Dear PMB, Now is The Time!, By Hussaini Hussaini
POLITICS DIGEST – Mr. President has indeed lost a trusted ally and friend whom the president himself and so many people who know him have come to attest to his qualities as a gentleman that meant well for the country. May Allah grant him eternal rest. Now, having taken time to join other compatriots in mourning the deceased COS for the Islamic 3 consecutive days, I think it will not be out of place if we look deep into post Kyari Presidency to see what it may hold.
“The buck stops here” is a popular phrase, an engraving of which was first mounted on the desk of US President Harry S. Truman in the Oval Office around 1945. It found its origin from the slang expression “passing the buck”, meaning, passing the blame or responsibility from one person to another. For the former US President, Truman, the blame stops at his table as he’s going to be responsible for it and he is not passing it to anyone. He stated in one of his speeches thus: “But when the decision is up before you — and on my desk I have a motto which says The Buck Stops Here’ — the decision has to be made.”
Subsequent US Presidents cherish the Phrase and make it their watchword. Even if they don’t, such responsibility is attached to them. Before the 2nd coming of Buhari in 2015, a similar tempo has been maintained in Nigeria where Presidents themselves were held accountable for the mistakes and failures under their watch. Babangida and his structural adjustment program have always been blamed e.g. for the free fall in the value of Naira; Shagari is held liable for the corruption perpetuated by members of his cabinet while Obasanjo for the advent of Ghana must go politics amongst others.
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However, things changed when President Buhari returns to power in 2015, where all blames for action or inactions directly related to the President’s office were earlier passed on to the previous PDP government, then to Saraki and Dogara and then to the “cabal”, prominent of which are the trio of Late Abba Kyari, Mamman Daura and Isa Funtua. The last two persons have no specific political office or official presence in the government, the fact which makes Kyari’s name became more prominent. It had been in the mouth of the least politically aware citizens. In towns and villages; in Keke Napep, buses or Mai Shayi joint; for every mistake of the president, people will say “yana da niyya mai kyau amma su Abba Kyari ba za su barshi ba”( he, i.e. Buhari, has good intentions but Abba Kyari and co won’t let him implement it). It becomes a national anthem on the tongue of every Nigerian. The masses were set against Kyari. In fact there was a typical re-enactment of George Orwell’s “four legs good; two legs bad” found as “Buhari good; Kyaris Bad!”
But the origin of the above irregular blame game may be traced to the fact that Buhari came with a lot of goodwill of the masses. He was seen as a messiah and anyone who stood against him was a traitor most especially in the north. Opposition and the “treacherous” National Assembly under Saraki and Dogara were silenced and whenever things went wrong they got blamed. They couldn’t pass the buck to Baba Buhari whom some people call “Dan Amarya” as nobody believed anything wrong associated with him. The opposition were probably left with no option than to keep the sanctity of Buhari and create the cabal theory in order to attack his defense line. This had worked to the extent that the opposition get some respite on the blame game and set the masses against the so-called cabal for any failure and the most seen and prominent of them was late Alhaji Abba Kyari. Unfortunately for the opposition, it has worked as an attack weapon against Kyari and his fellow “cabal” but has served as a shield for Buhari, the real target, because the “the buck stops on Kyari’s table!”.
Now, Dear Mr. President, kyari, your last human shield; your loyal friend of 42 years has died. Once again, may Allah rest his soul. Baba, at this point there is no previous government to take the buck because looking back you will see yourself of four good years. There are no “corrupt” Saraki and Dogara who blocked our most cherished special courts for the trial of corruption cases bill from becoming a law; and there is sadly no Abba Kyari to take the punches from the masses for you. Mr. President as things stands now, it is you!
I believe now is the time in which you must wake and be ready to take responsibility for everything before the opposition set the masses against you yourself since there are no more shields but you and your God and the buck ends right on your table.
I wish you success in discharging your duties as nothing will clearly gladdens the heart of your late friend in dead as performing your duties efficiently and protecting your image which he tried to protect till the end of his life. I also leave you with Truman’s farewell message to the American people that: “The president–whoever he is–has to decide. He can’t pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That’s his job.”
Hussaini, a legal practitioner based in Abuja, writes via [email protected]
