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<\/p>\nHe said this in a birthday tribute in honour of the president.<\/p>\n
Titled \u201cWhy we love Buhari\u201d, Adesina described the president as a man of integrity, man of accountability, one whose word you can take to the bank.<\/p>\n
He wrote: \u201cDon\u2019t misunderstand me. Not all estimated 196 million Nigerians share this sentiment. Not possible. There are those who are passionately opposed to the President. They are a very vocal minority, who abhor his integrity, hate his sense of accountability, and even want him dead. But we are not talking about those who Fela Anikulapo-Kuti called \u201copposite people.\u201d On this day of his 76th birthday, we are talking of the teeming masses who love Buhari, and who can go to the ends of the earth for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have said it before, and say it again. It will take a while before Nigeria will see another political leader with such ability to pull an unsolicited and uninduced crowd like Muhammadu Buhari. Anywhere he goes, he doesn\u2019t have to procure the crowd. They turn out in their numbers to see and hear him. They will trek from Africa to China, walk from Cape Town to Cairo, all to see, hear and cheer the man they love.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy? Many reasons. He is an honest man. My father, that stern educationist, who ran the home and the schools he administered with an iron hand, used to tell us: \u201cHonesty is the best policy.\u201d That was true over 50 years ago when he drummed it into our ears, and it is still true today. And will remain true tomorrow, and forever. That is why we love Buhari. He is an honest man, who will tell the truth to his own hurt.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a recent meeting with governors, while discussing the seemingly knotty issue of minimum wage, the President told them to level with him. He said he knew that general elections were by the corner, \u201cbut I don\u2019t like to lie to anybody. I will still like to tell Nigerians the truth, and nothing but the truth, as to what we can truly afford to pay.\u201d Consultations are still ongoing.<\/p>\n
Some people will give you fibs, just because they want to hoodwink you, and get your votes. They will announce that they\u2019ve increased the salaries of fictitious workers, even when truly they are owing many of their employees. But not President Buhari. Nothing for him is a matter of life and death. Truth is the best thing in a man\u2019s keeping. Make yourself an honest man, and there is one rascal less in the world. That is why we love the man.<\/p>\n
Accountability. I will never forget a promise Buhari made to the crowd at a campaign rally in Lagos in 2011, when he ran with Pastor Tunde Bakare of Latter Rain Assembly. Two honest men. \u201cEvery kobo that comes into the treasury will be used for the good of Nigerians.\u201d That\u2019s the accountable man, who would not dip his hands into the treasury for private gains, who will not line his pocket at the expense of the people. That is why we love him.<\/p>\n
Just over a week ago, I met a man who was an accountant at the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), when the then Gen. Buhari was chairman. Executive Chairman, who could do anything he wanted, since the place was awash with billions of petrol money.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him his salary would be N200,000 monthly,\u201d the man recounted.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said it was too much, since he still drew pension from public coffers as a retired General and former head of state. I don\u2019t know how he calculated it, but he said he would rather be paid N84,000 monthly. And that was what he earned.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet some people say don\u2019t follow this honest man. Till he has one tooth left in his mouth, and is bent double over his walking stick, we will, no matter what they say. Honesty is still the best policy. Today, tomorrow, and forever.<\/p>\n
See all the positions he has held in this country. Governor of North-east, then made up of what is now six states. Minister of Petroleum for over three years. Head of State for 20 months. Chairman of PTF for many years. Yet he remains a man of modest means. That is why we love him.<\/p>\n
In the early days of this administration, when oil prices had crashed to as low as 39 dollars per barrel (from as high as 115 in preceding years, stabilizing at over $100 for a long time, yet we had no savings, no reserves), it was usually a spectacle to see the President and the then Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, seated and apportioning funds for the week. Depending on what was in the coffers, they prioritized spending, just like traders with low capital base.<\/p>\n
Nigeria had been run into a hole. No reserve for the rainy day, and we were being badly beaten by the rain. Yet salaries must be paid as at when due. At least 27 states could not meet their obligations, till President Buhari gave them a lifeline. And then, one day, a counsel was given at a meeting: \u201cThis is the time to ideally cut the strength of the federal civil service by at least half, as we may not be able to carry the load for long.\u201d It made a lot of fiscal sense. But to the President, it was nonsense. \u201cIf it lies within my powers, I will ensure that no single person loses his or her job. Yes, it may be the right thing to do, looking at the state of our finances, but I won\u2019t do it,\u201d President Buhari said.<\/p>\n
And you say we shouldn\u2019t love this President? We will love him till Africa and China meet.<\/p>\n
A confederacy has arrayed itself against the honest man. A crooked confederacy. Anybody that is anybody in the pantheon of questionable character is there. Are Nigerians fools? After their eyes have been opened, will they willfully afflict themselves with blindness again? Not on their lives! The country will never go back to the slave market. Not after we have known prudence, experienced accountability, and we are are inching out of the morass in which we were soused and marooned.<\/p>\n
For more than five decades, mere lip service was paid to diversification of the economy. But we remained a mono-product country. Oil. So, whenever the price of oil crashed in the international market, we simply crashed with it. Now gradually, and inexorably, we are on the road to a diversified economy. Wonders are being done in agriculture. Mining is flexing muscles. Manufacturing is showing prospects. All in less than four years.<\/p>\n
What of infrastructure? The sum of N2.7 trillion spent in two years. The roads are roaring to life. The rail is snaking in. Power is powering back. Wonders are being unfolded in different parts of the country. And we shouldn\u2019t love this President? We will, no matter what the naysayers say.<\/p>\n
Hear pensioners rejoice: This is the best administration we\u2019ve had since the advent of Contributory Pension Scheme 14 years ago.<\/p>\n
Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State spoke at a meeting of governors with the President last Friday. He said since the creation of the state, this was the first time pensioners were being paid, adding that pension liabilities have been cleared by about 40%. Just because there is a President that cares.<\/p>\n
Former Nigeria Airways workers. Railway workers. Former Biafran policemen. And many others, have had their pensions paid. And we shouldn\u2019t love the \u2018birthday man?\u2019 They should tell it to the marines.<\/p>\n
When you have a heart for men, it is God himself that keeps you alive. We have seen a practical demonstration in President Buhari.<\/p>\n
From the brink of death early 2017, there is now an unmistakable glow in him, evidence of good health from the inside. It is God at work. No wonder wicked people came with the idiocy of Jubril of Sudan. Otiose. Hollow. Products of addled minds. That was why we ignored them, till the President himself responded to a question from Nigerians in Poland two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
For millions upon millions of Nigerians who love this President, it is an unconditional love. The full cost of our love is no charge. Happy birthday, Mr President.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, said wicked people tagged his principal \u2018Jubril of Sudan\u2019 because they wanted him dead. He said this in a birthday tribute in honour of the president. Titled \u201cWhy we love Buhari\u201d, Adesina described the president as a man of integrity, man of accountability, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[41,1570,8547,62,205],"class_list":["post-70525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics","tag-buhari","tag-femi-adesina","tag-jubril","tag-politics","tag-sudan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=70525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=70525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=70525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=70525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}