On Thursday, June 11, President Muhammadu Buhari hosted and fielded questions from top officials of THISDAY/Arise Media Group, led by its chairman, Prince Nduka Obaigbena; Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, Chairman, Editorial Board of THISDAY, and Arise Television news anchors, Dr. Reuben Abati and Miss Tundun Abiola. Louis Achi presents some of the key takeaways from the special ‘Democracy Day’ encounter
It was President Muhammadu Buhari’s first interview in two years since winning a second term. Despite a myriad of problems plaguing the nation, the conservative ex-military General seemingly carefully kept avenues for addressing national issues to the barest minimum. There was no form of extemporaneous conversation or engagements with the people.
This was left to presidential spokespersons, who often miscommunicated or jumbled key public messages or ‘presidential reactions.’ The President, at last, stepped out and put all that to rest, when he recently fielded questions from THISDAY/Arise Media Group.
While the 45-minute encounter soon fired up national discourse, it also provided some insights into President Buhari’s perspectives on relevant issues and his plans for his administration’s remaining two years in office. Here are some key takeaways…
He Is Aware
The cliché that perception is reality has been repeatedly used to almost convincingly sell the idea that President Buhari was not in full control of his administration. Perhaps, stemming from health issues that kept him in the United Kingdom for an extended period during his first term, there’s been strong public perception that the President’s constitutional duties have been seized by a “cabal.” This scenario was unwittingly reinforced by the First Lady on a few occasions.
Though his responses during the interview wouldn’t win Oscars, for clarity, they revealed he was attentive to what’s been said or written in the media and regularly received reports about events from sources that should regularly brief him. In effect, he is in-charge and fully aware, even if situations appear confusing at times.
Open Grazing
When one of the most crisis-ridden and controversial national issues was raised with the President, his response left many scratching their head in sheer puzzlement. He said he had asked the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to begin the process of recovering land from persons,who have converted cattle grazing routes for their personal use.
The President’s words: “What I did was ask him (AGF) to go and dig the gazette of the 1st Republic when people were obeying laws. There were cattle routes and grazing areas. Cattle routes were for when they (herdsmen) are moving upcountry, North to South or East to West, they had to go through there.
“If you allow your cattle to stray into any farm, you are arrested. The farmer is invited to submit his claims. The khadi or the judge will say pay this amount and if you can’t the cattle are sold. And if there is any benefit you are given and people were behaving themselves in the grazing areas, they built dams and put windmills. In some places, there were even veterinary departments so that the herders are limited. Their route is known, their grazing area is known.
“But I am telling you, this rushing to the centre (sic) so I asked for the gazette to make sure that those who encroached on these cattle routes and grazing areas will be dispossessed in law and try to bring some order back into the cattle grazing.”
On ‘Parochial’ Appointments
When he was confronted with issue of lop-sided appointments, President Buhari defended his appointments, insisting they were strictly based on merit and in accordance with his administration’s zeal to serve Nigerians.
According to him, “Those who know the administration well know that we have appointed people from the Southeast into important position.” On the appointment of the new COAS, he said: “We considered all the factors as well as personal experience and commitment before we arrived at this choice. If you want the soldiers to be effectively led, you must bring someone, who has been in the system and went to the field.
“We are fighting on different fronts. We need someone with ample experience, who has been in the field. We reshuffled the country’s security apparatus to augment our performance with regards to security. When they came in, the first thing they did was to make a consultation. And they are now in charge. We don’t want to publicise our gains, but we are recording success.”
On IPOB
President Buhari described the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), as “a dot in a circle,” saying the group is isolated in its call for secession – in response to a question on the separatist group. According to the President, he has been assured by the elderly people and the youths from the South-south part of the country that the region has no plan to secede.
His words: “I was encouraged by what I heard. Two statements from the South-South: one by the elderly people, they said this time around there would be no (secession). And again the youth made the same statement; such encouragement.
“So IPOB is just like a dot in a circle. Even if they want to exit, they’ll have no access to anywhere. And the way they are spread all over the country, having businesses and properties. I don’t think IPOB knows what they are talking about.
“In any case, we say we’ll talk to them in the language that they understand. We’ll organise the police and the military to pursue them,” Buhari said. This position has triggered a tsunami of reactions from different stakeholders.
Building Infrastructure to Niger Republic
President Buhari justified the continued building of roads, railways and other infrastructure projects to connect the country to Niger Republic, insisting that Niger Republic and other neighbouring countries were crucial to the country’s fight against terrorism and insurgency.
He said there was the need for an access road between Nigeria and Niger, especially, now that country had discovered crude oil, stressing the move had also become necessary so that the country could serve as a transit route for the products rather than Niger using other neighbouring countries’ routes.
Youth Unemployment and FDI
In response to what he was doing to bring direct investments into the country and engage the youths, President Buhari recalled what he told the National Executive Council after the #EndSARS protests, while noting how the protests made the country insecure for investors.
More, he held no investor would invest in an insecure environment, adding that those with good degrees would die of hunger if there were no jobs.
Making reference to the BRT buses that were razed by hoodlums during the #EndSARS protests in Lagos, Buhari said: “Look at the 200 buses bought by the former governor of Lagos, some of these boys went and burnt the vehicles. Who will go and invest their money in an unstable environment? Nobody will.
“You may have a good degree but you may die without even a job. Why? Because no one is going to invest in an insecure environment. So, I told them to tell the youths that if they want jobs, they would behave themselves”.
APC and Zoning
President Buhari said nobody has the power to decide his successor for the ruling APC, stressing that only members of the political party have the power to decide the party’s fate, while reacting to a question on zoning during the interview.
Clarifying that the acting leadership of the party was fast working to reposition the party and make every member feel at home, he held that, “The hope of this administration is to see APC last beyond it. Therefore, we should allow the party to decide. You cannot sit there in Lagos, for instance, and decide on the fate of APC on zoning.
“The restructuring of the party has begun from the bottom to the top with the membership card registration. Every member of the party must be involved.
“We will soon conduct our convention. No single member of the party will be allowed to go against the wish of the party. The political party has to know how many members it has state by state. This is the right step to go about.”
The Anti-Corruption War
President Buhari said it was difficult to fight corruption under a democratic setting as currently existing in the country. He noted it was easy for him to fight corruption, when he was a military Head of State in the early 80s “when a lot of people were sent to prison before I was also booted out.”
He held that despite the challenges, his administration has succeeded in easing out corrupt public officials without making noise about it.
On Boko Haram
Maintaining that the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeastern part of the country was largely fuelled by youth unemployment and poverty, Buhari also stated that the majority of the Boko Haram members were Nigerians and that his government had done a lot to fight the terrorists but the problem in the “North East is very difficult.”
