Chairman of the Middle Belt Traditional Council (MBTC), Chief Ochi Ode Emmanuel, has described the three years of President Muhammadu Buhari administration as lack-lustre, stressing that he has performed very far from expectation.
Emmanuel, who was reacting to US President Donald Trump’s statement describing President Buhari as “lifeless,” maintained that right from the beginning, many things had been wrong with the administration, saying that even the anti-corruption crusade had been a hoax.
He lamented that while the administration claimed to be fighting corruption, those who had corruption cases were being embraced, adding “what is so annoying and hypocritical about the anti-corruption war is that anyone that supports his re-election is declared corruption-free.
“Any dissenting voice or person is seen to be enmeshed in corruption and should be a visitor to the anti-corruption agencies.”
He wondered why former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, who he said, “has corruption cases hanging on his neck, should be hugging President Buhari and be given accolades by the President’s immediate constituency simply because he has become a die-hard supporter of Buhari’s re-election bid.”
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Emmanuel, who spoke in Lagos, lamented that from the inception of the administration, President Buhari failed to put round pegs in round holes by not appointing technocrats to man the economic sectors of his government, but preferred to run the economy with lawyers, hence development had been retarded.
“You cannot expect much result in such kind of arrangement, not to talk of implementation. No wonder, President Buhari administration cannot excite someone like Trump, who is outspoken and does not edit his feeling,” Emmanuel stressed.
The MBTC boss recalled that recently the media was awash with stories that some foreign leaders had advised President Buhari not to go for second term, adding that Trump might have had some information about Nigerian leader’s state of health, which had all along been hidden from Nigerians.
Emmanuel maintained that Trump might have been trying to indirectly warn Buhari of the dangers of defying popular advice against his second term bid, adding that at the appropriate time, Nigerians would have the option to decide the President’s fate at the polls.
He said: “The option is left for Nigerian public to exercise their right and vote massively for their leader of choice, throwing away all manner of sentiments.
“I believe Nigerians have discerning mind. We are more politically mature than before.”
