Late President Muhammadu Buhari: where the buck stops?

By Inuwa Waya

Let me commence by extending my condolences to the families of the late President Muhammadu Buhari ( both nuclear and extended). Let me also commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for conducting an elaborate state burial in honour of his late Predecessor.

Throughout his military career including his role as the Military Governor of North East and Federal Commissioner of Petroleum Resources, the late President Buhari was little known to ordinary Nigerians. He came to limelight on 31st December 1983, when he and his colleagues in the military overthrew the democratically elected government of late President Shehu Shagari of blessed memory.

He assumed the position of the head of state and began to rule by Decree. The Constitution Suspension and Modication Decree number one was enacted under which the 1979 constitution was suspended.

The State Security (detention of persons) Decree number two was promulgated. The Decree authorised the detention of anyone who was alleged to have contributed to the economic adversity of the nation or who participated in acts prejudicial to the state security.

The military government can arrest and detain any individual for three month or more without trial under the Decree. Prominent politicians of the second Republic, political office holders and business men were arrested and detained for security reasons and economic sabotage, under the Decree.

Many were tried and convicted by special military Tribunals created for those purposes. (For obvious reasons, the names of those affected by the said decree 2 would not be mentioned here).

The military administration also enacted Decree number 4 tittled Public Officer Protection Against False Accusation Decree. Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor of the Guardian Newspapers were convicted under the Decree.

The junta also introduced the WAR AGAINST INDISCIPLINE (WAI) in order to tackle corruption and other vices which was believed to be prevalent under the deposed civilian administration.

People were encouraged and in certain cases forced to be orderly in markets, Banks, shops and offices. Drug barons and armed robbers were executed. In an attempt to drive prices of commodities down, warehouses were broken in various parts of the Country and the items hoarded were sold to the public at control prices.

Civil servants were directed to report early for work. Campaigns of patriotism informing Nigerians that they have no other Country but Nigeria were aired in the radios and television on a daily basis. Andrew was advised to stay at home and salvage the Country in one of the adverts.

The down trodden welcomed those policies because they believed they are harbingers for prosperity and economic development. As the Head of State and Commander in chief of the Armed forces, the mass of the people believed General Buhari was the driving force behind these policies. That was the beginning of the love, confidence and admiration the ordinary people especially from the north, had for General Buhari.

On the 27th August 1985, General Buhari was overthrown in a bloodless palace military coup. Erstwhile Chief of Army Staff, General Ibrahim Babangida took over as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Armed forces. The reasons for the coup were stated by General Babangida in his autobiography ” A journey in service”.

According to him, Buhari’s policies and leadership style were detrimental to the nation’s progress. Draconian Degrees were promulgated which trampled on the fundamental human rights of the citizens.

The Babangida military administration was welcomed by the Country’s elites who saw it as a relief against tyranny and egregious abuse of power by the Buhari administration. They also believed that the new administration will be receptive to new ideas to address the economic problems of the Country. The ordinary Nigerians on the other hand gave them a cautious welcome.

In their view, the process of turning the Country into a land of milk and honey was truncated by the new junta. They therefore accepted the reasons for the change of button with equanimity.

In a populist move, the Babangida administration released political and economic detainees, opened up the Nigerian Security Organisation (NSO) detention centres for the press to conduct tour of what they referred to as Buhari’s torture chambers.

General Babangida replaced the Supreme Military Council with a wider Armed Forces Ruling Council. He introduced different economic reforms including the Structural Adjustment Programme ( SAP).

He began a democratization process for return to civil rule by strengthening the Centre for Democratic Studies ( CDC) and the registration of the National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as the only political parties in the Country.

The process continue upto the June 12 Presidential election and its subsequent annulment which led to the Babangida administration parting ways with the Nigerian political elites especially those from the South West of Nigeria.

The political instability caused by the annulment of the June 12 election led President Babangida to step aside and Chief Earnest Shonekan stepped in as the Head of the Interim Government.

The collapse of the Interim Government and its aftermath is a subject of another day.

When General Buhari was released from detention, he resigned to his fate and led a quite life until he was appointed the head of the Petroleum Trust Fund ( PTF) by General Sani Abacha. For obvious reasons, the Babangida coup was not a fall from grace for General Buhari.

Toppling his government attracted sympathy for him and reinforced his popularity. The bond between him and the downtrodden became rock solid. Indeed, it was for that reason the political elites considered him a good material as a Presidential candidate and convinced him to join partisan political activities in the third Republic.

