Remi Oyeyemi
“Nothing is politically right which is morally wrong”—Daniel O’Connell.
“What is good for the goose should also be good for the gander.”—Common Aphorism
President Buhari introduces to ex-governor Amaechi and Fayemi his grandchildren in Daura during sallah
As we await the list of President Mohammadu Buhari’s Ministers, 72 hours to the deadline, it is important that the expectations of Nigerians who voted for CHANGE will be part of the considerations in deciding who makes the list. President Buhari’s main burden is to ensure that he did not frustrate the hope of those Nigerians who reposed their confidence in him. He must ensure that their concerns and fears were appropriately addressed by insisting on clean hands to help him in the task ahead.
It is an open secret that President Buhari is very friendly with some ex-governors who have been accused of corruption while in office. President Buhari is particularly close to former Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Kayode Fayemi both of whom he has introduced to his grandchildren. There are indications that he might find places in his cabinet for these corrupt governors. These governors have yet to tell the public how they acquired their wealth and riches. Their hands reek too much to be in an anti-corruption and CHANGE oriented administration. Unless and except that this war on corruption is a façade and a mirage, President Buhari could and should not have these alleged rogue governors notorious for their kleptomania in his cabinet .
A lot of Nigerians believe that President Buhari is a pretentious warrior against corruption. He could confirm this or undermine this belief. The evidence of that would manifest in his list of cabinet members. Obligatorily, the Ministerial list must generate further enthusiasm. It must reinforce the confidence of the people. It must rejuvenate the hope of the people. It must justify the trust of Nigerians who voted for President Buhari. It must be able to sustain the goodwill of the Nigerian people. The president would not be able to afford the loss of support of Nigerians if his Ministerial List comes out with the names of alleged rogue governors who have been accused of robbing their people blind.
President Buhari would give a new lease of life to corruption if the Ameachis of this world, the Fasholas of this world, the Kwankwansos of this world, the Fayemis of this world, the Nyakos of this world, the Okorochas of this world and others of their ilk find ways to be on the Ministerial list. President Buhari must be courageous enough to say no to his party members and his former governor friends who seek to serve in his cabinet but have not been able to explain the sources of their wealth and riches. He must as a matter of urgency and necessity salvage this country and stand his ground against corrupt former governors who are banking on being in his cabinet.
After the party primary elections, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu insisted on being on the ticket with Buhari. He had worked hard for the emergence of Buhari as the party’s candidate. It is an open secret that if it was not for Bola Tinubu, it would have been utterly impossible for President Buhari to win the party’s ticket. Especially, not the way and manner the former Vice President Abubakar Atiku was carrying dollars and naira around, hoping to buy every delegate and their shadows to booth.
Tinubu spent his money and time and energy. He mobilized like never before for Buhari to emerge. In the end, he offended many of his “family members” who were against Buhari. He had made a lot of sacrifices just to ensure that Nigeria has the chance to have Buhari. He convinced, persuaded, coerced and pleaded to a lot of people to buy into Buhari who had a reputation as an anti-social. He spearheaded the greatest turn around in Nigerian history of a negative, bitter, frustrated and despised personality to a ‘beloved leader” in Buhari. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the ACE that propelled Buhari to Aso Rock. He was and is still the man. But despite all this, he was denied the opportunity of being on the ticket.
Several reasons were proffered by many who felt that his being on the ticket would result to loss for the party. He was accused of being and deemed corrupt. His vast wealth was pointed to as proof of his corruption. It was posited that Tinubu being on the ticket would destroy the brand of anti-corruption that the party is trying to stand for. Tinubu was also isolated as being a Muslim like the president. It was reasoned that in an era when Boko Haram was killing Christians in the North of the country, a Muslim-Muslim ticket would be untenable.
Asiwaju Tinubu has been denied. Everyone knew he wanted to be Vice President to Buhari. But his dream was frustrated by the ghosts of his past. His detractors were happy. Some of them even celebrated. Some of his friends could not even make any good case on his behalf. Tinubu had little or no sympathy then. He was left high and dry. He had been in the eye of the public and had been relentlessly vilified for good and for bad. Despite all his sacrifices, the good of the party prevailed. He licked his wounds and commenced work for the victory of President Buhari at the polls.
