Reactions, according to news sources greeted the reported claims ofJunaid Mohammed , a second republic lawmaker, who said that over 99 percent of Buhari’s appointments are not based on merit. The above claim could easily be interpreted in the opinion of many independent observers that president Buhari is not fair in his allocation of personnel to position of service and leadership which in itself is an indictment on his intergity and could further led to or create a controversial atmosphere.
Meanwhile, as many citizens kept speculating about the reasons behind such statements, the lawmaker further clarified that he made the disclosure in reaction to comments credited to Matthew Kukah, bishop of the Catholic diocese of Sokoto. The bishop had accused Buhari of nepotism.
Speaking in a press conference with news outlet, The PUNCH on Friday 15th January 2021, the former lawmaker insisted that the issue talked about by Kukah, the Catholic bishop on the nepotistic actions of the president was real.
“I have no problem with part of his (Kukah’s) statement, but I don’t believe he is historically accurate by saying that coups come about when Muslims or northerners find themselves being marginalised,” he said.
“But I have to admit that the core issue he raised about nepotism is real, and of course marginalisation of some certain sections of the country is real and that nepotism is in favour of people that are close to Buhari, particularly his friends, cronies, relations and in-laws.
“Over 99 percent of the appointments Buhari made were not based on merit.
“Anybody who tells you that a nation cannot have more than one civil war is ignorant of history. Several countries, including the English and the Scots as well as Russia, Italy and Germany, have faced several wars. The French have gone through several civil wars.
“There must be a sense of justice among the people. If there is no justice, no matter how much you pray or no matter how much you try to convolute, the real reasons for the war will rear its ugly head and you will see yourself walking into another disaster.”
It is a given that nepotic behaviour do not sit well with anyone in any form, be it within a group, organisation, society or country. There would always be grievances and expressions of sentiments as well as controversial reactions especially by those who feel they are not beneficiaries of the government in power.
In light of the above accusations and criticisms against the presidency, some Nigerians oftentimes in the past have felt the same way with regards to issues bothering on marginalisation especially, with regards to public allocation of resources and majority has more or less cried out. A perfect example are people from the Niger Delta region whose leadership and people, over the years have continued to clamour against negligence from the federal government and the dilapidated infrastructures available to them despite the huge contributions to the nation’s resources and treasury from that same region.
While many of the citizens who claimed they have learnt their lessons, are patiently waiting to make their decisions and opinions count in the forth coming nation’s elections, some others are directly or indirectly creating general awareness and sensitisation of people’s mindset to understand the intricacies of politics and the need for a genuine developmental change which will bring about fairness and equitable distribution and allocation of national resources as well as political appointments of personnels into offices to serve, irrespective of their state of origin, regional ethnicity or religious affiliations but purely based on merit and qualifications in all spheres of governance.
Gift Joseph Okpakorese
Staff Writer