President Buhari contested three times and in all the three election circles, he lost the Presidential contest. During the campaigns, the opposition portrayed him as a dictator, a tribal irredentist and a religious bigot.

They averred that he was not fit to rule a pluralistic Country under a democratic settings. He was forced to depend himself as a tolerant person who worked with people from different tribes and religions in the course of his career .

Delivering a lecture at the Chatham House in London , Buhari identified himself as a former dictator and a converted democrat. In spite of all these, Buhari’s votes in each of the three elections were largely limited to the Northern part of the Country where has was seen as the most upright leader.

Preparatory to the 2015 general elections, the opposition parties formed a merger in order to wrestle power from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who had been ruling the Country for sixteen years.

The merger led to the emergence of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Muhammadu Buhari was nominated as the party’s flag bearer in the 2015 Presidential elections. The elections were conducted and Buhari defeated President Goodluck Jonathan who the incumbent President.

President Buhari was sworn in as the Nigeria’s President when there was general discontent on the performance of the economy under the PDP led administration. Pundits and novice alike expected him to hit the ground running immediately after his swearing in as President. However to everyone’s consternation,

President Buhari spent nearly seven months without forming his cabinet. Rumours had it that the President was carefully selecting his team to make sure that he did not make a mistake in his choice.

By the time the cabinet was formed, the economy had further sank into deeper trouble and it was difficult for the newly constituted Federal Executive Council to turn the tide with ease. That was how the administration started on a weak foundation.

The difference between General Muhammadu Buhari and President Muhammadu Buhari began to manifest. Furthermore, as a civilian President, he had to work with the Constitution and not Decree.

The 1999 Constitution as amended had clearly provided for separation of powers between the three arms of government, namely the legislature, the executive and the Judiciary. To be fair to him and true to his conviction as converted democrat, President Buhari tried as much as possible to respect the doctrine of separation of powers.

In his capacity as the Head of the executive arm of government, he also gave government institutions some measure of independence which is a sine qua non for democracy. At the time Buhari took over as President, government institutions were subjected to different kind of manipulation.

Therefore giving them such autonomy without training, control and supervision as he did, became counter productive. It enabled abuse and exercise of discretionary powers by those at the helm of affairs of these institutions.

Major institutions of government such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCltd), the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) and the Nigeran Customs and Excise, were feeding the nation and the President with false and adulterated information. There was no one to audit government institutions because the President did not have an economic team and did not appoint any of his Ministers to coordinate the economy.

There were reported cases of abuse of power and excesses against top government officials including the presidency and nothing was done to stop them. There were allegations of public sector corruption including secret employment of those that are connected in government. There was deep concern of nepotism in government appointments.

A new form of insecurity came into existence with the emergence of IPOB, ESN and the bandits terrorising the North West. With the economy going down, the government resorted to borrowing in order to among others, pay salaries and wages.

President Buhari became overwhelmed and the situation deteriorated when he fell sick and spent almost four months receiving treatment in London for an undisclosed illness. There was a time he was incoherent in answering questions about government policies, which indicated that he was either too sick to know what was going on or he doesn’t receive proper briefings from those concerned.

Buhari himself acknowledged that much when he said Nigeria missed the opportunity when he was young and ruthless. During the 2019 elections, Nigerians gave President Buhari the benefit of doubt by voting for him for another four year term of office.

Everyone expected the him to rejig the administration by making major changes and injecting fresh blood to help him exercise his mandate. Much to the bewilderment of many, the President avoided making any significant changes and business continue as usual. Those who knew how President Buhari ruled the Country as a military Head of State were disappointed with the way he led the Country as a civilian President.

Although, the two systems are different, one can not entirely dismiss their expectations. Whether as military or civilian Head of government, the buch stops on his desk.

President Harry S. Truman, the 33rd American President adopted a no nonsense approach to decision-making. The sign “THE BUCH STOPS HERE” on his desk served as a constant reminder to him and to the officials coming to the Oval Office that he was ultimately responsible for the actions of everyone in his administration. President Buhari, should have taken copious notes from the legacy of President Truman.

While receiving visitors at his Daura residence after leaving, President Buhari reflected on his years in government and asked people to forgive him for all his shortcoming. Currently there is an ongoing debate especially in the north, with some holding the view that his request came too little too late. On my part, I have forgiven him.