The Paragraph below is reproduced verbatim, courtesy of the Vanguard Newspaper of July 13, 2019. from a story titled, "Buhari on new cabinet: I’ll never appoint ‘strangers’ again.
“Many at this dinner meeting are saying they want to see the list of the proposed cabinet so that they can go on leave peacefully. I’m very much aware about it; I’m under tremendous pressure on it. But the last cabinet which I headed, most of them, majority of them, I didn’t know them. I had to accept the names and recommendations from the party and other individuals. I worked with them for three and half years at least—meeting twice or two weeks in a month. So I didn’t know them. But this time around I’m going to be quite me – me in the sense that I will pick people I personally know,” President Buhari, Vanguard News Paper, July 13, 2019
Please, find below, my opinion on the same issue, written ONE MONTH EARLIER in an essay, titled, "The Dereliction of the National Stadium, Abuja, and The Exigency of Decentralization of Power in Nigeria."
"The situation is made worse when you have a President and his trusted lieutenants who do not know who is who outside the realm of power at Abuja. Making one man the head of three Federal Ministries (Works, Power, and Housing) in four years, when you have thousands of highly qualified Nigerians wasting away unengaged, is the height of disconnect. Four years later, the Minister didn't know what to do with the two most important Federal Highways in Lagos State, his own state."
"No one expects you to be a superstar or a super brain in leadership approach. But as a leader, you are expected to know where you are lacking in ideas and visions. It is your ability as a leader to identify those with the requisite ideas or visions to occupy that vacuum ... and do the right thing, makes for good leadership. Papa Awo surrounded himself, not just with people he could trust, but visionary guys who were not afraid to push him and tell him what to do to ensure the fulfillment of his set goals." By Alex Aidaghese - June 14, 2019.
In light of the confessions, my case is made: The President doesn't know his own people. His cabal and inner circle of friends do not know who we as a people. And that's why the ills of nepotism and godfatherism will continue to dominate the Buhari Administration. Until he overcomes that disconnect or disability, his professed mantra of change will remain nothing but illusions. Human being catalyzes changes. And to those of you censoring me and my opinions all over the social media, maybe it is time you leave me alone. If you guys are doing the right thing, knowing about what ails the people and the way out, President Buhari wouldn't be making these confessions.
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