STORIES:Buhari indeed belongs to somebody

Firstcass newsline special

I belong to everybody. And I belong to nobody"- President Muhammed Buhari.
The above quotation is one the quotable quotes from the inaugural
speech of President Muhammadu Buhari at the Eagle Square, Abuja during
his swearing in. Since the quotation went viral, there have been
several misconceptions or misinterpretation of the quotation.
Precisely, many social commentators are still trying to decode its
true meaning. If viewed from the context of trying to establish his
independence in taking vital decisions in the proper administration of
the country and not just trying to play politics with the destiny of
the nation, Buhari may well be right. It will be recalled that his
first shot at the seat of power came through the barrels of guns as a
military dictator in 1984. He is not entirely new to the seat of
government. But this is his first as a democratically elected
President and Commander -in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces. And
that is why he is trying to make populist statements like the one
credited to him above.
But does the President actually belong to nobody? No, we beg to
disagree. In actual fact, President Buhari belongs to somebody or a
group of bodies. Apart from God the Almighty who created him and
grants him long life coupled with good health to cope with the stress
of the electioneering and also protected him from the bombs of some
alleged assassins that reportedly claimed lives of some of his
bodyguards in Kaduna as soon as he emerged as the presidential
torch-bearer of the All Progressives Congress, Buhari belongs to the
party that gave him the platform to run for the presidential election
and in particular to the chieftains of the party. If the statement is
meant to serve as a notice to checkmate them on the overbearing
posture that some of them may intend to take that can hinder the
dramatic and pragmatic changes that he plans to bring to bear in the
governance of the country, he may be right. But as stakeholders in the
project leading to his election as the President, Buhari cannot
completely rule out the party's influences on some of his policies.
This is because, the electorate and the new opposition party, the
Peoples Democratic Party, will hold him (the President) and his party
(the APC) jointly accountable for the fulfilment or otherwise of their
campaign promises. So, the President belongs to his party as his
primary constituency and to some extent accountable to the party's
leadership. The President himself too knows that he owes his party
leadership the courtesy of consulting them before making crucial
political appointments or policy statements. The Presidency and the
party leadership may not always agree, but it is the duty of Mr.
President to carry his party along, otherwise there may be cracks in
the system.
Secondly, the President belongs to his friends/loyalists and voters
who voted for him and ensured that their votes counted. A majority of
these sets of people may not be card-carrying members of the APC. Some
of them were protest or sympathy voters who swigged their votes in
favour of the APC in response to the hate campaigns mounted against
Buhari by the supporters of the immediate past President Goodluck
Jonathan. And so he belongs to them. He is accountable to them in
order to keep their hope alive that the moment for positive change has
indeed come. This is the time for action and not just for rhetoric and
business as usual that Nigerians are tired of.
And to underscore the fact that the President belongs to somebody
especially his kinsmen, the North is reportedly insisting on occupying
the sensitive positions of Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Staff and
that may be one of the main reasons why such appointments have not
been made. With that statement, Mr. President intends that everybody
will have a sense of belonging in his administration. But in reality,
this may not be feasible, if the body language of the Northerners is
anything to go by
Firstclassnewsline.net