Surely it was not long ago when a certain
attorney general had declared: The president can run the country from anywhere.
At the time of his declaration, the president of the republic late Yar Adua,
was in a clinic somewhere in Saudi Arabia and had not been fit to discharge his
duties. Somehow, the attorney general could publicly make such a pronouncement
and insisted that the president who was away for 50 days and counting could run
the country from a sick bed.
That same
pronouncement was made by the president's spokesman Dr. Reuben Abati. He
defended the president's trip to Brazil to attend a United Nations Earth summit
insisting that those who are criticizing the president today for taking the
trip will be the same ones who will criticize him if he failed to make it. He
also chastised the opposition for trying very hard to cash in on the crisis in
Kaduna and Yobe states to score political points. Dr. Abati further stressed
that the president had before his trip held a meeting with service chiefs to
take decisions on the matter at hand and as such his physical presence was not
needed in these times.
The ACN and the
CPC had earlier criticized the president for leaving the country at a time when
such occurrence required maximum attention only for him to emulate former
president Obasanjo who loved desperately to globe trot. The parties currently
planning a merger ahead of the 2015 general elections were unanimous in
pointing out the president's insensitivity.
Nigeria is presently volatile with far too
many issues begging for maximum attention. So we cannot possibly have a country
running on autopilot or by a remote control from Brazil. In a country where the
vice presidency has no constitutionally defined role, it will be wise to
suggest that functions like these should be left to that office such that the
presidency can concentrate his efforts on these issues.
He whose house is on fire does not go
about chasing bush rats. Yobe and Kaduna states are very close to the brink of
anarchy literally speaking and are hanging on a hairs breath and it is at this
time that the country’s omni-potent leadership intends to prove that there is a
mastery of the use of technology. The president can seat in a hotel in Brazil
and with a super-powered remote control, he will zoom and pan into the
situation room to listen to the advice of a service chief. Of course that is
possible, the question is, do we need such a technologically run government? Some
of us voted this president because he had no shoes, now he has remote controls
to run our affairs from Brazil.
By now, the presidency ought to be a doing
a midyear appraisal of the security performance with a view to fine tuning or
possibly overhauling policing, mob response, counter-terrorism activities, and
intelligence policies yet the attitude is one that suggests there should be no
criticism of the president because he can do his job from wherever he chooses.
On another note, we hope that the
president does not return to do what might be unhelpful considering the present
situation which is declare a state of emergency in the concerned states. Already
the economies of Boko Haram hit states are experiencing a downturn that might
soon near a recession. It will not be advisable for the commander in chief to
tow that line.
Running a country like Nigeria where the
environment is randomly unstable requires persistent attention and diligent
proactive action to stabilize. The insistence on running the country remotely
and expecting to be congratulated on such unnecessary improvement in
technological advancement is proof that we burdened with mindless leadership. Ultimately,
Nigerians reminded the federal executive council at the time that Nigerians
want their country run with undivided attention and got it. President Jonathan
must not forget the lesson from that part of history for though fit, these
trips in times like these fail to achieve their purpose abroad let alone in
Nigeria.
Comments