Dasukigate: Still Waiting for Buhari to Return SUVs Received

RingTrue by Yemi Adebowale; yemi.adebowale@thisdaylive.com; 07013940521 (text only)

While the probe into the utilisation of funds allocated to the National Security Adviser’s office is gathering momentum, I thought President Muhammadu Buhari would have by now returned the SUVs he admitted receiving from former President Goodluck Jonathan, in line with the spirit of anti-corruption. I have been expecting the President to return the SUVs for weeks now without a positive response. Why should a man with a “saintly, austere and frugal lifestyle” be holding on to one armoured SUV and one untreated SUV? An armoured SUV can cost as much as $120,000. I am thoroughly disappointed. It calls to question Buhari’s much-touted determination to fight corruption.

Of course, we all now know that the office of the NSA bought (from security vote) and delivered the SUVs to Buhari in line with the instruction of Jonathan. Such gifts for former heads of state should be procured and delivered by the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and not that of the NSA. Buhari should know better. Our dear President has no moral right holding on to these vehicles. He has to lead by example. The excuses for accepting and holding on to the vehicles are preposterous.

Our dear President can’t deny reports that he has been collecting pension and other entitlements as a retired general. So, he should not be telling Nigerians that he collected the SUVs from Jonathan in keeping with his entitlements as a former Head of State under the Remuneration of Former Presidents and Heads of State (And Other Ancillary Matters) Decree of 1999. Is our dear President saying that he has been collecting two pensions? This is obviously illegal. He has to speak up. The nation can’t be paying him two pensions. If this has been happening, Buhari has to make refunds to the federal government.

Again, President Buhari was given the SUVs by Jonathan after the attack by suspected Boko Haram members on his convoy in Kaduna in 2014, during which some of the vehicles in his convoy were damaged. Now, some of those opposed to compensation paid by Jonathan to corporate bodies attacked by Boko Haram have argued that such victims ought to have insurance in place and that compensation should be from the insurance companies. We should also be asking our dear Buhari too why he did not insure the vehicles in his convoy? If he did, why did he not collect compensation from the insurance company? Or, was it that he collected compensation from the insurance company and also from Jonathan? Again, I strongly believe that those who became heads of state through the barrels of the gun have no business benefiting from this pension arrangement. It should be strictly for democratically-elected presidents.

For me, the whole Dasukigate drama has been one big diversionary tactic by President Buhari. It is aimed at diverting attention from the failure of his administration to effectively deal with any of the problems it promised Nigerians to tackle. At present, there is so much suffering in our land. Families are struggling to survive as inflation continues unabated. Many can hardly afford a meal a day. The economy that was handed over to Buhari in fairly good shape is now in tatters. Virtually all economic indices are on the negative side. The last eight months have been horrendous. We have never had it so bad; yet all we hear is the Dasukigate story. Thousands of Nigerians are thrown out of jobs daily as our industries struggle to survive. Many factories are shutting down following stifling economic policy, forex crisis and crumbling Naira.

After almost eight months, this administration can’t, in all honesty, point to any achievement in any sector of the economy. Electricity supply remains epileptic. Federal roads are in shreds. I am not sure that this administration has been able to asphalt a single kilometer of road in almost eight months. Federal hospitals and higher institutions are in a mess. In some states, Nigerians are paying as much as N150 per litre of petrol instead of the official N86.50. Kerosene that ought to sell for N67 per litre is selling for N160 per litre. Only very few people are asking Buhari why the Naira is not yet at par with the USD as promised? The Naira handed over to his administration at one to 218USD has been badly battered. As at yesterday, the USD was exchanging for over N300.

The most painful of Buhari’s failure is his inability to tame the dreaded Boko Haram terrorists as promised. He told Nigerians that he would decapitate the terrorists within two months. But eight months after, little progress was made. In fact, the monster called Boko Haram has grown bigger. Under Buhari’s watch, and in under eight months, Boko Haram has killed over 2000 Nigerians. We have never had it so bad. Just on Monday, the terrorists entered Madagali in Adamawa State and killed six people. We are still waiting for Abubakar Shekau’s head and our dear Chibok girls.

The Buhari administration could not even put together a realistic budget for 2016. All we hear is the fight against corruption. The ludicrous budget was predicated on $38 per barrel of crude oil in spite of the obvious crumbling oil price. The budget aims to borrow over 30% to fund expenditure.  He submitted a budget in which the vote for the maintenance of Aso Rock was astronomically increased in spite of the poverty in our land. Now, Buhari is trying to adjust the farcical budget through the back door. Our dear president must learn to concentrate on his core governance responsibilities instead of running after Dasuki. He should allow the EFCC to do its job, and concentrate on puting together a pragmatic economic plan for the country.  Our economy is clearly in a mess.