Says nobody is in charge in Nigeria as Buhari, NASS have proven incompetent
By IKENNA EMEWU
Arewa Consultative Forum leader and politician, Dr. Usman Bugaje has lamented a terrible drift of the Nigeria nation and raised fears that the country is doomed the way it is managed today.
On a morning AIT discussion Monday, monitored by ACE, Bugaje, the man who rejected President Muhammadu Buhari’s ambassadorial nomination in October 2016 bemoaned that:
“Nigeria, the pride of Africa, the most populous country in the continent, Africa’s largest economy is drifting to destruction in our very sight and we are helpless.”
Reacting to the new regional security system,Ebube Agu, the South East Governors Forum announced Sunday, Bugaje, told AIT, “I wish them luck. I wish them well. And what do you want them to do when things are getting out of control. Should they fold their hands and just watch. It is not possible, so they have to do something to self help, and that is what they did.”
He said unsparingly that the problem with Nigeria is dearth of leadership and blasted Buhari and the National Assembly (NASS) for failing to provide a sense of direction and leadership to Nigerians at a critical time insecurity and mistrust are tearing the country in shreds.
He said: “Even the civil society is also failing to direct citizens action in a situation where the government feels so docile and not living to its responsibilities to the people and to the country.
“The government has failed, no doubt, but it annoys that the civil society is also failing to mobilize legal masses action to demand that the government should do what it should do.
“Where is the National Assembly, where is the Chief of Staff to the president, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and all the close people around the president. What are they actually doing at a critical moment like this?
If you can’t get things done in this country in the name of being in political office, get out of that place, for goodness sake. What are you sitting down there for?”
Bugaje who spoke to AIT via Zoom, questioned further: “You say you are the National Assembly and the country is crumbling and you are sitting there, enjoying the benefits, salary, perks of office, for what, and on whose behalf? How can you sit there and enjoy the glamour of being in the NASS without doing anything when the country entrusted in your care is crumbling. You should leave rather than sitting down there and doing nothing and just giving excuses when the country under your watch is in steady decay. History is not going to treat you kindly for such failure if you don’t treat your own responsibility kindly.”
On the question that the president mandated those in charge of the security system not to tolerate any misbehaviour, Bugaje asked the AIT anchors, “just hold on, how many times has the president said the same thing in the past and what was the outcome. If those words mean anything, then why are we in this crisis.? That doesn’t mean anything. Yes, he said that, but it looks like we are being taken for a ride. Look, this is a serious matter and must not be treated like a joke. After saying that what action followed. Did anything change? This is just politics. The people are dying and lives lost everyday, the economy is collapsing just because the state is failing since nobody seems to be in charge.
People can’t eat and can’t find jobs. What is the obligation of the government according to our constitution if not to protect citizens and their means of livelihood. But when you can’t protect their lives and can’t safeguard their means of existence, tell me, what the hell are you doing there as leader.”
Reacting to the masses show of frustration and escalating mistrust, the pharmacist turned activist said: “The problem is complex and interconnected because our political leaders are incompetent. We keep encouraging the churning out of very incompetent people to manage our country and they don’t understand or have an idea of what to do. That is why we must address the leadership recruitment mechanism in our society if we must overcome this trend and tradition of populating our political leadership with incompetent people that don’t know what to do.
That is why I dare them to do something now if they think they know what to do. I challenge them.”
On the South East region the governors announced a new security outfit for the zone, Bugaje said: “I wish them luck in that. Otherwise, tell me, what else do you want them to do in this situation, tell me, what else should they do? If they sit and watch and the people are going down the drain and the country doesn’t seem to be on the path of recovery, what should they do.? Those that should act keep saying the same thing over and over like a broken record, so what do you expect the people to do than self help? So everybody is finding out how to help himself fill the vacuum because there is a vacuum. Unfortunately those clinging to those offices are just there not delivering and things break down everyday and get worse. There are no more checks and balance. So the country is left to drift unattended, and people must find a way to take care of themselves.”
I believe the president is responsible for the failures and even though the states have a duty, but they are limited because they don’t have control over the security mechanisms. They are just called chief security officers, but they don’t control the police or the army or any other security arm or agency. Security of the nation is under the control of the federal government. I am not finding excuses for the states, but we all know they have limitations in what they should do. But a situation where the central government doesn’t create the means for the people to have a good life and the people are impoverished, that on its own is another threat and insecurity. It is the federal government that has that responsibility and they should take that seriously.”
Asked again if he insists the president is responsible for the security flops, he fired back: “Ok, if you don’t hold him responsible, who should you hold, is it you or I?
On doing something about the president’s competence to manage Nigeria, Bugaje said, the NASS has that responsibility because if it lives up to that, it should find out and take the right action in case it is not satisfied.”
He said if himself or just any other citizen takes up that role, such cannot do anything in case they find the president incompetent. “The NASS has powers to do something about an incompetent sitting president. The citizens can only criticize and point out errors they see, but the practical responsibility of correcting that lies with the NASS. If the National Assembly finds any executive failure, it can apply its role of checking them for corrections. That is the meaning of checks and balances. They have the powers to ensure they guarantee a redirection when the executive is failing, as it fails today. The president is failing now and the NASS has a duty to summon and interrogate him and question his competence to deliver. If they find the president wanting, they have the powers to remove him and bring in someone else. Why are they not talking about that when the stake is crumbling, people are dying, the economy is in collapse, and there are no explanations. It is frustrating.”
Regarding the changes in the security team from the Service Chiefs to the Inspector General of Police, Bugaje said that is not enough because they still take orders from the president and they can’t act against what the president wants. He asked “have these people after the changes been given more equipment, fund, free hand to work and other things that had been lacking. If they have these things, have they put them to use as should. It is not just enough to change people, have you changed the system to be different from what obtained earlier?
Bugaje photo: Courtesy, Google Images