Only very few people would claim to be closer to General Buhari than I. And even among those close to him, very few can claim to know him like I do. Buhari is one of the most outstanding human beings I know, with all his faults. He is certainly not a perfect man. It is not for nothing that I have supported and voted for him in all the three attempts he has made to be president of this country.
Buhari may not be a perfect person or your ideal politician, but I am yet to meet a sane person who would disagree with me that Nigeria would have been a totally different place if he had been sworn in as president in 2003 or 2007 or 2011. At the very least, nobody would have attempted to steal N2.6 trillion under his presidency and if any thief were bold enough to try it, there would be very harsh consequences – exactly the kind of leadership that any country that cherishes progress would need.
He would have given a damn about declaring his assets and there would have been a very clear response to the Niger Delta militancy and oil thefts that took a life of their own during the Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan presidencies. And Boko Haram would not have overpowered the government as we see today. Remember when he was head of state and Maitatsine insurgents struck in Kano? That was the last time the world heard anything about Maitatsine. In fact, for those who remember very well, Maitatsine started during the Shehu Shagari era and it was when Buhari took over and the sect struck in Kano killing many people that he put a decisive end to the insurgency. Buhari had said at the time that Maitatsine would never happen again and it never did. Boko Haram is a mutation of Maitatsine.
Quoted from Sam Nda-Isaiah’s Leadership Monday column on 5/11/2012
