises. Together, they can change the narratives in the region.
While it is too early to conclude that we have made substantial progress in resolving the impasse in the south-east, the meeting raises hope of such progress.
Don’t Forget the Niger Delta
One of the early challenges that confronted this government was the determination of the militants in the Niger Delta to disrupt oil production. They successfully crippled production. The president’s immediate response which was to send military to the region did not work.
In its May 21, 2016, the Financial Times wrote: “Attacks by a new militant group based in the region where more than half of the Nigeria’s oil is produced, have reduced the country’s output to the lowest in more than two decades.
“Acts of sabotage by the Niger Delta Avengers has his Nigeria’s output, taking
If the president delivers on his own promises, he can also insist the southeast leaders keep to their promises. Together, they can change the narratives in the region
it down from 2.2 m barrels a day to 1.4m, according to Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, head of the state-run-oil company. This, alongside other outages in Libya, Venezuela and Canada has added to the upward pressure on oil prices, as well as hitting the west Adrian country’s economy.”
However, the situation changed for the better after the Kachikwu and the Vice President adopted dialogue and reached out to leaders in the region who in turn persuaded the militantans to have a changed of heart. Although peace had since returned to the region, the federal government needs to deepen its engagement with the the people in order to sustain the peace. The situation in the region can be likened to an uneasy calm. Unresolved issues that can snowball into crisis and turn back the progress made so far are many.
Government should not renege on its promise to allow the people from the region to participate in oil production.
There is also a subsisting judgment of a Federal High Court in Asaba, Delta State which awarded the sum of N99 Billion as damages to the people of Gbaramatu communities of Delta State for the invasion of their territories by soldiers.
The judge, Ibrahim Buba had ordered the Federal Government to pay the people N99.9 billion damages for gross violation of their rights by the Joint Task Force in Delta State.
The task force in May 5th, 2009 descended on the community killing, maiming innocent residents while properties worth millions of naira were equally destroyed.
Instead of taking the law into their hands, the community came together and filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Asaba on June 22, 2009.
Their lawyer, Mr Larry Selekeowei, SAN filed the suit against the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Attorney General of the Federation and Major General Sarkin Yarkin Bello (for himself and on behalf of the Joint Task Force in Delta State) as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively.
After hearing both the plaintiffs and the defendants, Justice Ibrahim Buba held as follows: “That the bombardment of the plaintiffs’ communities in the Gbaramatu Kingdom of Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta by the Defendants resulting in the demolition/destruction of houses, household furniture/wares, boats, canoes, domestic animals and displacement of members of the communities is in violation of section 217 (2) (c) of the 1999 constitution and is therefore unconstitutional.
“That the sum of N49 billion is awarded in favour of the plaintiffs as special damages against the defendants jointly severally.
“That the sum of N50 billion is also awarded as aggravated and punitive damages against the defendants jointly and severally for the unlawful bombardment and sacking of the plaintiffs’ communities which resulted in wanton destruction of their houses, household furniture and other wares, their domestic animals, canoes, boats, sacred places, artifacts etc and which resulted in total displacement of members of the communities for minimum of three months from 15th May 2009, the effect of which was that members of the communities were living in the swampy mangrove forests in subhuman conditions while others were in a concentration camp and suffered loss of income, disease, and mental torture and the education of thier children of school age was disrupted.”
The communities had written to President Muhammadu Buhari for the payment of the judgment debt. But they got no response so far. While Dr Goodluck Jonathan was president, the communities wrote twice to the then Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke SAN, asking the Federal Government to comply with the judgment.
However, the government neither complied with the judgment nor challenged it on appeal.
The government should engage the communities and work out a solution. A return of hostility in the Niger Delta will derail the economic plans of this government.
Engage Restructuring Advocates
There are obviously ways to defeat the clamour for restructuring. Perhaps the president isn’t aware of this and someone has to tell him.
No doubt, the present arrangement is not working and can benefit from some adjustments, nevertheless, if leaders truly commit themselves to treating Nigerians fairly, equitably, and justly agitation for restructuring will reduce.
To achieve this, the president must give Nigerians a sense of belonging. We only agree we are one when the Super Eagles or other Nigerian teams are playing football. This has to change. The president must rise above sentiments and treat the Nigerian people as a people.
The president should also embrace rule of law. He should rule in accordance with the law. When a court of competent jurisdiction makes an order against the government, it must be obeyed. In this wise, the government should immediately comply with judgments ordering him to release the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Ibrahim Zakzaky and the former of National Security Adviser to Goodluck Jonathan as president, Sambo Dasuki.
Address the high level of unemployment in the country. It does not appear that government understands and appreciates how bad the unemployment situation is, otherwise, it would have declared an emergency in the sector. The approach adopted by the president isn’t yielding the desire result. The country needs a radical approach to job creation.
