•Edwin Clark
Former Federal Commissioner for Information and South-South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark has taken a swipe at the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, saying his eight years rule was biased, unjust, nepotic, uncivil and filled with religious bigotry.
In a statement today, Clark was reacting to remarks by the former President in Abuja at the public presentation on Tuesday of a book titled, “Working with Buhari: Reflections of A Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023)” written by Femi Adesina, and another book titled, Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian legacy( Volume–1-5) was launched alongside Adesina’s book.
According to the Elderstatesman, what struck him most during the presentation was the attitude and statement of former President Buhari who eulogised his achievements as president of the country during the occasion, adding that what he said was contrary to the assessment of majority of Nigerians of his administration.
The South South leader who disagreed sharply with Buhari, said that to most Nigerians like him, he failed abysmally as president, just as he stressed that his administration was full of insecurity, economic collapse, injustice, religious bigotry and lack of direction.
Clark said that the eight years of his administration plunged Nigeria and Nigerians, five decades backwards, even as his successor, President Bola Tinubu, noted as much in his speech at the time occasion where Buhari was eulogising himself.
Clark said, “I watched the public presentation of a book titled “Working with Buhari: Reflections of A Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023)” written in five volumes by Femi Adesina and others, chronicling activities/achievements of Muhammadu Buhari during the eight years of his administration as President and Commander-In-Chief of the country, as contained in about 80 pages of the 488-page book.
“What struck me most is the attitude and statement of former President Buhari who eulogised his achievements as President of the country during the occasion. This I must say, is contrary to the assessment of majority of Nigerians of his administration. To most of us as Nigerians, Muhammadu Buhari failed abysmally as President. His administration was full of insecurity, economic collapse, injustice, religious bigotry and lack of direction. The eight years of his administration plunged Nigeria and Nigerians, five decades backwards. Even his successor, the current President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, noted as much in his speech at the time occasion where Buhari was eulogising himself.
“For me, this will not be the first time I will be making this observation. In an almost 12-page farewell message I wrote to Muhammadu Buhari, on the eve of his exiting as President of the country, 28th May 2023, I said as much. And I wish to reproduce some parts of the said open letter:
“May 28, 2023.”
The South South who flashbacked to his farewell to Buhari when he was leaving the office, had said that regrettably, he left with unfulfilled promises, neglect and marginalization of majority of Nigerians
The Elderstatesman reproduced the speech thus, “Mr. President, as your administration winds up on 29th May 2023, a retrospective rumination of the government’s activities in the last 8 years, vis-à-vis our interactions with the President, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and other bureaucrats of the administration; the promises made, the dispositions and actions of the administration to the people of Nigeria, lays out sad and irritating realities of worrisome inconsistencies, discrimination, marginalization and neglect.
“The truth is, President Muhammadu Buhari is leaving the nation, especially the Niger Delta region, worse than he met it. He is bequeathing bouquet of unfulfilled promises, divided nation and myriad of critical federal infrastructural projects in shameful states, especially roads, and particularly in the Niger Delta region; in addition to the debilitating state of insecurity in most parts of the country, being perpetrated by the menacing killer herders, Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists, heinous bandits, kidnappers and sundry criminals; to the extent that a vast majority of citizens, particularly the youths, are gripped by feelings of annihilation, fear and desperation due to lack of adequate protection by the government resulting to the now common “japa syndrome”, where leaving the country has become the aspiration of most active Nigerians.…
“I am 96 years old now, and I have been actively involved, by the Grace of God, in the affairs of Nigeria and the Niger Delta region, for over 70years, I have seen it all.
“Outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari declared in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2015 and I take liberty to cite.
“Having just a few minutes ago swore on a holy book, I intend to keep my hope and same as President to all Nigerians. I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody”
“In the past 8years, President Muhammadu Buhari has demonstrated in most cases that he did not belong to the whole country but to a group; his tribe and religion, which is contrary to what he said in his inaugural speech that he belongs to everybody.
“For instance, he appointed fourteen out of seventeen security Chiefs from one section of the country. So, the declaration that “he belongs to everybody and nobody”, was a sham. I make bold to say that the reverse has been the case, “he belongs to some people”, but not the entire Nigeria.
“Even in simple matters like extending the good wishes of the government to notable personalities in the country on their birthdays or other landmark attainments, the Muhammadu Buhari administration was selective and biased in who it chooses to recognise or consider worthy of goodwill messages.
“Muhammadu Buhari’s team has publicly recognised the anniversaries of people who in all humility are either much younger than me, or have contributed much less than I have, to this country. On my 91st birthday in 2018, I protested this anomaly in an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari. I became 96 on Thursday last week; the Buhari administration did not deem it fit to send a goodwill message to me.
“Given my patriotic services to Nigerian, three of my colleagues in General Yakubu Gowon’s government’s cabinet became Heads of State and President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, mainly, General Murtala Mohammed, General Olusegun Obasanjo, and Alhaji Shehu Shagari, over the past 70 years. I regard myself as a senior citizen of this country. I am convinced that if President Muhammadu Buhari was not illiberal and “belongs to everybody”, he would have been consulting some of us for advice.”
