Things are falling apart in Nigeria and in the minds of a beleaguered citizenry; the president is making things even worse. That traditional rulers, youth organizations, elected Governors, ministers and other stakeholders from the South-south geopolitical zone have demanded an unreserved apology from the presidency for abruptly cancelling a crucial stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt, reflects the scant disdain and shoddy attitude of the Buhari administration and its consequent embarrassment to the pride of the people of the South-south region. This apathy was fittingly demonstrated by the President himself, when, in an embarrassing turn-around, he cancelled a widely publicized planned meeting called by the presidency with the governors and other leaders of the region to discuss burning national issues affecting the region and the aftermath effects of the #EndSARS protest. The abrupt cancellation of the meeting is not only an insult but an effrontery on the people of the South-south zone that cannot be ignored. This should not be so; President Muhammadu Buhari must reassure Nigerians that he is in charge of all of Nigeria and cares about all of her people.
The shoddy manner in which the presidency handled the matter, leaves much to be desired even as the Buhari administration has demonstrated palpable incapacitation and not a few of its officials, most notably the Chief of staff, Ibrahim Gambari, have advertised monumental individual irresponsibility and incompetence. Addressing South-south leaders in Port Harcourt, Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, who presided at the meeting, expressed disappointment at the cavalier manner in which a meeting called at the instance of the presidency, through the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, was unceremoniously cancelled without notice or explanation. Okowa, who doubles as chairman of the South-south Governors Forum, explained that the meeting time was adjusted twice on the excuse that the President was meeting with the Director-General of Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector-General of Police, who were supposed to be part of the presidential delegation for the South-south meeting. Okowa said he later got a call from the Gambari announcing the cancellation of the meeting; and felt really disappointed that the Southsouth region could be treated with such disdain.
Okowa said the people of the region have been embarrassed, disgraced, insulted and disrespected. Curiously, no excuses were given by the presidency despite the fact that the governors and stakeholders waited for several hours. Consequently, the governors and leaders of the region demanded an apology from the presidency for aborting a meeting it convened. “We call for a public apology, not for the governors alone. We call for a public apology because this meeting was not called at our instance. It was called at the instance of the presidency. The time was changed last night. We understood and we talked to our people. Some of us did not sleep in trying to put things together. We have gotten to a very bad start. So we are going to convey this message to the chief of staff to the president.”
So, the questions are: why did the Presidency cancel the meeting? And why was no formal explanation given for the cancellation? Besides the apparent insolence of South-south ministers who shunned the event, the slapdash handling of the issue suggests a struggle for primacy among various helmsmen in the machinery of the administration. The existence of competing spokespersons of the same function jeopardizes the public relations potential of the Buhari administration. At such crucial moments of national history as this, collective anguish demands synergy to avert the dissipation of time and resources towards conflicting results. But the irony of it all is that this is one administration that simply refuses to learn, even from its own mistakes. This same manner of management of information has repeatedly resurfaced so often that Nigerians are left to wonder how the highest levels of their government can be so imprudent.
More importantly, however, the hubris oozing out of the President’s spin-doctors, notwithstanding, the buck stops on the President’s desk. His close collaborators, including advisers and aides, however high up, cannot act as substitute for the will and intellect of the President. The President’s act of being and the autonomy of decision to carry on as such, rest on the person of the President himself. He is the only one who can hold the gavel to stem the current of pestilential perfidy.
Certainly, there is everything wrong with that botched meeting even just the optics of rallying political leaders, traditional rulers, and other stakeholders who traveled from far and wide to Port Harcourt only to be snubbed by the president. This is inexcusable as it is unacceptable. First, it portrays a reluctant President, who with his team is either unable or unwilling to respond to the mood of the nation. Second, that the President would, after deciding on a meeting, call it off abruptly for whatever reason, is an obvious display of impudence. Besides, it also portrays the President as one who vacillates in the treacherous ping-pong of the denizens at the corridors of power.
Why is it that whenever history furnishes President Buhari the opportunity to roar, he whimpers? Why does the President tiptoe when an unmistakable stomping would do? To redeem himself and garner some credibility for his administration in this trying time, he must find his way to personally preside at a reconvened meeting of the Southsouth zone; however he plans to do it. President Buhari does not need a retinue of bomb squad to accompany him and he does not need an advance party or bureau of the Presidency to herald his coming. He should go to Port Harcourt given that Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, who hosted the meeting, described Rivers State; the capital of the South-south as safe.
As the Commander-in-Chief, President Buhari owes the hurting people of Southsouth zone a moral duty to meet with them and listen to their grievances. The current dire socio-economic and security situation in the country calls for presidential leadership and a high sense of responsibility, not juvenile antics and marketplace chatter. It is understandable that in this state of glaring uncertainty, gross incapacitation, and considering the global dimension of the #EndSARS protests, this is the time for the government to be very methodical, astute in dealing with issues. Public officials should extricate themselves from the morass of party loyalty and primordial sentiments that may impair well-thought out resolution of a situation that has since passed crisis point.
As Nigeria passes through these troubled times, a great lesson from the security challenges the country has had to grapple with so far is the need for a timely response to brewing crises anywhere without jeopardizing the larger interests of the country. Considering the complex structure of the federation that has never been meaningfully addressed suggested a consultative approach between the president and his fellow citizens is not in any way indicative of a weak government but one to lay the ground for a lasting peace engineered through justice. The resurgence of militant attacks in the South-south region also provides another moment of reflection on the defective federation with wobbling structures successive administrations have managed to build upon. President Buhari must explore all available options at his disposal, and do the needful regarding issues like the age-long agitation for resource control and other pending critical matters. The aborted meeting with South-south leaders was a lost opportunity for Mr. President to engage with that geopolitical zone and whichever way one looks at it; the people of the South-south have been mightily insulted and never again should it happen.
