Echoes of Buhari’s legacy of agonising governance

Some stakeholders in the Nigerian project have begun to reflect on the legacy of former President Muhammadu Buhari after his eight years of two tenures in government. Some, particularly, state actors in the Buhari administration, have articulated that the former President performed very well and left Nigeria better than he met it in 2015. Other non-state actors, taking stock of the socio-economic statistics of the Buhari administration, are of the view that former President Buhari left a legacy of agonising governance that impoverished Nigeria citizens and ‘de-structured’ the polity.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Tinubu celebrating INEC’s Certificate of Returns after APC won the 2023 Presidential Election

Statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), using Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), indicated that 60% of Nigerians, representing 133 million population, are dimensionally poor; the NBS also revealed that Nigeria’s total public debt stock consisting of domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the 36 State Governments and the Federal Capital Territory, has risen to N46.25 trillion or 103.11 billion dollars in Q4 2022, beside others.

The acceleration of Boko Haram terrorism, rise of bandits, kidnappers, and others questioned Nigeria’s security system as they appear intractable. Nigeria’s corruption ranking fell to the highest rate during the period under review by stakeholders.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Buhari Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, after 2023 elections

A renowned legal practitioner in Nigeria and reputable statesman, Prof. Mike A. A. Ozekhome, SAN, in an article – HOW BUHAROCRACY PUT NIGERIA IN THROES – asserted that he intended to “write to straighten history, to prevent historical revisionists and modern day turn-coat “Messiahs” from rewriting the immediate past history of the Muhammadu Buhari locust years as president of Nigeria”.

According to the erudite scholar, the former President bled Nigeria, put trhe country on life-support oxygen, asphyxiated Nigeria economically, socially and politically, deepened and widened with alarming precision, Nigeria’s divisiveness.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari departing.

He stated that in the Buhari administration, ethnicism, sectionalism, clannishness, tribalism, favouritism, prebendalism, cronyism and mediocrity were enthroned, celebrated, glorified, nurtured, watered and held aloft as “Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy”.
Ozekhome noted that Buhari rather than take firm actions, simply winced, wringed his hands, or laughed heartily at the befuddling troubles of Nigeria.

Ozekhome decried: “He persistently and unapologetically feigned ignorance of the anger, melancholy, disillusionment, poverty, penury, sweat, pains, pangs and blood that besotted our beleaguered country, Nigeria. He turned his erstwhile austere, Spartan-like life into one of opulence and unrestrained grandeur; wearing well-ironed designer babanriga and sokoto national dresses.
“He hardly appeared twice in the same dress. “The once lean-looking retired Major General became plumpier and healthier than he was when he took office.
“All the aircraft in the presidential fleet which he had vowed during campaigns to trim if he became president were not only retained, but increased and expanded; all with suffering and agonizing taxpayers money.”

The legal practitioner lamented that Nigerians begged for crumbs that fell from the master’s table.
Ozekhome highlighted, in dismay, “Many resorted to garbage dumps for survival.
“PHCN increased its tariff astronomically, even as darkness enveloped Nigeria.
“Inflation galloped away like a wild hungry horse.
“Government propaganda increased, making
Adolf Hitler’s Goebel green with envy from his 1945 cold grave.”

The legal practitioner also noted that, yet, the government made false, fake and illusory statements, claims on amplified megaphones; bemoaning that “Nigerians became Ayi Kwei Armah’s “walking corpses” and “The Living Dead”; saying “they trudged on aimlessly, somnabulistically. Today became bloody. Tomorrow became a mirage. Life
became colourless. Ha! Buharocracy!!”

Ozekhome also decried that as Nigerians died in droves in the hands of reinvigorated deadly Boko Haram, ferocious kidnappers and blood-letting armed bandits, “Buhari and his coterie of cronies, hangers-on, bootlickers, fawners and ego-masseurs, increased and blossomed.” According to the statesman, “Presidential aircraft were parked unused for weeks, at times for months, awaiting Buhari’s recovery in British hospitals during his many medical tours abroad. Aso Villa clinic into which billions of Naira were poured remained empty of drugs and doctors.

“Buhari increased cost of governance, rather than reduce it. Lip service was paid to democratic dividends. Our national ethos was further bastardised as men and women of questionable character were either openly decorated with national honours, or were permitted to take honorary doctorate degrees; the latter practice of which had been banned by his predecessors.

“All these are part and parcel of the new concept called BUHAROCRACY.”
He noted that Buharocracy is a very wide and elastic undemocratic concept.