Revered activist and university don, Prof. Tunde Fatunde in this Democracy Day Special interview with Olaotan Falade of TheNewsGuru.com x-rayed the three-year-old administration of President Muhammadu Buhari touching on economy, policies and other sundry issues.
As usual, the former Secretary General of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), spoke without mincing words.
Read on!
Question: Can you do a summary of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration and the impact on Nigerians since coming on board on May 29, 2015?
On the eve of the 2015 general elections which brought in the incumbent administration led by President Buhari, there was a manifesto of the ills of the Nigerian society and that manifesto was backed up by solutions to these problems. So it’s like you have highlighted challenges and solutions. I will list and expatiate on some of these one after the other.
Insecurity. During the campaign period, there were huge billboards mounted in strategic places in Lagos and other states in the country saying that Boko Haram was a security challenge and that within one month of the Buhari/Osinbajo presidency, it will be by-gone. However, three years down the line, you and I know that Boko Haram is yet to be defeated and the insecurity has also increased than what it was in 2015.
Recently, President Buhari signed a deal that $1 billion be withdrawn from the Excess Crudeoil Account (ECA) specifically to fight insurgency in the Northeast. That is three years after his government has been sworn in. Added to this security challenge in the Northeast is what has been happening in the middle belt which was not obtainable during the Goodluck Jonathan administration. In fact, for the first time in the history of Nigeria, we are witnessing foreign armed bandits coming into Nigeria and killing people with impunity and Buhari did not say anything. It was only when the killing got to an unbearable stage that he started talking. He later visited the much troubled Benue, Taraba and others because of the failure of his administration to curb the killings. And despite the intensity of the killings, the only thing he could say was that the herdsmen and farmers should reconcile so that they can continue living as brothers.
He also recently went to the United States to seek for support for a second term and in the glare of the whole wide world, President Trump told him (Buhari) that when he gets back to Nigeria he should stop the senseless killings and that the United States will never tolerate such. Now what I’m saying is that we are no longer talking about Boko Haram but about foreign militia that are taking over our lands and killing innocent citizens because the Myetti Allah (of which Buhari is a patron) wanted lands in the Benue River Basin for grazing of their cattle.
So the security challenges have escalated from the Boko Haram that the government was yet to defeat to the invasion of our lands by foreign militia. The president revealed this himself when he met President Trump in the White House. These militia groups according to him were trained by late Libyan leader, Ghaddafi to come and destabilize Nigeria. This statement is coming from the Commander-In-Chief of one of the biggest Armed Forces in Africa. It simply means as a Commander-In -Chief you are not alive to your responsibilities. It took a foreign president (Trump) to tell Buhari to go back home and stop the killings. Even when he came back, the killings still continued. Now that it has expanded to Zamfara, Kogi, Taraba and other neighbouring states. So the manifesto that declared that Boko Haram will be wiped out in a month has now on the ground expanded to main security challenges. That is the first point.
The second is economy. Tinubu and others told Nigerians during their campaigns in 2015 that they will revert the trend of downward decline of the Naira if Buhari is elected into office. But three years down the line, what do we have? Naira has become a little bit less than the value of a toilet paper. Compared to when he came to power when Naira exchanged for 130 or thereabout to now that it is exchanging for over 360 to a Dollar. Talk of unemployment; it has skyrocketed to the point that government is now contemplating of sending graduates back to the university to be restrained for another extra year. That is not the solution. Recently, Buhari said he recovered trillions of Naira from those who looted the treasury. No problem. The question is where are the names of those who looted the public funds? No evidence! So there is lack of transparency, credibility, integrity and inability to prosecute the looters. Now what we are witnessing in a whole is that one if you look at the style of his government, it took Buhari six months to produce names of his cabinet members. And when the names were finally released what do we have? These are the characteristics. One. It’s a government that is endothermic in orientation. Endothermic is a scientific term and it means a government of brothers, nephews, cousins and in-laws. Check the list of the service chiefs. Also check the list of key ministers. The presence of federal character as provided in the constitution is lacking.
