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THE TWO SIDES OF BUHARI NIGERIANS SAW
Former President Muhammadu Buhari died in a clinic in London, United Kingdom, at the age of 82.
The former president’s spokesman Garba Shehu confirmed this on Sunday July 13.
Despite his being vilified by a cross section of Nigerians during his reign, he was by contrast perhaps the most loved leader by the ordinary people in recent times.
The paradox in his relationship with Nigerians was somehow funny. The reactions to his death clearly capture the two divides of Nigerians who were glued to his personality.
Buhari remains for now, the only Nigerian President who through the ballot box, unseated an incumbent Nigerian President in the country’s entire history of governance.
He was the arrowhead of an opposition coalition which wrested power from a government that was mainly seen as toothless and corrupt.
His mantra “I belong to everybody and belong to nobody” was the guiding principle when he assumed office.
Oil prices fall to an all-time low
Upon resumption, reality set in. Oil prices had fallen from about $55 a barrel since the beginning of 2015 to around $36-$37 and fell as low at $19-$20 per barrel.
It meant that of the N3.9 trillion revenue forecast for 2016, just N820bn would come from crude. There was no money to run the government.
It took almost six months to form a cabinet. On Wednesday, November 11, 2015, Buhari unveiled the results of his lengthy deliberations, swearing in 36 ministers at a ceremony in Abuja.
All 36, he said, were “round pegs in round holes” – but not all would get their own ministries. To streamline the government and reduce inefficiency, Buhari got rid of eight ministries, meaning eight members of the cabinet were effectively deputy ministers.
Before long, the new president had been christened “Baba go slow” or “Bubu”.
But the administration trudged on. As Buhari appointed ministers, oil prices improved marginally and as soon as things began to settle in a rhythm, the president fell ill.
Buhari broke with tradition and transmitted a letter to the National Assembly in January 2017 to facilitate his vice president’s emergence as Acting President.
The leave was originally between January 23 and February 6, a total of 10 working days.
But the President ended up spending seven weeks in London, returning to Nigeria on March 17, 2017.
He came back to Nigeria after 49 days of medical leave in the UK, emaciated and admitted he had never been so sick.
After his return, Buhari was determined to deliver good governance, but there are those that argue that for the rest of his time in office, because of the long time away, things were not the same again.
Some persons even spread rumours that the original Buhari had been replaced by a mysterious Jubrin from Sudan.
Detractors of the Buhari government, however, fail to appreciate the challenges it powered through in eight years. The administration struggled through the pandemic, the global recession, two economic recessions, serial insecurity, several bouts of fuel scarcity, Naira redenomination and scarcity but still managed to conduct elections and hand over to a successor.
Many Nigerians remembered Buhari as the president that ushered in economic hardship, but they forget the various incidents that plagued his administration and created these economic situations.
On the other hand, many other Nigerians continued to love him despite his perceived shortcomings because of his attributes of honesty, discipline, frugality and openness.
But his critics would have none of that. They have continued to argue that President Buhari should be held responsible for the reported corrupt acts traced to his administration after he left office. They argue that as president, the buck should have stopped at his table and that he could not claim ignorance of the sleaze indicting members of his cabinet. Interestingly, despite the alleged corruption, no person – politician, anti-corruption agency, critic or opponent – has so far traced any act of corruption directly to him.
Even in death, the former Nigerian President continues to elicit strong emotions on either side of the divide.
Those that hate him have continued to hate him with a passion, pouring out invectives and continuing to spin conspiracy theories even after his passing, while those that love him have continued to identify with him no matter the cost.
As he rides away on the clouds of mortality, Buhari remains a divisive figure to his detractors but “Mai Gaskiya” to the crowds who loved him to the end.
