Chief Olusegun Obasanjo wrote similar letter to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan and what happened is a story for another day.
As a statesman, it is presumed you cannot be heard but former president Olusegun Obasanjo is defiling this norm. He wrote President Muhammadu Buhari to express dissatisfaction with his performance and 5 accusations stand out.
In a similar fashion as 2014, Chief Obasanjo has again deployed his golden tool of letter writing to give a political direction to the country. He said that the conditions that booted Jonathan out of office are also playing out now.
“The situation that made Nigerians vote massively to get my brother Jonathan off the horse is playing itself out again. First, I thought I knew the point where President Buhari is weak and I spoke and wrote about it even before Nigerians voted for him and I also did vote for him because at that time it was a matter of “any option but Jonathan” (aobj). But my letter to President Jonathan titled: “Before It Is Too Late” was meant for him to act before it was too late. He ignored it and it was too late for him and those who goaded him into ignoring the voice of caution….” Obasanjo’s letter reads in part.
1. Weak knowledge and understanding of the economy
Chief Obasanjo confirmed the fear of most Nigerians that president Buhari has a poor understanding of Nigeria economic dynamics. Obasanjo, however, said this would have been covered if he had appointed one of the best economic brains in the country.
“I knew President Buhari before he became President and that he is weak in the knowledge and understanding of the economy but I thought that he could make use of good Nigerians in that area that could help. Although, I know that you cannot give what you don’t have and that economy does not obey the military order. You have to give it what it takes in the short-, medium- and long-term. Then, it would move…” Obasanjo disclosed.
2. Poor handling of herdsmen/farmers issue
Another major accusations raised in the letter is the lackadaisical attitude of the president in handling the herdsmen-farmers crisis. To him, Buhari's inaction made the situation go from bad to worst.
“The herdsmen/crop farmers issue is being wittingly or unwittingly allowed to turn sour and messy. It is no credit to the Federal Government that the herdsmen rampage continues with careless abandon and without finding an effective solution to it.”
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3. Nepotic deployment and discipline of his subordinates
Obasanjo also raised the issue of the culture of condonation and turning a blind eye to misdeeds of officials in his government. The famous cases of dollars round tripping and Mainagate got a mention in the letter.
“There were serious allegations of round-tripping against some inner caucus of the Presidency which would seem to have been condoned. I wonder if such actions do not amount to corruption and financial crime, then what is it?”
“One is nepotic deployment bordering on clannishness and inability to bring discipline to bear on errant members of his nepotic court…It would appear that national interest was being sacrificed on the altar of nepotic interest.”
“What does one make of a case like that of Maina: collusion, condonation, ineptitude, incompetence, dereliction of responsibility or kinship and friendship on the part of those who should have taken visible and deterrent disciplinary action? How many similar cases are buried, ignored or covered up and not yet in the glare of the media and the public?”
4. Poor understanding of the dynamics of internal politics
The inability of president Buhari to effectively use political powers attached to his office was said to have led to poor performance of his government.
“…his poor understanding of the dynamics of internal politics. This has led to wittingly or unwittingly making the nation more divided and inequality has widened and become more pronounced. It also has an effect on general national security.”
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5. Blame passing – Always blaming Jonathan’s administration
Blaming past governments, especially Jonathan's administration, was also frowned upon by Chief Obasanjo. He said it is a clear sign of not accepting one's responsibilities.
“…The third is passing the buck. For instance, blaming the Governor of the Central Bank for the devaluation of the naira by 70% or so and blaming past governments for it, is, to say the least, not accepting one’s own responsibility. Let nobody deceive us, economy feeds on politics and because our politics is depressing, our economy is even more depressing today."
"If things were good, President Buhari would not need to come in. He was voted to fix things that were bad and not engage in the blame game.”