By Donu Kogbara
Last week, I wrote about meeting President Muhammadu Buhari in London and hearing him make a speech (and answer questions from the audience) when he came to London to attend anti-corruption conferences that were hosted by Patricia Scotland, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and British Prime Minister, David Cameron.

I praised the President’s performance, particularly his claim that he didn’t need an apology from Cameron (who had described Nigeria as “fantastically corrupt”) and was only interested in the return of our stolen assets that are stashed in the UK.

I said that he possessed such a reassuring and fatherly aura that meeting him had made me glad that I voted for him, as well as making me feel that the terrible problems we are going through at the moment can be solved with him at the helm.

Terrible  problems

I also insulted John Bercow, the Speaker of the House Of Commons, for insulting us (he was overheard telling Cameron and Queen Elizabeth that he hoped that visiting Heads of State like Buhari were paying for their own airline tickets).

I concluded that Mr President should spend more time at home, allaying the fears of struggling Nigerians; and a lot of Vanguard readers responded to my comments. Here are some of the positive, negative and 50-50 reactions I received:

From: lesukpabi@gmail.com>

Dearest Donu, never again will I thumb past Sweet and Sour! Sincere apologies for avoiding your column all these years. Your piece on Baba’s aura is quite infectious. I am not close to the President, yet I feel what you aptly described.

I pray he reads this and takes your advice.  Do not stop writing Ma’m. 

Warm regards.  Leslie Otuije.

From: <eojiogah@gmail.com>

Hello Donu, I enjoyed your brilliant piece on “Buhari in London”. I was very happy with your apt description of John Bercow as a “patronising idiot” for his statement in that gossip session with the Queen. He’s a disgrace to his office and the people of the UK. I am positive Nigeria is on the right path to greatness and with the leadership of President Buhari, the next three years (or seven) will show us a glimpse of how much we can achieve as a people if we truly commit ourselves to progress.

God bless Nigeria.

Emmanuel Ogah. Asaba, Delta State.

From: A businessman who requested anonymity:

I also voted for Buhari and would do so again, given the paucity of choice. However,  I worry that it now seems that he did not come with much of a plan other than a narrow objective to launch a populist anti-corruption crusade that was to be the panacea to all our ills. Even on this he would achieve more, and stand the chance of institutionalising his quest, if he embarked on a massive and far-reaching legal reform (not just judges and the police prosecutions structure, but by working with the Nigerian Bar Association to also reform the entire legal profession).

As for not having much of a plan (and it’s not good enough to say you didn’t know how bad the problems were, because we all did), you don’t dawdle for six months to produce a cabinet and nine months before we start to be able to define the beginnings of an economic policy whilst an economic crisis rages.

Series of  somersaults

The deregulation of the petroleum downstream marketing sector last week, after a series of somersaults,  was something that could and should have been done seven or eight months ago, when the national mood was receptive and the market was right. I wish we could hear the words “I’m sorry, I made a mistake” and hope that from now on we will see a more up-and-running decisive Buhari who is more prepared to listen to those who understand economic issues more than he and his cronies do.

Buhari should not tar all wealth with the same brush because successful business people create wealth and jobs and generate tax revenue.

Trying to run a business in a Buhari era where policy is opaque (the devil is in the detail or lack of it!) and cash-strapped regulators, tax officials and security operatives have decided to run amok with “shake-downs” in the guise of carrying out their “duties”, is not the way to re-flate an economy, or curb corruption.

Keeping a bloated government that could and should be pruned to a third of its size and injected with professionals for much greater efficiency, is not the way to save money (though kudos to Adeosun, the Finance Minister, for siphoning out the thousands of ghost workers).

Perhaps if the Federal Government took these steps the “begging bowl” Governors would be forced to do likewise. They should never have been given the first bail out; now they want another. Where’s the leadership from the “do as I say” rather than “do as I do” Federal Government?!

I am writing you this email from my ipad as I sit in a petrol station queue in Lagos. I have been here for an hour and have had no electricity for four days. I am waiting for the “Change” we were promised during Buhari’s election campaign.

07067600185 Anonymous

I quite agree with you: The President should embark in less overseas travels and concentrate more on internal state visits. Let that fatherly aura be felt back home. Let him meet with the people and douse frustrations and restore hope.

08059184766 Hon Anagbogu

Donu, your article about Buhari’s London trip is a masterpiece. Mr President was right. He doesn’t need apologies, just the return of funds stashed abroad. Kudos to him. We should and must admit that this guy is on track and working hard to deal with the cabals, cartels and thieving bastards who have almost ruined our beloved country. Let’s salute his courage and support him.

08086291166 Kelechi Ugochukwu

Bravo Donu. The truth is Nigeria is deeply corrupt but Cameron need not remind us because it was his forefathers who laid the foundation for our corruption.

Cosy foreign  ivory tower

But I still have faith in Buhari. He will turn things  around if his team gets it right.  

08107989469 Oduwa Sam

You should have asked our President when our suffering will end because we have never has it so bad! I don’t blame you sha. Life in London is quite different!

I feel obliged to briefly respond to Sam (and others who have expressed a similar view) and say that I don’t live in a cosy foreign ivory tower all the time and also spend significant amounts of time in Nigeria, so totally understand the pains to which he is referring!