Appreciating Muhammadu Buhari By Salisu Na’inna Dambatta

Immediate past president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has demonstrated several positive personal traits before, during and after his tenure which deserve recalling and appreciation by Nigerians.

Appreciating the retired Major General of the Nigerian Army, former Minister of Petroleum resources, former Governor of the old North East and the Head of Nigerian State, is justifiably fair for several reasons.

It is on record that all through the high-level positions he held in Nigeria, the vetran retired military officer did not succumb to temptations to selfishly dip his hands into the country’s treasury for self-enrichment.

Investigation into his tenures in all the posts he held, including the Sani Abacha-era chairmanship of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), did not find any selfish infractions against him. This is examplary.

As a military officer, his peers said he was a disciplined soldier with total commitment to the protection of the territorial integrity of our country in peace times and during the painful era of the never-again Nigerian civil war.

His deep-rooted love for Nigeria came to the fore in a classic way when as General Officer Commanding (GOC) the 3rd Armoured Division of the Nigerian Army he ordered his troops to repel a military incursion into Nigeria that breached our country’s territorial integrity to the North East.

Thus in his role as GOC he patriotically promoted, protected and coveted the sovereignty of our country by leading his troops and officers to enforce the sanctity of our national borders.

During his two-term tenure as an elected president, Muhammadu Buhari literally re-tooled the armed forces thereby enhancing our national security and public safety.

As president he approved the procurements of war ships and speed boats for the Nigerian Navy to keep our maritime and coastal assets safe. Formidable platforms were provided to the Nigerian Air Force while the Nigerian Army had more armoured personnel carriers; new main battle tanks, numerous artillery pieces; additional multiple rocket launchers, advanced combat helicopters and amphibious landing vehicles.

The military procurements, recruitment and training of officers and soldiers helped in the much-acknowledged and praiseworthy decimation of the terror groups in the North East, taming of vandals of oil industry installations in the Niger Delta; the minimisation of the activities of separatists in the South East and the muting of Oduduwa Repunlic agitators in the South West.

As elected president, Muhammadu Buhari wanted Nigeria to be self-sufficient in food production by encouraging every citizen to put any piece of arable land in the neighborhood under crop. This is one of the ways in which he encouraged farming.

The Anchor Borrower’s Programme initiative facilitated access to credit by farmers. It was so effective that it catapulted Nigeria to the top position of African countries producing and processing rice. Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of rice and has officially attained 95 per cent self-sufficiency in the commodity.

As a manifestation of his characteristics prudence and simplicity, Muhammadu Buhari as president declined granting approval to procure new vehicles for the Presidential Fleet and opted to retain the cars used by his predecessor in office. .

That decision is made more poignant by the recent purchase of brand new official vehicles for elected politicians in the context of a comment by former Head of State, General Abubakar Abdusalam (retd), that the hardship faced by Nigerians is getting out of control.

“Everybody is crying about this hardship and it seems to be getting out of control, people cannot afford three square meals, the issue of transportation, the hike in fuel, the hike in school fees for the children and the lack of funds in everybody’s pocket is making life difficult for everybody,” noted the member of the presidential advisory National Council of State.

The establishment of more universities including one for the Army and transportation, additional polytechnics and colleges of education in the country aimed at expanding opportunities for Nigerians to access higher education was a major legacy of Buhari’s administration.

All these and more positive contributions by Muhammadu Buhari are worthy of appreciation.