Tackle insecurity. There is obviously a correlation between unemployment and insecurity. Too many people have no jobs. This poses a challenge to the security of the country. Many unemployed graduates are turning into scammers using the Internet. People are now being kidnapped for as small as one thousand naira!
The government should engage the communities and work out a solution. A return of hostility in the Niger Delta will derail the economic plans of this government
The fight against corruption needs a fresh perspective. The government obviously deserves commendation for blocking loopholes through which money is stolen from the system. However, lack of transparency is undermining confidence in the fight against corruption. As it is today, no agency knows exactly how much had been recovered. Besides, despite the government’s best efforts shady deals are still taking place. It is worrisome that despite reports indicting the police as the most corrupt institution, the leadership has yet to come up with any radical strategy to stop this. Corruption in the police remains rampant. It has even become normal.
Corruption in all its ramifications must be fought to a standstill. Lawyers and judges should not be allowed to use rule of law and due process to frustrate the fight against corruption. It also appears that those appointed by the president to fight crimes are themselves aiding or protecting the corrupt.
A Lagos based lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa recently dramatised this in what he called the All Progressives Congress reversal of fortune.
He noted that Senator Isah Misau alleged that there was a massive financial and moral corruption permeating the Nigeria Police Force, including questionable promotions of officers. His allegation was confirmed by the Police Service Commission. The commission had declared that some promotions in the police did not follow due process and thus subject to reversal.
Consequently, the Senate set up a committee to investigate allegations of moral and financial corruption in the police. Ordinarily, a government committed to fighting corruption should support the initiative of the Senate.
Instead the Attorney-General of the Federation filed criminal charges against Senator Isa Misau, at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, for injurious falsehood, forgery, among others.
The Inspector-General of Police also filed a suit at the FCT High Court, seeking an injunction to stop the Senate from investigating allegations of corruption against him.
Adegboruwa asks the same question agitating the minds of many Nigerians: “So, where are we now, APC and the ruling government? I ask again, where exactly are we now?” That is how not to fight corruption.
Herdsmen, Farmers Clashes Unresolved
Although there appears to be a decline in clashes between farmers and herdsmen, there is no evidence suggesting that the root cause of the clashes have been resolved.
Because the federal authorities have yet to device a solution, states have been looking inward enacting laws that are likely to exacerbate the clashes rather than reduce them.
An expert in water and disaster management, Dr. Joachim Ezeji, attributed the wave of conflicts between herdsmen and farmers to poor water management practices across the country.
He said: ‘’Where economic growth is impacted by rainfall, episodes of droughts and floods have generated waves of migration and statistical spikes in violence within countries’’.
According to him, where large inequities prevail, people move from zones of poverty to regions of prosperity which can lead to increased social tensions as is currently the case with herdsmen from the north moving southwards.
He attributed the root cause of the conflict to the current water management practices in Nigeria.
Ezeji, said: ‘‘In many parts of Nigeria, water management cannot satisfactorily cope even with current climate variability, so that large flood and drought damages occur.
“As a first step therefore he suggests that the Federal Ministry of Water Resources (FMWR) and its agencies such as the River Basins, should embrace the incorporation of improved information about current climate variability into water –related management because it would assist adaptation to longerterm climate change impacts.”
Obviously, solution to this problem will not come very easy because it will involve a change in lifestyles for the herdsmen. However, government can and should take a bold step to find a solution. First, it should start by educating the people. A farmer should understand that the Fulani man does not necessarily hate him but trying to earn a living. The same explanation should be made to herdsmen. Perhaps, both the farmers and the herdsmen can come out with a workable solution if government facilitate such negotiation. Such efforts will address the problems created by mutual suspicion between the farmers and the herdsmen.
There is an urgent need to address and correct the misunderstanding that surrounds these clashes. People are no longer seeing the issue as an economic crisis. That constitutes a danger to the survival of this country. It is a wishful thinking to pretend this problem does not exist or that it will disappear on its own.
Experts have suggested the adoption of ranching as the solution. But persuading the herdsmen to change adopt a new lifestyle is requires political will from the government.
Be More Decisive in the North-East
Former-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration was adversely affected by the insurgency in the north-east. While it is not clear the extent to which Boko Haram affected governance under his regime, many agreed that his handling or mishandling of the north-east crisis contributed to his losing the presidential election.
The present administration has recorded significant success in the fight against Boko Haram, it is yet to win the war. Buhari has yet to fully secure the country. This is another reason why he can not afford to start another war either in the south-east or south-south. He also needs the support of all the regions to succeed in the north-east.
He has already gone half way of his four years tenure and he will need to declare a total victory in the war against the insurgents to win the support of the country.
The government should identify the factors making total victory in the region difficult and should address them with all sincerity.
Instead of deploying armed forces in the south, the president should deploy them to the north-east to secure the whole of the country once-and-for all.
The president should also endeavour to let the country know the exact situation in the region. Overstating the achievements recorded by the armed forces is not helping the situation.