The Governor of Bauchi State and presidential aspirant on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Bala Mohammed, has opined that Muhammadu Buhari has failed as a president because he surrounds himself with ‘liars and sycophants’.
Mohammed, who was in Katsina State, Sunday 15th May 2022, to meet with PDP delegates ahead of the party’s presidential primary elections, stated that Buhari had failed to provide good leadership to Nigerians.
He said unequivocally that the country was in complete ‘disarray’ because the president lacked the political will to act.
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Speaking further, he disclosed, “Katsina is a state that produces good leaders for the country. We know what the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua did when he was the president; even this one that is now the president (Buhari), we know that he is surrounded by a bunch of liars and sycophants.
“They tell him lies every day and you know how soldiers are. He doesn’t know how cunning people could be and he barely knows how government works. He doesn’t reach out to the poor in the local areas but he sits there and believes everything they tell him.
“He thinks everyone is an honest person. But I am different because I know what governance is… We need someone with the exposure and intelligence to change the situation.”
“The country is in disarray and things are falling apart as if there is no government in place, and this was not how we are known as Nigerians. There is poverty in the land. People are hungry. The issue of insecurity is always increasing that people can’t go to their farms, children can’t go to school, and people can’t travel to visit their loved ones. Just like a folktale setting.
“In this Katsina, you people are being disturbed by bandits and this is the state of the president. Does this sound like a comedy show to you? Just like the stories in folktales. And it’s as if the security agents don’t even know what they are doing.” Mohammed said.
The Bauchi Governor added that leaders in the Northern part of the country had failed to protect the common man, saying poor people in the rural areas only needed to be protected but the leaders couldn’t even guarantee that.
“Our deceitful ways led us into this mess. The common man in the North suffers a lot. If he is travelling, he is not safe; even at home, he is still not safe. People are continually getting lost as if in a dream… and there is nothing we have done. We have failed woefully as leaders.” he tendered.
Speaking about his home state where he currently governs, Mohammed spoke on how he had been making an impact as governor in Bauchi State.
“I brought traditional rulers, teachers and local leaders closer to me because they are crucial in ensuring the security of lives and property. What I do is to be fair to all irrespective of religious or tribal differences and that has been part of the reasons Bauchi is safe.
“We have made giant strides in all sectors, especially the education and health sectors. Primary health centres were built and equipped; drugs were given at subsidized rates. Local Government Councils’ secretariats were also reconstructed while 4,000 schools were built to ensure school-age students return to school. That’s why I don’t go to Abuja looking for anything because I have nothing to get there.” he said.
It’s noteworthy that he is among the 17 aspirants for president under the opposition PDP.
Sometime ago, Mohammed and a former Kwara State Governor and erstwhile Senate President, Bukola Saraki were announced as the ‘consensus candidates’ of the North by a former Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Ango Abdullahi, though the three other candidates from the North who are also in the race for the PDP ticket immediately rejected the declaration.
The other aspirants from the North are former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; Sokoto Governor, Aminu Tambuwal as well as an economist and entrepreneur, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.
Having made a general statement that the Northern governors had failed their subjects, Mohammed further informed that he had done well in Bauchi State. Does it imply he isn’t among the aforementioned leaders, or his state doesn’t fall within the said region?
Whatever, the answer might be, Mohammed needs to acknowledge that any serving governor currently aspiring to emerge as Nigeria’s president come 2023 must have transformed the status of his home state to enviable standard.
The most worrisome aspect of these ongoing campaigns in Nigeria is that, virtually all the sitting governors aspiring to become president, presently owe the retirees in their respective states arrears of pensions and gratuities, among sundry debts.