PERSONALITY

Buhari has destroyed Nigeria –Oru

Chief Barr. Andrew Oru, needs no introduce. He is a chieftain of  Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta state. In this interview with Isoko mirror, he x-rays the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Chief Barr.Andrew Oru

Excerpts:

Sir, you are a keen observer in Nigeria’s national issues, what is your candid assessment of the Buhari’s led administration so far?

(EM) I find that question as one which has already answered itself because if Buhari was doing exceptionally well as expected, the issues of me having to assess him specifically may not arise. Be that as it may and if I must speak my mind, the man has performed abysmally low. He has destroyed Nigeria.

(Cuts in) destroyed?

Yes that is what I can say. Buhari has destroyed Nigeria in every respect. He has destroyed all our ethos as a people, he has downgraded our economic environment very badly and the high expectations we heard of him interms of containing graft has been more like a time bomb that fails to explode. With Buhari’s emergence and been in government about three years now, it is obvious that the man is completely opposite what we thought him to be. I will not say that I have any evidence against him personally interms of graft. But the level at which he and his government is ready to go to protect corrupt individuals especially, and, infact, in totality when it comes to persons who are in APC is completely irresponsible. Today, you hear of Buhari gate and it is covered up, tomorrow you hear of grass cutting contract, and all sorts of corrupt practices are just being unleashed upon the nation. Specifically, they (corrupt practices) are being suppressed. You even hear of instances where you are told not to go after them anymore. You set up purported probes that the results are determined not to come out. I don’t need to go into further details because Nigerians are aware of all these things. If that is not a way to hold a man as a corrupt person, then, I wonder what else he needs to do for us to say he is corrupt.

Does that mean Buhari won’t win, as he seeks re-election?

You see, in Nigeria, winning election is in parenthesis. In Nigeria being declared a winner as far as I know Nigerian politics to go is not necessarily because you won the elections. It is because you are in charge of the apparatus by which the results are announced. You might want to ask, how come Buhari was said to have defeated the ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan, if Jonathan was in charge of the apparatus of the announcement of the announcement of the election result? It is very clear, what are we talking about here? If we are not here pretending to each other. The ex-chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Mr. Atahiru Jega was clearly out there to act a script to install a northern hegemonist. Jega was clearly out to make a pronouncement in favour of Buhari and he arranged everything. He was the chief Executive of INEC and all the subordinates were perpetually appointed into the key positions of the key positions of the conduct of the election by him. We all know that Jonathan lost control. If you look at the way the figures were skewed and the way the results were announced, funny things happened. For example, how can you say that Kano state which was known as Buhari’s strong hold out 2 million voters in an area you called educationally backward state, all the 2 million people voted. What are we talking about here? Wining election is a different thing from having the result announce as they were. If you ask me whether Buhari is likely to win or not, in that sense going by what we are seeing, on the ground, Buhari should not win. But I see a situation whereby the election would be skewed in his favour. Already, all sorts of manipulation is going on interms of registration of voters again and we are seeing it clearly but nobody is able to challenge it successful. Definitely, is this trend continues, Buhari will be announced the winner again but not because he is popular. Truly speaking, the man is despised.

But the PDP that is the key opposition party has not been able to checkmate Buhari’s government, why is it so?

You see, the PDP is an already discredited party. It’s coming out of the ruins of shock defeat and it’s not easy to overcome such shock defeat. And it’s not easy to overcome such shock defeat. If they (PDP members) are even left alone to campaign and move around, they will do better than they are doing now. You can see that they are being hounded by security agencies and all of that. So, it’s not a level playing ground, then, we can assess them (PDP members) correctly. Right now, we don’t have a level playing ground. What are we saying? It’s suppression all over the place. So, the PDP is not PDP as we know it today. There is actually no opposition party that has the voice presently. We have individuals with voices but the government of the day is so suppressive that it would not allow any institutionalized opposition interms of criticisms. Even individuals are being hounded for just voicing out criticisms against Buhari. I won’t even be surprised that after this interview, I have phone calls and I am being invited by security agencies. You should know that I don’t get bothered by such things.

Does the PDP have a good chance of returning to power in 2019?

I don’t look at it as a situation whereby the PDP will be asked to return to power. I look upon it as a situation whereby the current government should just be removed one way or the other. Whether it is the PDP, SDP, coalition and let’s face it, this government is not fit to be there. It doesn’t have to be the PDP.

What is your reaction to the recent statement credited to Buhari that Nigerian youths are lazy?

(Prolong laughter) how can he say that? I won’t say that Nigerian youths are lazy. Politically, Nigerian youths are reticent and that does not mean they are lazy individually. Being reticent product of different factors. When you have frustrated the people to such an extent that they have lost fate in the system, they can become reticent interms of the political directions. They (Nigerian youths) don’t have any chance of speaking. All these old people we are seeing there, who were there 30 or 40 years ago are still in charge of government. So, what has happened whereby you can really assess the Nigerian youths? They have not had any opportunity of proving themselves. You have not given them (Nigerian youths) any opportunity of proving themselves, except, you are now saying they should take up arms and chase the old people away to show that they are strong. Which other way do you want them to prove that they (Nigerian youths) are not lazy? Have you employed them and they didn’t perform? The answer is no. have you provided an opportunity for the Nigerian youths to access banks facilities to grow up businesses? It is no, have you appointed the Nigerian youths into any responsible positions to prove themselves? It is no. it is still the same old people that you employ. What chance have you given to the youths to prove whether they are capable or not. There is no test, so, I don’t agree that the Nigerian youths are lazy. The Nigerian youths are frustrated and angry. It is getting to a boiling point the way it is going now whereby the Nigerian youths may be left with no option but to defend themselves by taking to the streets and destroy everything before you will know whether they are lazy or not.