So what I’m saying in a nutshell is that the insecurity in the land has increased and the economy is at its worst. The Naira is nothing to write home about. Nigeria is not united. All because of the tactics of divide and rule used by Buhari. And this is a president who has spent a total of four months abroad for treatments of an undisclosed ailment. Our hospitals including those at the Presidential Villa are in shambles. So what exactly is that one thing that we can point at that the Buhari government has achieved? None! And despite that he’s seeking reelection in 2019. No problem. The electorates will decide. I must also reiterate that things will get worse if he’s reelected because he has demonstrated in his first term in power that he is not capable of ruling Nigeria.
Question: Recently, former President Obasanjo who canvassed openly for President Buhari’s election in 2015 has also joined the growing list of those agitating that President Buhari should not contest for second term…
If someone sat for an exam and failed woefully what should be done? The person will have to retake the exams but must first of all take remedial courses before writing the exams again. Buhari is a successful failure. I repeat Buhari is a successful failure. He promised in 2015 to transform Nigeria to a country that is free, prosperous with developed economic values but none of those promises have been fulfilled now. So if someone has failed his first term and you are now going to entrust governance in the hands of such person the second term, then you should expect another round of successful failure. And if by chance Buhari emerges the president of Nigeria again in 2019 then I’m afraid about the future of Nigeria. It is when you sit for a mock exam that you can project what your performance in the real exam will be. No sentiment about this but if Buhari is returned as president the second time, Nigeria should expect the worst. Junaid Muhammed has said it. He said if Nigerians make the mistake of returning Buhari as president in 2019 then they should blame themselves if situation gets worst from what it is today.
Question: Do you think the youths have what it takes to fix the country considering the years of rot under past administrations?
Nobody is indispensable in the history of mankind. You are talking about the youths; Gowon was 28 years when he became head of state. Most of the top generals we talk about today were in their early 30s when they took over power after the civil war. Why are we then belittling the youths? They are not kids. They should be given access to power. If they fail, they will correct themselves. After all nobody is indispensable.
Let me give you an example outside politics to prove that no one is indispensable. In 1968, the World Cup final between Sweden and Brazil. The main striker of the Brazilian team was wounded. They had no choice but to substitute him for Pele who was then on the reserved bench. Pele scored two goals and there and then he became a world champion. Who tells us in Nigeria that if Gowon was 28, Muritala Muhammed in his early 30s, Obasanjo in his early 30s, TY Danjuma also in his early 30s when they assumed power, why would the youths not perform if they are given the chance?
It is simply a cynical and irresponsible selfish observation to say we should not give opportunity to youths to rule the country. Buhari claimed to be allegedly 75 years but look at the man; he’s in and out of the hospital for an illness he has refused to publicly tell us.
I’ll conclude by saying Nigeria as at today is not yet in the twenty first century. Nigeria I repeat is not in the twenty first century. Let me give you an example to prove this. One. Nigeria has the highest number of out of school children in the world. 35 million. Two. Half of Nigeria’s population cannot read and write. What should be done? We live in a century that is driven by knowledge economy. Meaning any government that does not invest massively in education and vocational training will automatically be left behind in this 21st century. And how much 
Question: Do you think coalition of political parties can unseat the incumbent administration like it did in 2015?
The people will deserve the kind of government they want. It is the elite that will determine the kind of government we want. If the opposition refuses to sink their differences and ego and come up with a united opposition to remove the APC from power, we will have an APC government again but then we should all be ready to face the dangerous consequences of that. My crystal ball cannot say exactly how it will go. It depends on the political elites if they want themselves to be maneuvered out of power to ensure that Buhari continues and if this happens we are all going to face the consequences.
Buhari’s government is not even talking about how to project Nigerian youths into the 21st century via education and vocational training. No blueprint, nothing. We are not a serious country. We can be serious if we change the orientation of the government. Buhari is not even ready to entertain restructuring of Nigeria. So where do we go from here?