I meant what I said a week ago that if the Kano State Governor, Umar Ganduje, had been caught red handed and on camera taking bribes, under a Peoples Democratic Party administration, by now he would be an ex-Governor.
I got a lot of flak for that statement and the reason is because Nigerians have no sense of history. What happened last week is like ancient history to a Nigerian, how much more what happened last decade. It is sad, but true. Let us take a walk down memory lane.
On November 21, 2005, then Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, jumped bail in London after being arrested for suspected money laundering and other related charges. Within a week of his return from London to his state, the process for his impeachment had commenced and ten days after his return, he became an ex-Governor.
Alamieyeseigha was a PDP Governor, under a PDP Federal Government. But party solidarity did not save him when it was established that he had been mismanaging his state’s finances. Can President Buhari and the All Progressive Congress say the same?
Ever since the Kano Governor was caught on camera implementing Babanriga banking, there has been a very loud silence from the supposedly anti corruption government of President Muhammadu Buhari. Very strange indeed seeing as the President is never shy of accusing everybody but himself of corruption.
And that is why I find the treatment being meted out to former Ekiti state Governor, Ayo Fayose, most vindictive. The President showed his bands months ago by his barely concealed hatred for Fayose. And it was not just President Buhari that publicly condemned Fayose. Even his wife, Aisha, called Fayose a ‘mad dog’. Yet very strangely, the trio of Buhari, Aisha, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have suddenly become quiet ever since Governor Umar Ganduje was caught on camera taking bribes.
The whole Ganduje saga has exposed the hollowness of President Buhari’s so called anti-corruption war. Even the President’s supporters are no longer able to proffer convincing rebuttals to the charge that what we have is just an anti-opposition war.
These are the same people traversing social media to slander and impugn the image and reputation of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar.
Without seeing any form of evidence, whether video, documentary, or otherwise, they falsely claim Atiku is corrupt. Now they have a video where a serving APC Governor is receiving bribe and they refuse to believe that he is corrupt.
The worst is that the APC issued a statement saying they cannot of take action against Governor Umar Ganduje over his alleged bribery caught on video because he has gone to court, yet President Buhari banned people who are in court from traveling. Everybody on President Buhari’s travel ban list (except the dead ones) have a pending case against the government. So how are they different from Ganduje? Do we have one set of laws for APC members and another for PDP members?
And to imagine that Musa Ilyasu, a Commissioner in Governor Umar Ganduje’s administration, defended the Kano Governor’s bribery by saying (and I quote) “there‘s nothing new in this. Who asked the contractors to give the money to the governor?” Is this how APC/Buhari are fighting corruption? I am just heartbroken.
The saddest thing to me is that Ganduje is the recipient of Nigeria’s third highest National Honour, Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR). Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who has achieved so much for Nigeria, does not have an OFR, but a bribe taking Governor does. And we wonder why we are like this?
And it is not just Ganduje’s case that exposes President Buhari as a hypocrite. The double standard is not an isolated incident but a well honed state policy under Buhari’s leadership.
For example, The Buhari administration is taking Senator Ademola Adeleke to court for examination malpractice, yet this same government took Kemi Adeosun to the airport to escape Nigeria after being exposed for certificate forgery.
An Adeleke who allegedly committed malpractices at an examination is better than a President who did not even practice the examination. He who comes to equity, must come with clean hands. Before President Buhari charges Senator Adeleke, let him show us his certificate.
The double standard of this government are becoming strikingly obvious.
EFCC DETAINS Fayose, but APC RETAINS Ganduje. That is Buhari’s Nigeria for you. If APC members forge certificates, they are escorted to the airport to escape, like Kemi Adeosun. But if you are a PDP member, the police will escort you to court, like Senator Adeleke. This will not do. This will not do at all.
Finally, let me say to those youths that have been recruited by the Buhari Media Center to promote the Buhari government on social media: rather than just blindly do what they tell you, I challenge you to name one youth in Buhari’s cabinet. For almost four years that Buhari has ruled Nigeria, he could not find a single youth to appoint to his cabinet, and here you are on social media campaigning for such a government.
These BMC youths should remember that Nigeria became the world’s headquarters for extreme poverty under Buhari because of the massive failure to govern displayed by Buhari and his cabal. These guys have failed and it is time they gave way to a more effective leadership.
As I always say, it is impossible for a man who could not grow his own private business to be able to grow the economy of a nation.
Buhari had 150 cows in 2011 according to his asset declaration. In 2015, it was found that he declared the same number of cows as assets. If Atiku was the one that had 150 cows in 2011, do you think they will still be 150 cows today? Nigerians, be wise. Don’t mistake laziness and lack of business acumen for ‘integrity’. You have to be extremely clueless if you can’t make your cattle reproductive. Buhari is due for his pension. Let us all join hands to make that happen on February 16, 2019.
Reno’s Nugget
One of the most ungrateful things to do is complain to God about the life you have while billions pray to God to give them just a fraction of the life that you have. You complain to God about your parents while orphans are praying to God for somebody to love them. So, stop looking up to God for money and financial breakthroughs. He gave us brains and hands to get a job or a business. God is not some casino where you can get lucky. Look up to God for two things only-for redemption and things that you are unable to do by yourself #RenosNuggets
Reno’s Darts
Who knows what happened to Tam David West, the man who in 2015 promised that Buhari would reduce price of petrol to N40 per litre. The man has become as invisible as Buhari’s achievements. Poor man. He thought that by being a noisemaker he would become a newsmaker #RenosDarts
