The former Chairman of the Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, has derided former President Muhammadu Buhari, who is reportedly exiled in the United Kingdom due to insurmountable insecurity in his home state, Katsina.
Reports had filtered in that President Buhari is currently holed up in the King’s enclave and cannot return to his hometown, Daurau in Katsina State, over fear of being killed or abduction by his kinsmen, Fulani bandits.
Reacting on his Twitter handle, @ChidiOdinkalu, Prof. Odinkalu regretted that Buhari spent nearly six decades in positions of power, including almost ten years as Head of State cum president but cannot go home.
Odinkalu tweeted:
“After nearly six decades in various positions of power, including 9 yrs & 6 months as head of state, @MBuhari can’t go home because he made things worse instead of better. He is now enjoying the safety of a country built by other people.”
He also referenced an article entitled “How insecurity in Katsina pushed Buhari into ‘exile’ to UK” to buttress the point.
According to the report, “top ex-government officials… have fled the country to the peaceful sanctuary provided by their fellow politicians abroad, while regrettably wasting the opportunity they had to turn their own country to a safe haven.”
The writer said: “If you are abroad, particularly in the United Kingdom, you may likely bump into one or two top ex-government officials, who are now quietly enjoying their loot in the tranquility of London.
“Then, if you have an opportunity to exchange pleasantries with them, they will tell you the usual story of being abroad on holiday, short visit or for medical check.
“Well, the reality is that they have fled the country to the peaceful sanctuary provided by their fellow politicians abroad, while regrettably wasting the opportunity they had to turn their own country to a safe haven.
“Surprisingly, some of the people you will never imagine leaving the country are already enjoying summer abroad.
“If the reports making rounds that Muhammadu Buhari, the immediate past president, has fled the country, is something to hold on to, then the exodus of Nigerians abroad has received a huge boost.
“It also offers a perfect scene for a make belief storyline, while leaving the viewers with the height of irony and hypocrisy.”
The report cited “a concerned Nigerian, who described himself as Distinguished Everest” who recently tweeted:
“Katsina is unsafe for Buhari. He is living in the UK now. His children are outside the country. Katsina citizens are still living in Katsina with its insecurities.”
It recalled that few weeks to his handover to the then president-elect, Buhari in a meeting with governors of the All Progressive Congress (APC) had assured that he would be moving to Daura, his hometown in Katsina State, and spend six months before relocating to Kaduna, where he would spend his retirement.
After spending a few days in Daura, the report said that the former president has relocated to London, a place he considered more conducive and that offers the peace he needs on his retirement.
“It is obvious that the former president is fleeing from the escalating insecurity in the country, especially in the North-West, his geopolitical zone, where banditry and kidnapping have turned into a small hell for the inhabitants,” the piece stated.
Buhari’s ex-media aide, Garba Shehu, on his part, defended Buhari’s absence at his home at Government Reserved Area (GRA) in Daura, where he planned to stay for six months.
“He chose to go home in Daura hoping to find the type of quiet he wished for himself, but realising that this was not the case, visitors trooping in morning, day and night, he moved out to a more distant place,” Shehu said.
Pundits, however, think that the former president is running away from insecurity, which he paid lip service to for the eight years he was in power.
“If his own people could boo him when he came to commission projects in Katsina in January this year, and went to the extent of throwing stones at vehicles, which were part of his convoy, then that was a sign of what will happen if he decides to relocate to Daura on his retirement.
“The truth is that many were killed in Katsina, his hometown by bandits, many kidnapped and the president could not do anything. The people are angry with him and staying with them on retirement and now that the state security apparatus is not fully deployed for his safety is a risk,” Mathias Oniwoh, a security expert, was quoted as saying.
Another observer argued that if Katsina is not safe enough for Buhari, then Kaduna, which he chose as his retirement home, and also closer to Abuja, would have offered him the peace he desired, instead of fleeing abroad as if there are no troubles in the United Kingdom.
He reportedly said:
“I think the former president is reaping from what he sowed. Imagine if Buhari had fought insecurity head-on, removed non-performing army chiefs, sought foreign collaborations on time, raised the morale of soldiers and removed sentiments, insecurity would have been a thing of the past.”
Other reports show that some former ministers and political office holders under Buhari’s administration have also “Japa”, an euphemism for relocation, out of the country for fear of prosecution by anti-graft agencies.
According to some sources, some of those public office holders had relocated their families, making it easy to sneak in and out of the country, moving their loots abroad.
News Band reached out to Garba Shehu over the veracity of that claim but he has yet to respond at the moment of this publication. Read more.
—