President Buhari Cannot Afford To Fail, Momodu Says

The APC came to power seemingly only prepared for war against everyone including itself
A country that sat precariously on tenterhooks needed to be careful and magnanimous in victory.


Even if there were terrible elements to be tackled, corrected and punished, the new government should have taken its time to study, plan and ultimately launch its offensive. Nigerians should have been allowed to enjoy their rare moment of giddy adulation. The last time we experienced such was after the presidential election of June 12, 1993, won by the generalissimo, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, but was recklessly annulled by the military government for reasons never disclosed and for which full apologies are yet to be offered.

Unfortunately, the new ruling party mismanaged it’s hour of glory. The APC came to power seemingly only prepared for war against everyone including itself. They forgot to learn useful lessons from the uncommon example of the Madiba, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, who immediately embraced his enemies after spending 27 years mostly in solitary confinement. Mandela must have discovered the wisdom that no nation can ever thrive in a perpetual state of chaos and mayhem. The hawks of Nigeria are used to feeding on corpses and would never forgive any sin of commission or omission.

The hawks were more interested in resurrecting and sustaining Brand Buhari of old – a military dictator and not that of the born-again Democrat that was sold to the people during the political campaigns.


They studiously ignored the fact that Buhari no longer had dictatorial powers of life and death and would now have to bow to Constitutional authorities in the National Assembly and the Judiciary.

The acolytes gave him no time to even think of how to make the economy a priority or upgrade the Obasanjo methodology of fighting corruption. They were convinced all the masses wanted to hear was the sing-song of CRUCIFY HIM.

They were definitely averse to the traditional Yoruba philosophy that explained the fickleness of the human thought process: Enu ti won fi pe Adegun naa ni won a fi pe Adeogun (the same mouth that hailed the crown would later abuse the crown).

Those who suggested caution were labeled as supporting corruption or worse still as corrupt elements fighting back! They were called wailing wailers and such nonsense. But we knew from the knowledge of Nigerian history that whatever war would be fought must be carefully considered, orchestrated and balanced with stabilizing the country financially and economically.

Starting the war precipitately was bound to destabilise our financial equilibrium. “Before you promise to donate dresses to someone else won’t it be nice to see what you’re adorning yourself”, according to a Yoruba adage. We sought to kill corruption and told the citizens to endure while the politicians continued to swim in opulence.


In the midst of all the confusion, somewhere in the country’s South-South region, the Niger-Delta Avengers began an unprecedented assault on Nigeria’s oil installations, decimating whatever was left of Nigeria’s oil wealth in the wake of a global oil crisis. An already ailing economy came crashing down to its knees. Observers of the scenario have described the fresh crisis in the Niger Delta region as a revenge mission targeted at what was largely perceived as a ruthless offensive by the Buhari administration against the PDP and key figures who served under the Jonathan administration which largely benefitted Niger-Delta politicians.

I had warned nothing should be done to humiliate Jonathan who spent five out of the 16 years of PDP in power. The surrounding circumstances remain unclear, but one thing is clear; the cookies have finally crumbled