Aisha as the Mirror in Chief

By Denja Yaqub/

Nothing can be as good as having a spouse that doubles as the best critic of the other as it gives you the best mirror you can ever have of yourself and so far, Aisha, the wife of the President of the world’s most populous black concentration has served her husband and country in the most audacious manner different from the disdainful display of reckless advantages taken by others in her position in the past.

Aisha Buhari seems more courageous in public interest, much more than any of those before her; those ones that took advantage of their husband’s position to treat the rest of the country and her resources with unimaginable impunity, defending their husband’s ineptitude while drawing endlessly from our common wealth.

Though we all probably knew that her husband, President Muhammadu Buhari, assumed a different conception from what majority of the critical community were urged to drop votes for him, but the explosive disclosure by Aisha that a cabal had seized her husband was more than enough early revulsion for an administration that promised change in the ways things are done against the popular interests of the Nigerian people. Every cabal is as manipulative, dangerous and selfish in all ramifications and when a President promised to put his all fighting corruption and ensuring good governance is holed up by a cabal that calls the shots, such promises becomes mere wishes.

And truly, evidences of the presence of a third force were clear, despite the President’s dismissal of her claims and derogatory conclusions that she’s merely meant for the “other room” as we have witnessed contradictory public statements, suspensions, reinstatement, allegations, actions and inaction.

The Presidency seems captured by a few people so powerful enough that the head of our government reacts rather than pro act on critical issues related to the promotion of good governance.

For instance, the Abdulrasheed Maina embarrassing appearance, reinstatement and sack clearly show lack of cohesiveness in the government led by President Muhammadu Buhari who has so far taken steps only in reaction to several shots that confirms Aisha’s public outcries.

Maina was alleged to have stolen money as Chairman of the Police Pension Fund Monitoring Committee. He was arrested and released, enjoys police escorts and security protection around until he successfully fled the country at the inception of the Buhari administration whose main focus seems to be the battle against corruption. Two years after, Maina reappeared as a director at the Internal Affairs Ministry duly so rehabilitated, though with contradictory claims of clearance from government quarters while his family insists he was recalled long before public knowledge and have been serving at the State Security Service.

With obvious disdain, the country’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, a senior advocate, was reported to have been the one who advised that Maina should be recalled based on a court judgement that had long been vacated. With such a law officer, the country and her government is simply dancing in the sun in naked falsehood as the battle against corruption remain a facade. Malami is famous for taking embarrassing steps that questions both his professional integrity and commitment to the anti-corruption policy of the administration he serves.

Just as the open altercations between the Head of Service of the Federation and the Chief of Staff to the President in the presence of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, confirms the absence of presidential powers and cohesiveness of the Presidency as Mr. Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, seems clearly to be the man in charge, and possibly the Head of the much flaunted cabal determined to truncate the commitment of Mr. President in his “determination” to fight corruption.

Kyari, a Cambridge trained lawyer with a first degree in Sociology from the University of Warwick and former Editor of the defunct Democrat Newspaper based in Kaduna was also a Commissioner for Forestry and Animal Resources in Borno State as well as banker who once served as Secretary to the Board of African International Bank Limited for five years before becoming a businessman, knows what it means to be in power and he’s fully in power yet unchallenged.

Same with the case involving Lawal Babachir, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation who openly boasted nothing could be done to him after he was accused of diverting funds meant for the upkeep of victims of terror attacks by Boko Haram in the north eastern part of the country. His reckless outbursts turned to be with backings in high places, especially at the Presidency since he was treated differently from previous alleged thieves of our public funds who were immediately arrested with full media coverage, while “their” properties and funds got seized just as some of them were promptly arraigned in courts; though most of the arraigned culprits are yet to take up their appropriate bed spaces in prison.

While it is plausible that Babachir and the head of the country’s intelligence agency have been “sacked”, it bewilders the public that they have not been arrested and taken before appropriate courts for prosecution. Perhaps, it is not the duty of the President to order the arrest of anyone accused of stealing but the agencies responsible for investigating and prosecuting such cases won’t do so until so directed. If the President has the power to sack anyone based on such allegations, it is common sense that he can also instruct the appropriate agencies to proceed on investigating the allegations and possibly prosecute the culprits if there are evidences.

But, this won’t happen because corruption is “fighting back” as lamented by the President himself without disclosing that the forces fighting back are domiciled in his Presidency.

Even with the open health challenges of Nigeria’s Number One citizen, until Aisha’s defiant public disclosure, the public was unaware of the fact that it is not just ordinary citizens that lack good medical care with the near total absence of good facilities and manpower in all public hospitals; Mr. President and his family also run the risk of health fatalities with an ill-equipped clinic in the Presidential Villa even as provisions were made in the budget for the clinic. Our situation is this bad. And it exposes all of us as citizens led by a rotten political class who don’t even believe they deserve good healthcare and consequently do not bother about the rest of us.

The President needs to demonstrate that he’s not only a President but one that is fully in power.

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