For those who have been following my writings, I have given more grief to Asiwaju Tinubu more than any politician from Yorubaland. But as the common aphorism goes, “What is good for the goose should be good for the gander.” Fairness to all should always be the first order of business. If Asiwaju Tinubu could and was denied what ought to be his dues for the good of the party and the benefit of the country because he was deemed, assumed and concluded corrupt without any pronouncement of any competent court in the land, it would be difficult for President Buhari to justify the inclusion in his cabinet, people already accused of corrupt practices why they were governors.
This is regardless of how close they may be to President Buhari. Their friendship or closeness to President Buhari or his grandchildren should not mater. Their sacrifices for the success of the campaign should not matter but be recognized and praised just like Tinubu’s. And that is where the matter should rest. What should matter from that point is the hope and aspiration of Nigerians who are seeking a better and cleaner country for themselves and their children. Nigeria should be the priority, if President Buhari truly loves the country.
At the danger of repeating the obvious: if Bola Tinubu, with all his sacrifices in various forms could be denied, then anybody within the party, who has corruption charges or allegations hanging around his or her neck is unfit for a cabinet post and should be denied. It does not matter whether such a person or group of persons have not been found guilty or innocent by a court of competent jurisdiction. We know how the courts are in Nigeria. We have been fooled enough.
I am not advocating the punishment of the innocent. Neither am I suggesting disrespect for the courts of law. No, I am not. All we need from such persons or group of persons is the declaration in and to the public, the sources of their wealth and riches. How did they come about their several mansions in Nigeria and abroad as well as their numerous exotic cars? What businesses did they engage in that made them so rich and wealthy? What is their individual worth before they became governors? How much did their salaries and emoluments as governors in four or eight years amount to? What is the proportion of their solid and liquid assets in relation to their incomes as governors? Why the humongous differences in their legitimate incomes and their wealth and riches? They must come out in the open and tell us how they got rich if they want to serve us. We are tired of being taken for granted and of being taken for fools.
The Rotimi Amaechis, Tunde Fasholas, Rocha Okorochas, Rabiu Kwankwasos, Kayode Fayemis and their ilk would tarnish the reputation of this administration should they be on the Ministerial list. The emergence of these names and others of the same character and trajectory in Buhari’s cabinet would create disillusion and despair among Nigerians. It would discourage the populace, and suck dry the goodwill of the generality of Nigerians for the President and his administration. It would confirm for Nigerians that President Buhari is a fake warrior on corruption. It would confirm that Nigerians have been hoodwinked by the ruling class and its fake war on corruption once more.
As Yele Sowore posited recently, if James Ibori is in jail, then it is unfair for Bukola Saraki to be walking around free. Bukola Saraki is currently on trial. If Bukola Saraki is on trial, other alleged rogue former governors such as Rotimi Amaechi, Babatunde Fashola, Rabiu Kwankwanso, Kayode Fayemi, Rocha Okorocha and others of their ilk should not be rewarded with a cabinet post in this administration. It would amount to monumental injustice. It would be tantamount to egregious unfairness. It would mean that, at long last, this war on corruption is a façade and a mirage.
President Buhari has a responsibility to the present generation of Nigerians. He also has a more serious one to the posterity. It is either he leads this battle against kleptomania in full force and by all means or not. It is a matter of a choice: to kill this monster of corruption or allow the monster to kill Nigeria? The choice made by President Buhari would go a long way to determine which is which.
President Buhari could still get untarnished and unblemished Nigerians to work with him. He could still find clean, honest, trustworthy and dedicated Nigerians that would buoy his confidence and that of Nigerians in his administration. All he needs is to search well. He would find them. He must resist the temptation of putting the party above the country. He must not make the mistake of allowing friendship to blind him to fairness, justice, equity and balance and most especially, the interest and the survival of Nigeria that is still dithering and tilting on the precipice. If it is morally wrong, it could not and should not be politically acceptable.
“In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility – I welcome it.”
– John F. Kennedy, in his Inaugural Address January 20, 1961
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View Comments (1)
So let me get this straight? You want PMB to discard people that worked for him to get in over "alleged cases of corruption"? Like Seriously.. Lol