A Presidential Betrayal and the Reinstatement of Maina.

[Article] - Debating the Rule of Law: Why I Stand With President Buhari

"Where were your indictments when the former Chairman of the Pension Reform Taskforce, Alhaji Abdul Rasheed Maina absconded with billions of pension funds rather than confront his accusers with cold hard facts and a detailed account of his stewardship?" Culled from "Debating the Rule of Law: Why I stand with President Buhari."  Feb 1, 2016, at 10:29 AM. Published by Nigeria Village Square.

That was me, Mr. Alex Aidaghese, questioning the wisdom and the audacity of our legal activists as well as commentators in the social media who had issues with President Buhari's continued incarceration of Dasuki. The essay calms nerves by injecting an aggressive progressive narrative into the debate - of an administration, upholding a philosophy of zero tolerance in our criminal justice system. I was wrong. I cited the disappearance of Maina as a justification for the continued detention of Dasuki, not knowing that as Nigerians were digesting my essay, the Buhari Presidency and the cabal were strategizing on how to ferry Maina from self-imposed exile back into power. The essay set a record. It was the most read story on NVS for the year 2016. 

That wasn't my first time. I stood by President Jonatha in another well-read opinion I published at Punch Newspaper (signed as Nonaligned Progressive) when he was confronted with massive criticisms by Boko Haran sympathizers following his proscription of the sect. My opinion garnered the most comments at the Punch Newspaper than any other story anywhere within the Nigerian social media scene for that day and the following day - more than four hundred comments (all of them in support of my opinion) and more than one hundred thumb-ups. I have always considered it patriotic to stand with my President whenever he is overwhelmed with troubling issues bordering on statecraft. I do this, conscious of the fact that I have a voice - a reasonable voice and a listening audience to boot.

In light of these disturbing developments, therefore, do I have to apologize to Nigerians for my blind loyalty to my President haven justified his action, citing a fugitive from justice who has since been stealthily reabsorbed into the political system? I am not so sure. President Buhari has to apologize to Nigerians for his betrayal. The reinstatement of Alhaji Abdul Rasheed Maina into the Nigerian Civil Service by his administration (as reported by the news media) is beyond the pale. But it tells one pathetic story: a revelation of the real Buhari who has no control over his acolytes; tolerant of their profligacy and financial recklessness, whether as head of the Petroleum Trust Fund, at NNPC and as a President. Yes, it punches holes in an age-old facade of "unparalleled integrity," "tough on crime," and of a "commitment to strict financial discipline."

As things stand now, only President Buhari can rebrand his bruised and battered ego. And that depends on whether the taciturn Buhari is in touch with reality, upholding to the fundamentals of constitutional democracy, of a government of the people, by the people and for the people as opposed to Kingship, Feudal Lordship, or Military Dictatorship.