“Your weakness is credibility… For too long, this administration has given the public the impression that its standard of conduct was not that it must be above suspicion but that it must merely be above criminal guilt. Mr President, that is not an adequate standard of conduct for those who have been accorded the privilege of governing this country” – Senator Robert Packwood to President Nixon in November, 1973.
Weaknesses are among the vices and virtues that characterise all of us. No human being – alive or dead – is without his own fair share of some weaknesses. Take ex–President Richard Nixon of the United States. The infamous Watergate scandal exposed a number of Nixon’s weaknesses. His main weakness, according to Senator Packwood in the above-quoted statement, is credibility.
Credibility. One of the last mortals on earth you would have expected to have issues with credibility, integrity, honesty and the like is President Muhammadu Buhari. For one thing, his major asset prior to the 2015 general elections was his credibility. For another, he is one of “those who have been accorded the privilege of governing this country”.
No sooner did Buhari assume power on May 29, 2015, however, than his credibility started being called to question. The world watched in disbelief as he appointed only his fellow Northern Muslims into virtually all the nation’s top security positions. Not only were these sectional appointments in contempt of the Federal Character policy, they elevated nepotism to a sickening level. The impression given was that only a Fulani – Muslim was fit to be a security chief.
More was to come from our man in Aso Rock, however. As heavily armed Fulani herdsmen stormed various parts of the country killing, maiming, raping and destroying with unprecedented abandon, Mr President maintained sealed lips. He saw no evil in the serial genocide which his kinsmen were wrecking all over Nigeria. On the other hand, he acted without hesitation when the same herdsmen arm–twisted the security agencies to raise a panel for the protection of their cows. Buhari was personally there to empower the panel. To them and a certain PMB, Fulani cows are more important than the lives of thousands, nay millions, of Nigerians.
Top on the list of Buhari’s weaknesses is the strange–like–fiction way the economy has been mismanaged under his watch. Before our very eyes inflation was allowed to run haywire. So much so that prices of everything doubled or tripled barely 12 months into the Buhari Presidency. To make matters worse, the President’s only “solution” to the industrial–scale economic malaise is to heap blames on the previous administration.
The latest in the series of the seemingly endless credibility crises afflicting the Buhari presidency is his health challenge. This issue, you may recall, had been a constant feature of the campaigns for the 2015 presidential poll. Fears were raised over what Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose called Buhari’s “terminal” illness. As at that time Fayose and Co. were dismissed as heartless folks out to play politics with the APC candidate’s health.
What have events of the past two years confirmed? They have shown that our 74-year-old ruler is not in the best of health. And that’s putting it very mildly. Buhari himself gave an insight into the seriousness of the sickness that confined him to London for treatment for nearly 50 consecutive days. “I have never been so sick in my life”, Mr President candidly confessed. “I could not recall when last I had blood transfusion… in my life”. Listening to him, no one was left in any shadow of doubt; health–wise, these are certainly not the best of times for His Excellency.
At this juncture it is pertinent to emphasise that we all wish Mr President well. As one of those who earnestly prayed for his victory in 2015, I sincerely wish him quick recovery. Since any human can become sick any moment, it is ungodly for any of us to wish any person ill–health or death. May Allah grant Buhari not only good health but long life and success.
Having said so, it is imperative to stress that public offices are not meant for the sick. Just as the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria prohibits certain persons from holding elective offices, it unambiguously implies that a person who isn’t in good condition health–wise shouldn’t hold any public office. Not even as Councillor or LGA Chairman, let alone Governor or President. In fact, nobody in his or her right senses needs any constitutional reminder on such a very obvious issue.
One of the most provocative indulgences of our elite is their desperation to hold public office even when they are critically ill. It has since become public knowledge, for instance, that ex–Petroleum minister; Diezani was battling cancer while “serving”. She carefully concealed the news till the end of her tenure. The cases of then President Yar-adua and then Taraba State governor are too well known to be repeated here. They desperately clung to power when even a five–year–old girl knew that their time was up.
It is curious to note that Buhari too has opted to toe that discredited path. The line about his so–called readiness to “work from home” is good for a Kanywood movie but horrible for a country that has accorded Buhari much privilege. Our dear Mr President, that’s not an adequate standard of conduct. Your weakness is credibility… For too long, this administration has given the public the impression that its standard of conduct was not that it must be above suspicion but that it must merely be above criminal guilt.
