Posting on her twitter handle @obyezeks she defends President Buhari "specific" request saying "I want everyone to know that the statement made by the World Bank President Jim Yong Kim is not as it sounds. I should know"
Moving further she stated that As a practice,post- conflict zones -e.g. Northern Uganda, Northern CAR, Eastern DRC receive Special Focus from World Bank.In the same vein the destabilization in the North East worsened Human Development Indicators in North East Nigeria and the country sadly joined the List therefore prioritizing reconstruction of Post-Conflict zone in any of those countries factually proved to be key for rest of the country growth and stability.
She also attributed the criticisms that trailed Jim Yong Kim statement to President Muhammadu Buhari's poor management of our diversity which is the main focus of this article.
The current criticism and unnecessary suspicion trailing President Buhari today is the long term effect of his pro-North agenda, permit me to reproduce this story that was once Published in Vanguard Newspapers on 3rd February 2015.
“Between 1983 and 1985, Peter Onu of Nigeria was Acting Secretary-General of the OAU. At the 1985 Summit in Addis Ababa, statesmen like Julius Nyerere, President of Tanzania, lobbied for his election as substantive Secretary-General. However, there was a major stumbling block to Peter Onu’s candidature:his Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari, was campaigning against him.Buhari claimed: “This generation of Nigerians and indeed future generations have no other country than Nigeria.” But when the crunch came, his allegiance to Nigeria disappeared. In the election of the OAU Secretary-General in 1985, Buhari voted against Nigeria and for Niger instead. He secured the election of Ide Oumarou, a Fulani man from Niger; as opposed to an Igbo man from Nigeria. By so doing, Buhari became the first and only Head of State in the history of modern international relations to vote against his country in favour of his tribe”.
The emergence of President Buhari signaled a new beginning for a democratic Buhari but there hasn't been much difference since he assumes power in 2015. The president has neglected federal character and taken decisions that has further widen our unity. Hardly has he settled down in office that he made his first freudian slip of 97% and 5% at the United states Institute of Peace While answering questions on the developmental plans for Niger delta.
The resultant effect of that gaffe cost the country billions as the rested militancy activities in the region suddenly assumed a wild dimension through the activities of the now rested Niger-delta Avengers.
As if that was not enough, the appointments of Military and paramilitary heads was skewed in favour of the Northern region at the detriment of other region. These brought about a lot of cries but the President moved on.
Still unperturbed, the DSS made one of the most scandalous recruitment in Nigeria's history giving the North more slots compared to fewer slots for the south. For example, katsina had fifty-one slots while Lagos had seven slots. The President as usual failed to ammend these grave errors rather he turned a deaf ear to the critics.
I can go on and on mentioning all the unnecessary errors that the President has made that is now hunting his image badly which has been depleted further by his media handlers that chose to speak to Nigerians as if we are all opposition party members that are not free to Air our opinion.
The President and his handlers needs to know we are in a country with diverse ethnic group as a result, our diversity must be considered before critical decisions are made.Its unfortunate that the proliferation of ethnicity that was condemned under Dr Goodluck Jonathan now has a strong footing under a Change government.
President Muhammadu Buhari came to office with a Pan Nigeria mandate and should act by the mandate. I will advise the President to address the lopsidedness of appointments currently evident in his administration.
The journey to 2019 general elections is still far therefore he needs to make amendments so that Nigerians will make a good review of his administration if re-election time comes.
Adesina Tosin Nathaniel
Adesinatosin1@gmail.com
Lagos