By Ehi Ekhator
The real issue with the present President Muhammadu Buhari led administration has been its capacity to cheat the electorates with the truth. The present administration rot on Nigerians guilelessness to continue nourishing them with the baseless untruths.
However, it is presently expected that any individual who challenge the happenings in the nation at current are either oppositions or paid writers. The tactics always works if it means painting the media black in order to buy the government notoriety.
When President Buhari came into office, he made a few promises. Opposition then raised alert that the candidate of the APC was sick however the now Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed dimissed the speculation.
Health vacation begun in June 2016 when Buhari headed out to treat ear infection in London, an announcement that pulled in negative reactions from Nigerians. The general population were frustrated since there are qualified specialists in Nigeria that could treat ear. What Nigerians didn’t know then was it was more than ear treatment.
On 19th January, the Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina said the President is “on a short leave which is part of his annual vacation. During the vacation, the President will also undergo routine medical check-ups.”
After the close of 10 days, the news proceeded with that the President needed to do more medical tests which pulled in some terrible speculations that President Buhari was truly sick.
As clear as it might have been, the Presidency kept up a poker face with the expectation of misdirecting the general population. Femi Adesina went from one TV and Radio station to the next, spreading the news that the President was healthy. Adesina swung himself to a town messenger with no gong after a specific correspondent went to the Abuja House in London uninvited to see with his own eyes if the President was hale and hearty.
Shockingly, rather than meet up for clarification, the correspondent was given over to the London police, another activity that got Nigerians considering. A 10 day vacation turned to 49 days and Buhari got back home as yet looking worn down. Buhari further, and indirectly approved the speculations of Nigerians when he asked for more days to rest before he resumed office.
Since he took control over from the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Buhari has turned to a vampire that is barely seen amid the day time. It would appear that his skin can no longer withstand the hotness of the African sun as he stayed incommunicado.
Frequently, the media office has accepted the accountability of the President trying to cover for his wastefulness and ineffectualness from his health status. The President on three events have missed the Federal Executive Council (FEC) Meeting.
Buhari remained the only President with the title “UK based President” as he invest more energy in England than he remains in the nation.
He greant more personal interviews abroad than he converses with his nation media.
During the 2015 presidential campaign, President Buhari told the people that it wasn’t right for government authorities to look for medical help abroad as the nation has great and qualified medicinal specialists.
He promised to clam down on the purported health tourism. In his discourse in April 2016, Buhari said the nation lost around $1bn to health tourism consistently, including that he would not urge his administration to travel to another country for medical treatment particularly when there is proof of ability in Nigeria.
It appears the President has overlooked his previous statement as he continues running abroad for a similar reason while his watchdogs concoct a super story to spread to the general population through some government supported media.
On April 12, Buhari missed FEC meeting, placing Osinbajo in control. This started hypothesis that the President was still extremely debilitated, however not surprisingly, Lai Mohammed discharged statement clarifying that the President was engaged with different issues, subsequently his nonattendance.
He stated: “We are not surprised that the people are wondering whether Mr President ill again; he is not ill; he is not sick and I’m sure that later in the day or tomorrow morning, he will back in the office.
“Is not unusual, even if Mr president is hail and hearty and everything is going on well, for the VP to come and preside over meetings of the federal executive council.
“The fact that Mr President is not in the office does not mean that he is not working. I have just been told now that the secretary to the government, Babachir Lawal, is already with him in the residence working. So, the fact that you did not see him in the office does not mean that he is not working at all.
“Understandably, that has sparked a lot of controversies. I just want to make this clear, Mr President is in town. Mr president is attending to other issues. Mr president looked at the agenda, it was a very light agenda and decided that the Vice President should preside.
“It is not unusual for the kind of interest that is shown especially given the fact that Mr president was away for a while on medical treatment. We are not surprised that people will be wondering is he ill again?”
On the 19th of April, the President for the second time missed the same FEC meeting. This time, the meeting did not hold as the Chamber where it is normally held was abandoned. Nigerians took to the media to express stresses over such conditions where the President is missing twice.
Without dawdling, Buhari’s media assistant, Garba Shehu led the pack in guarding his boss. Shehu ascribed the reason for the abandonment to Easter, including that memos were not circulated to Ministers.
“The staff on the Council secretariat resumed on Tuesday after the Easter. There was no time to prepare and circulate memos to ministers.
“By practice, the ministers receive council memos two or three days ahead of meetings because they must read them and sometimes undertake research.
“It is not a rubber stamp council so everyone must prepare themselves well for debates.
” He said.
For the third time in one month, the President on the 26th did not go to the same FEC meeting. Instead of be straightforward with Nigerians, Lai Mohammed led the pack on this one to disclose to Nigerians that Buhari was all the while resting.
This additionally implies Buhari has been resting since he came back to the nation which support the theory that the President is still sick. Nigerians had communicated their outrage towards the nonstop lies previously that they would react legitimately if the Presidency could be sufficiently straightforward to give them access on what’s truly amiss with their President.
Tending to State House reporters toward the finish of the FEC meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Mohammed said the president “asked that he should be allowed to rest and the vice president should preside.”
It appears the President is not ready to do his primary obligation as the last time he was found in the public was at the mosque in Aso Villa, looking weak and faint.
President Buhari is now working from home, if truly he is even aware of what’s happening in his office let alone the nation.
Will Nigerians still unilaterally vote for Buhari in 2019, should he aspire?
