The Muhammadu Buhari I Know

Buhari

 

By Ray Morphy

 

Let me begin this piece by saying that I worked with General Buhari for several years, from 2003 to 2006 and I found him to be an exemplary man.

Even before the years I worked with him, I knew him and even when the formal working relationship ended, we still maintained family contacts!

Moreover, his uncles Alhaji Mammam Daura and Zangon Daura were my late father's very close friends and political associates. Apart from this, as a young officer, he was put under my father's tutelage and guidance because he was handed over to my father by his uncles as Africans normally do. This was when he was posted to Ogoja in the early part of the civil war!

This background is necessitated by the need to show that I have had long association with him both as a person and as a family, so, I know the man! I can safely say that he is a good man, a humble man and a thoughtful man and that we must situate his struggle for the Presidency in the context of his passion and drive for the betterment of Nigeria and Nigerians!

And he is not the man to take rash decisions nor is he the man to be goaded into doing the wrong things by political expediency, therefore, I ask Nigerians to coolu temper and allow the man to move at his own pace. As is customary in democracy, a new government must be allowed a settling down period where it is not distracted by partisan attacks! Of course promises were made but I bet no one, not even the best economists knew the level of the nation's economic despondency that is now becoming clear! Who could have predicted that government statistics were fudged? Who could have known, when in the weeks before the election, the finance minister was still talking of the buoyancy of the nation's economy. My take is that it will take about a year to begin to unravel the many layers of falsehood that was constructed by the Jonathan administration before the Buhari Administration will be able to make accurate and meaningful strides!

As President, Buhari will do right by all and he will disappoint fundamentalist supporters as well as those who think that because they supported him, he will let them get away with corruption and brazen looting. The man is simply anti-corruption personified. He would make no deals and it will be out of his character to shield anybody just as it would be out of his character to unjustly persecute anybody!

In the days I worked with him closely, they were many instances of betrayal by many people. And I would go to him and urge some reaction and he would shake his head and say, "Ray, you are still young and your blood is too hot, you don’t understand now but you will grow to understand." We got series of humbling betrayals from northern governors working on behalf of Obasanjo and many of those are part of his support team today.

I remember meals in his Abuja lodgings and he will insist that I and Sam Nda-Isaiah come to table, even though we were very young compared to the elders and as well brought up people we were unwilling to go to table when many older people around had not been served.

In fact on one occasion when I took late Dr Harry Marshal to visit him at Kaduna, General Buhari was such a good host that Harry Marshall was overwhelmed. He kept praising the man throughout our drive back to Abuja. This was because General Buhari was the one who will get up to go get serviettes or pepper or whatever else was required at table. So great is the man's humility and friendliness.

In conclusion, I know that General Buhari is much wiser now than when he was military president, and I think he is going to do his best for the country as a whole despite party loyalty and affiliation.

I can only ask those who are up in arms to sheath their sword and give him a chance to prove his mettle. The elections are over and everyone should support him to govern the country for the benefit of all citizens.

I may also ask his supporters to know that elections are over and they should move from combativeness to reconciliation and governance. All elections that are keenly contested will certainly make use of negative tactics and that is the norm even in the West but once election is won and lost, the business of the welfare of the citizenry becomes the only focus.

Aluta!