The news of Buhari’s calling of high profile Nigerians is now the rule in the current Nigerian political circle. Every day in Nigeria, because of Buhari’s endless medical stay abroad, the rumour of his death and the attendant silence on the side of the President, and the Presidency’s many accounts of Buhari’s health status, Nigerians now treat Buhari’s calls as sacred, and whoever is fortunate to have been called will not hesitate to make a noise of it. The receivers of Buhari’s calls now see themselves as demigods.
Governor Ganduje of Kano State was the first to announce that he was called during a prayer session in Kano. If Buhari called Ganduje, it is justified because of the place Kano holds in the North. Gov. Ganduje instantly informed the worshippers of Buhari’s greetings. The second to be called was Solomon Dalung, the Minister of Sports. The call was justified on the ground that Buhari called to console Dalung over the death of his dear wife. The third to be called was Femi Adesina, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on media. The call was justified on the grounds that, one, Femi is Buhari’s aide, and two, that Femi defended Buhari intelligently on Channels Television when he was grounded and somewhat asked to reveal the health status of the President. The interview followed the alleged harassing of the Guardian newspaper’s reporter in London when he wanted to interview and possibly snap Buhari in his London home. Adesina confessed that Buhari praised him for his intelligent handling of the interview. That is sane enough. The fourth to be called was ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo on his 80th birthday celebration on Sunday. It was wise Buhari called Obasanjo and felicitated with him. The fifth Nigerian to be called by Buhari was Yakubu Gowon on the death of his sister. Being a former Head of State and an Elder State-man, it was wise Buhari called and condoled with him over the irreparable loss. Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, two days ago, claimed he was the sixth Nigerian to be called and praised by Buhari on his leadership quality and the good work (?) he was doing in Kogi State. Good work in Kogi State!
I refuse to believe Buhari, just like the ex-governor of Taraba State, following his current state of health, has lost his sanity and sensibility to call and praise a governor (Yahaya Bello) that is an agent of death and destruction; I refuse to believe that Buhari will descend so low as to damage his reputation for a garage tout turned governor, who does not see anything good in the lives of his fellow human beings; I refuse to believe in the call that praise the leadership quality of a boy of a governor, who, together with his cronies and heartless court members: Edward Onoja and Petra Akinti brought untold hardship on the people, and without conscience too. I refuse to believe that a Governor that owes 14 months salaries of over 76% of workers and pensioners of Kogi State and had laid, and still continues to lay people off according Petra Akinti’s Facebook post deserves a call and a praise by Buhari as a visionary leader. I refuse to believe that a Governor that wines and dines while the students and pupils of Kogi State educational isntitutions, from primary school to the university are at home deserves any commendable call; I refuse to believe that a Governor that treats the workers’ warning strikes as inconsequential deserves a presidential call; I refuse to believe that in spite of the fact that Bello does not need March allocation to pay arrears of salaries for workers and pensioners, and yet he refuses to pay, claiming he will do same March ending is worth any serious minded person’s call.
On February 27, 2017 at 10:21am, Usman Okai Austin on his Facebook post, revealed the dalliance between Aisha Buhari and the wife of the Kogi State Governor. The post reveals wasteful spending of the public funds by Governor Yahaya Bello on the Wife of the President, Aisha Muhammadu Buhari. In the post, Mr Austin further reveals that Governor Bello spent over ₦70 million on the launching of Aisha’s book: The Essentials of Beauty. In conjunction with Governor Bello’s wife, through the Office of the First Lady, Governor Bello budgeted ₦350 million for the office so that the wife of the President through the Kogi State First Lady, might get the money from Kogi State. The wife of the President gets money from the rest of the 35 states of the federation through their First Ladies. Governor Bello has been a toy in the hands of the wife of the President, the post revealed. I refuse to believe therefore that Buhari called Bello because of Bello’s relationship with his wife. Could Buhari have called to thank Bello for taking care of Aisha while he is away? I doubt much!
The Bello-Buhari’s purported call therefore was a stage-managed call between Bello and his aides and cronies just to create an illusory romance of his jejune government with that of the giant Buhari, so that the world will see him as having the backing of the President and the Presidency, and to intimidate the EFCC and other well-meaning Kogites from chasing after him for the careless handling of the Kogi State civil service welfare, the Bailout funds and the Paris Club refund. Bello used or wants to use the call to further make life miserable for the people by (you won’t be surprised I say so) tomorrow if he says that Buhari calls to see him in London so that through the journey, he might hide some of the money in the foreign accounts. He wants to make an impression that he is doing well even though Kogites do not see any good in him. Governor Bello as well as his retinue of aides is a thief and a robber, and should have no conscience to arrest any criminal in Kogi State.
While we do not expect any useful, meaningful project from Bello, we expect him to please pay the workers and pensioners their salaries. We urge Bello and his impetuous Edward Onoja, who is looking for every available opportunity to be the next governor by stealing the public funds and stashing same in banks for future use to please stop the holocaust and pay the people what they are due to get. Bello should stop laying civil servants off for God’s sake!
– Dan, E. N.,
Peace Community, Lokoja.
danenigma2@gmail.com
