Even as the hearts of Nigerians bleed for the victims of the tragic error after a Nigeria Air Force jet accidentally bombed a refugee camp in Borno State, killing nearly one hundred people including soldiers and aid workers of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF), the decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to proceed on a 10-day vacation at such an inauspicious moment of national grief is most unconscionable and insensitive, as it is lamentable. While the pain and tears from last Tuesday’s accident described by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, as an “operational mistake” rends the heart, it is highly regrettable that the president is nowhere to be found, as he travelled to London, ostensibly on leave and medical tourism. This is vexatious and Buhari has no excuse. A president should identify with the people in their time of tragedy. What is even more worrisome is the indecorous manner the Presidency handled public criticisms of the trip.
The President’s controversial trip was made known to the nation through a letter read by Senate president, Bukola Saraki, during a plenary session. The tersely worded letter said the 10-day period beginning Monday January 23 to Monday February 6, 2017 formed part of the president’s annual vacation for 2017. According to the letter, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will act as President during the period, which Buhari would be away. The statement issued by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity ,said Buhari will depart for London, two working days before his leave is due to commence; adding that while in London he will undergo routine medical checkup.
Given the myriad of socio-economic and security challenges facing the nation, Nigerians have every reason to question the frequency and attending cost with which Buhari has been traveling abroad even at the most inconsequential invitations. Elsewhere, leaders devote absolute attention to domestic affairs, especially when the nation is grieving. Although Buhari expressed “sadness and regret over the incident” and condoled with the families of the deceased and wished the “wounded divine succor, leading to full recovery.” all over the country, there has, understandably, been shock, sorrow and anger over the misjudgment that led the President not to visit the refugee camp, where the nation’s troops killed the same people they had liberated from the clutches of Boko Haram. It beggars belief that Buhari did not see the need for an emergency condolence visit to the area.
Definitely, the bombing was an error, either tactical or human, avoidable though it may be. Such accidents are part of operational hazards in war and by no stretch of the imagination can anyone claim it was deliberate. But the President needed to lead the nation in mourning and his failure to show leadership and compassion in this case has exposed him to criticism of insensitivity, reinforcing public perception and the growing concern that he is out of touch. In addition to the unjustified expenses incurred by his entourage, the president is also known to travel abroad for reasons that seldom have bearing with his position. The impression portrayed by this is that the President has so much time in his hands. This could hardly be true in a country bedeviled by a myriad of problems.
Even just for reasons of decorum, of self-respect, a sense of propriety and consideration for the souls of his dead compatriots, Buhari should have resisted the temptation to travel abroad and save from public denigration, his person, the office he holds, the institution of the Presidency which he heads and all Nigerians as a people. It is doubly insulting that the President; who is the commander-in-chief of the same armed forces and who, in the first instance, should be responsible for his troops, would be seeking medical attention abroad at a time of national grieving. Without unduly emphasizing it, Nigerians are becoming increasingly restless over Buhari’s frequent travels, fueling suspicions that all is not well with the president. Buhari is a human being; and he is likely to suffer occasional bouts of ill health. There is nothing in human nature that says a President cannot fall ill. But if the trip was informed by a medical emergency, Nigerians deserve the right to know, as this is not the first time that Buhari is scoring an own-goal with his overseas trips.
Last year, he ruffled many a feather when he travelled to London to seek medical treat for his ear. The president is rumored to suffer from Ménière’s disease, which can lead to permanent deafness. The way the presidency mishandled the furor over the trip was a textbook case of information mismanagement and poor communication. And despite Buhari’s acknowledgment of his ear infection, his Special Adviser, Femi Adesina, decided rather patronizingly to lie about it. In the face of this embarrassment, however, the government has its work well defined. Local hospitals are not short of qualified personnel as Nigerian doctors are amongst the best in the world. The tragic irony is that the same hospitals Nigerian leaders travel to, for medical attention are manned by Nigerian doctors some of who were trained in various teaching hospitals at home, before migrating out of the country due to poor working conditions.
In February last year, when Fulani herdsmen invaded Benue State and killed over 400 people in the Agatu community, Buhari was nowhere to be found, but in the intervening period, he travelled to the USA and China. Apart from being a deliberate squandering of public funds and sheer misuse of quality work-time, many of these overseas trips have been made unrewarding by sometimes, demeaning events. The office of the President is a tough, thoughtful, burdensome and sacrificial position that demands self-discipline, gumption, prudence and political sagacity. Personal weaknesses and private inadequacies are challenges that any president must continually battle as a human being, but these should never debar him from carrying out his constitutionally defined functions.
As President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Buhari must feel the pangs of responsibility in a clear display of focused leadership and must never condone in his actions, the public perception of converting in his office into a platform to advertise his personal weaknesses. His traveling to London at a time like this is a telling sign of a weak governance culture. It does no good to the image and reputation of the President and the country as a whole.
