Should the bill to grant “repentant” terrorists education abroad scale through the Nigerian Senate, US, UK, Canada, EU, Australia and selected Africa countries will unquestionably ban Nigeria from both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas in light of the fact that no sensible government will open its borders for terrorists, ‘repentant’ or not.
The Buhari administration had told the world that the closure of borders has reduced insecurity drastically due to containment of the inflow of ammunitions through the borders yet Boko Haram is daily executing Nigerians like chicken.
On Sunday, January 26, 2020, the Boko Haram sect reportedly murdered four and injured many more in twin suicide bomb attacks at a mosque in Gwoza, Borno State.
Likewise, on Sunday, February 9, 2020, report had it that Boko Haram insurgents also killed about 30 people in their sleep, while they destroyed 18 vehicles and abducted women and children in the attack which took place in Auno, a major highway town in Borno State.
A few hours after President Muhammadu Buhari’s condolence visit to Maiduguri on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, over the killing on Sunday of 30 people on Auno town, Boko Haram made another push for the troubled town.
The insurgents at about 7 pm that day, attacked Jiddari Polo, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, causing many residents to flee from the town.
Yet the Buhari government keeps claiming over and over again that the Islamists sect has been technically defeated!
One could remember vividly when President Buhari came to power in 2015, he pledged to more than 180 million Nigerians that he would crush the insurgents within few months.
The Number Four agenda of the Buhari administration’s manifestoes on Politics and Governance is to prevent the abuse and misuse of executive, legislative and public offices, through greater accountability, transparency, strict, and implementable anti-corruption laws; through the strengthening and sanitising the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC as independent entities.
Judging from the above paragraph, therefore, it appears that President Buhari and his team used deception to gain power in 2015. This is so because no government in Nigeria since the return of democracy in 1999 had abused and misused the power of the executive like the Buhari administration does.
It is noticeable that, since this present administration, there has never been regard for the rule of law and a glaring example of that was the detention of ex-National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, for years, despite various court rulings that granted him bail.
The Buhari administration also detained the publisher of Sahara Reporters and Convener of Revolution Now, Mr Omoyele Sowore and his colleague for months, despite different court rulings for their release.
“I will push for more robust support in the Security and Economic stability of the West-African sub-region and African Continent as a whole. I will seek and maintain a close and frank relationship with all West-Africa; Special relationship with South Africa and its Sub-region, United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, European Union, Asia, and the Middle East, “, Buhari said during electioneering campaigns.
‘Sai Baba’ as popularly addressed by his admirers, in 2015, also promised to push for international support for the security and economic stability of our country. In the contrary, Buhari closed the borders, a policy that, by popular judgment, keeps enriching his people in the north and impoverishing their Southern fellows.
The Buhari government’s negligence on security also led to the immigrant visa ban on Nigeria by the US government.
Yet, a bill that will permit ‘repentant’ Boko Haram members, who have killed over 35, 000 Nigerians, rendered more than two million homeless and hundreds abducted, to study abroad has now passed the first reading. This is more frustrating when one realizes that Boko Haram in Hausa language means ‘Education is Forbidden’.
So, why the foolishness (permit me this) of wasting innocent tax payer’s sweat to educate members of the sect abroad?
Common sense, indeed, is not common. Being a professor doesn’t mean you won’t be selfish or lack the knowledge of what your people want. Nigerians voted 109 senators to represent them at the red chamber, yet none of them would care about the implications of sending terrorists abroad for education. Ostensibly after graduation, one of them could end up most likely as Nigeria’s version of Osama bin Laden.
It may be recalled that Buhari also promised to amend the constitution to remove immunity from prosecution of elected public officers. This, like other promises, is yet to manifest.
Here is a government that came on board on the matra of anti -corruption fight, yet it is now found to have energized corruption in its policies. Under Buhari’s watch, the then Secretary to the Government of Federation, Babachir Lawal, was indicted in a multimillion naira grass-cutting contract scam. His Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, was also accused of N500 million bribery allegation from MTN, including another N29.9m contract scam.
In 2018, his minister of state for transport, (Aviation) now Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, and his team arrived in London to launch the ‘dead on arrival’ Nigeria Air. Sirika was later accused of siphoning over N1.2b on a phoney Nigeria Air project, which was eventually suspended by the federal government.
Buhari, the ‘Mr Integrity’, nominated and appointed former Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, who was charged for N108b fraud as a Minister of the Niger Delta. The EFCC is still investigating allegations that the former governor, embezzled the funds during his tenure between 2007 and 2015.
In spite of Buhari administration’s acclaimed anti-corruption posture, a video trended online of Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje’s allegedly taking bribe in thousands of US dollars from an undisclosed associate.
Another of his allies who is not left out on the list is a former governor of Rivers State and presently Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, who was accused of alleged misappropriation of N97bn through the sale of the state’s valued assets.
These are a few among very many corruption cases of Buhari’s allies and party chiefs.
My considered opinion, therefore, is that President Buhari sits back and look at how Nigeria which is fast declining socially and economically under his watch can regain its fading glory.
-Jumu’ah Abiodun, a journalist based in Lagos, Nigeria, writes via jumuah.abiodun@gmail.com