Letter to PMB, my President

As President of Nigeria, you are probably the strongest man on earth. It is left to you to decide to what extent you can wield the enormous powers granted you by the constitution. A Nigerian President can do practically anything and get away with it. It is either he unleashes the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) on the opposition, or he ‘settles’ the National Assembly (NASS) to pass whatever law he so desires. The courts are at his beck and call, in the likely event of the need for legal interpretations. So far, your body language has sometimes been vague, unpredictable, and sometimes equally uninspiring. Although it is difficult to accuse you of settling the NASS for any reason so far, it is, however, very difficult to absolve you of the accusation of finding filthy fingers only in the opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
One thing the Yar’Adua/Jonathan government must be remembered for was the respect for the rule of law. It will be to your eternal credit to take a cue and allow the other arms of government to do their jobs. It is true that in some cases, glaring mistakes are made; but you must insist that the right thing is done all the time. To this end, your body language should be easy to understand, as it is the template that sets the standard level of acceptable behaviour in public life and, to an extent, private life.
Going through the list of your blood relations that you have appointed to several high-profile positions, I am beginning to suspect that you may not have the energy to control their excesses. It is certain that your verbal communication with them will be in Fulani language and not the official English language. It is possible that when they meet you every Monday morning, it will take about one hour to learn from all of them about their wives, husbands, fathers and mothers – all related to you – before you settle down for work. This is not a good work ethic, more so at this uncertain period in the history of our once-beloved country.
As the father of the nation, you are to be concerned about just everything that happens in any part of the country. You are expected to talk – by yourself or through your appointed channels – either in support or in condemnation of such happenings. The needless chaos in Osun State occasioned by the indiscretion of Governor Rauf Aregbesola with respect to his hijab project ought to have got you talking. Religion clearly is a more fundamental component of our being than politics. As the opium of the masses, religion is life. The conflagration in Osun is quite unfortunate. Some say it is a design by the governor to distract attention from his inability to pay the workers and other myriad economic, political, social and intellectual shortcomings. I believe that the situation in the state portends greater danger that what is happening in Ekiti State. Are you silent on Osun in tacit support for your Muslim brother? Are you fighting Ayo Fayose because he is on the other side of the religious divide? I am not saying that Fayose should not be made to give account of his stewardship or of the sources of the Zenith Bank funds, but your silence on Osun does not offer you any positive remark.
Our nation is still in darkness, and the hope of a better tomorrow is not near. I know that in Aso Rock you will have gigantic generating sets and your aides will work hard to ensure that power is constant. Instead of giving Fashola the daunting task of explaining to Nigerians why they cannot have electric power and making him lose his hard-earned goodwill, why can you not put a ban on the importation of generators? It has been said over and over that generator importers compromise the power generation, transmission and distribution workers. Some people who patronise you are insinuating that if you knew the level of rot in the system, maybe you would not have thrown your hat into the ring to contest for the presidency. I doubt if you did not know, because all that you are seeing now, you told us during your electioneering.
The only practical master-stroke I can give you credit for was the way you defused the effectiveness of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)-organised strike in the aftermath of the fuel price hike. You went into discussions with the two parallel factions – the Wabba and the Ajaero factions – at your convenience and comfort, knowing that the two factions cannot agree on any matter. When that strategy had succeeded in foiling the strike, you sent the Jagaban to negotiate with the official faction – the Wabba faction – to announce a ceasefire. Victory for you, but gnashing of teeth for Nigerians!
Since you have been confused by your aides not to mention the thieves of our common wealth, will they also advise you not to tell Nigerians how you intend to spend the recovered loot? Nigerians want to know which hospital or road has been, or is to be, constructed with the recovered loot. We do not want a re-looting of the recovered loot, and the only way to convince us otherwise is to inform us of the total sum recovered till date and the specific projects such moneys will be devoted to. Remember, the integrity of your list of recoveries is still not guaranteed.
I appreciate your joy at seeing the PDP swim in crisis. Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff has been called a mole in the PDP, working for you and your party, the APC. Nothing is wrong with that. It is all politics. If he is your in-law as claimed, then it only strengthens the saying that blood is thicker than water. But everything is wrong with the way and manner your appointees –Abubakar Malami (AGF) and Babachir Lawal (SGF) – quickly cleared the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai, of any wrong-doing in his very suspicious and questionable purchase of prime properties in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Your silence on this matter adds to the charge of nepotism against you. If things continue this way for another one year, you may not bother contemplating a second term, except you will be delivering on the script allegedly being perfected to the effect that your North will not hand power over to the South peacefully.
I will write you again in early course. Bye for now.