Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South), Chief Whip of the 10th Senate and a critical stakeholder of the All Progressives Congress (APC), publicly accused the immediate past President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of not being in charge of his administration – unlike the current president. This, to say the least, is mendacious and sycophancy taken to a trajectory never before seen, especially given his past positions on President Buhari.
When Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, was first elected President in 2015, he said that he belonged to everybody and belonged to nobody. What was true then remains true today, even months after leaving office.
PMB believes in public service as pure service to the people, and true to his well-established reputation for honesty and integrity, he expected the same commitment from members of his government – a rare quality in these climes, for which we will always remember him. He made it clear times without number that anyone who would not, could not, or did not pull their weight or met his exacting standards was not welcome in his administration. Several ranking officials were shown the way out at various times on account of this. But this he did based on evidence and proof, not on conjecture, or witch-hunt.
Accusing the former president of not being in charge of his government shows Ndume’s distorted perception of leadership, in addition to other plausible reasons that I will attempt to project in the course of this writing.
We operate a democracy in Nigeria and not an autocracy. PMB would not push the levers of the powers of his office to force the hands of independent organs of government but choosing instead, to run a government of mutual respect and trust. This way his administration scored very high marks in strengthening institutions of government through civility, mutual respect, trust and clearly defined channels of communication as envisioned in a plural democratic system such as Nigeria’s.
It is sad to note that a retired military General understands the principle of delegated authority and civility, while a civilian seeks dictatorship, calling it “being in charge”. I dare ask: of the hundreds of Permanent Secretaries, Directors, Heads of Agencies, and professionals in their right, who does Ndume think they report to? The office of the President, though very important, is a microcosm of the actual workforce that executes the mandate of the Nigerian government. According to the 2023 Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) report, 720,000 public servants daily execute the mandate and vision of the sitting president, through their respective MDAs. The president does not need to come to the media to show he is in charge.
Is it not the same Sen. Ali Ndume who, while fielding questions from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on July 3rd, 2018 said President Muhammadu Buhari enjoys goodwill among Nigerians? He said Nigeria is lucky to have Buhari as President, adding that the President is doing all within his powers to pull the country out of the “quagmire” it found itself.
“If you go to Wuse Market and start criticizing this government, I don’t think you will come back alive,” Ndume said.
“For instance, Charly Boy, convener of ‘Our Mumu Don Do’ carried his agitation too far. He went to Wuse Market and the masses chased him away. Nigerians are in love with their President” he said.
Similarly, a few years ago, Ndume as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army in the 9th Senate, hailed the erstwhile President for nipping the insurgency that plagued Borno State in the bud. While speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, he said “the insurgents have been kept away from the city and can only attack soft targets in other areas of Borno State. I live in Abuja and also live in Maiduguri,” he said.
“Once I come to Maiduguri, I feel safer than in Abuja, because somebody can knock down your door with a gun. In Maiduguri, we don’t hear of that. It is outside Maiduguri where the insurgents are marauding around and attacking intermittently. And that’s normal with insurgents, that’s why they are called insurgents, they do hit and run on soft targets.” He stressed that “in every society, you can’t wipe out criminality completely. In America, there is school shooting. Our own is that we have known terrorists and the army is fighting them.” He sang PMB’s praises for weeks!
Indeed he should, because when PMB assumed office, no less than 17 Local Government Areas in the North East of Nigeria were firmly and totally under the control of Boko Haram insurgents. And not to mention the series of bombing incidents and fatalities across the North on a daily basis!! Have we so soon forgotten how Nigerians couldn’t attend Churches and Mosques as a result of the state of insecurity PMB met on ground?? Chaiii…. let’s be fair to this gentleman please!
On November 16, 2020, Ndume said “Buhari is a genuine person who has the interest of the common man at heart. Buhari has integrity and competence” and that Buhari has “performed on all counts of his administration with three major agendas which are to secure the country, to fight corruption, and to provide infrastructure.” So can we all ask Ndume, to let us know what has changed since then?
In March 2019, the Buhari Support group, pushed vehemently for Ndume to be the Senate President. The group which played a leading role in the re-election bid of President Muhammadu Buhari on February 23rd noted that Senator Ndume met all the requirements for the Senate Presidency considering his high level of experience, network, and commitment to APC and President Buhari’s overall agenda for a better Nigeria. Rather than imposing Ndume on the then-Senate, PMB allowed that independent arm of government to choose its leaders! Is it not plausible that Ndume has bottled up the pain of losing his bid to be Senate President and only decided to spew it out now that PMB is no longer President?
Although we all know that Ndume has a history of notoriety, however as an elder statesman that he has been opportune to be, he should guard his utterances. Stakeholders in the same party should stop acting in the manner of opposition parties but rather join hands in delivering on what was promised Nigerians.
Baba Buhari has run his course, he is not perfect, and no human is, but let’s allow PMB relish his service to his fatherland in the solitude of his homeland.
Let the government of the day take responsibility. Political officeholders will come and go, but the institutions of governance will always be there. Let political officeholders run the government through the institutions of governance, teamwork, and accountability. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is at the threshold of history and Nigerians are looking forward to him delivering on his promises, and God Almighty will assist him!
