Buhari’s legacy in ruins as Nigeria burns
In an inexplicable manner, President Muhammadu Buhari, who rode to power on a campaign that united young Nigerians and portrayed him as an incorruptible leader as well as a reformed democrat, is going down.
He is not only going down, Buhari is also ruining his legacy and squandering what appears to be left in his goodwill, three years to the end of his final term as President of the most populous black nation on earth.
His consistent refusal to take action and address the nation when it matters and his administration’s flagrant disregard for the outcry of the citizens are part of the undoing and failures of his government that many Nigerians have described as distasteful.
Of all his shortcomings, none may be more consequential than the damage done by his deafening silence whenever the nation is heading towards a turmoil.
While citizens were being killed in Southern Kaduna and Benue state in 2018 by bandits and herdsmen, the President looked away and refused to address the issue until it degenerated into a crisis.
In March 2020, when COVID-19 pandemic was spreading across the globe prompting world leaders to address their citizens to douse their fears and raise hopes, Buhari kept mum for 30 days until he was forced to address the nation on March 28 after conspiracy and falsehood had festered and spread across the country.
Since young Nigerians took to the streets across the country on October 8, 2020, to protest and demand the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Buhari has refused to address the protest to quell rising tensions across the country. Rather, after a couple of press promises and a short, pre-recorded video, he chose to respond by deploying soldiers to the streets of Lagos to attack unarmed protesters on the evening of Tuesday October 20.
While the nation burns following the killing of peaceful protesters and the counter violence that have greeted the action of the soldiers, Buhari is yet to react hours after world leaders like Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and American celebrities like Beyonce, Rihanna have shown more concern to the plight of Nigerians and condemned the killing of protesters.
He is believed to have spoken on the phone with the president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, as well as the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, but the governor of Lagos, where the violence has consumed significant lives and properties, says, in a live TV interview, he has not been able to reach the president.
The President continues to ignore calls from the National Assembly, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, religious leaders and the global community urging him to take action and address the demands of the protesters.
It’s not likely the country has seen such widespread protests and citizen outcry, since the events following the annulment of presidential elections in 1993. And in the age of social media and inter-connectivity, the world watches as Nigeria’s leadership fails to arrest an avoidable degeneration.
The violence in Lagos has left hundreds wounded, and many dead. There are no official figures on the dead yet – even as protesters acknowledge there appears to be a coordinated disinformation campaign aimed at blaming military actions on hoodlums.
Other parts of Nigeria remained relatively peaceful on Tuesday and Wednesday, as Lagos burned; giving rise to conspiracy theories about the unseen reason and hands behind the terror. It doesn’t help that most of the properties destroyed in Lagos are alleged to have ties to a former governor who is a leader of the ruling party. The sitting governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu who is a protegee of the party leader, wrote on Twitter that the Military massacre was caused by forces out of the state’s control.
Nigerians are left stranded and in fear for their lives and property as looting, destruction, and killing take over the state. One designer was killed right in front of his family by attackers, according to a series of tweets by his younger brother
How did armed thugs, rampaging military men, and irate police officers combine to turn what was an opportunity to transform Nigeria and reignite hope in young citizens, into a genocide? And why did the government miss such a rare opportunity to provide leadership at such a critical time?
It will take time to find answers, if at all they ever come. For now, Pundits say it has become inevitable that Buhari’s name will be boldly written on the history books as one of Nigeria’s most incompetent presidents of all time.
