President Muhammadu Buhari Insults Nigerians By His Washington Post Op-Ed?

Editor’s note: Many observers see President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the United States as a “reboot” of the relations between the two countries. But why has President Buhari chosen to announce his cabinet selection time frame to the American audiences rather than Nigerians? The Naij.com columnist ‘Yomi Kazeem says Buhari’s op-ed in the Washington Post contains a huge mistake.

The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Naij.com.

Story highlights:

— On July 20, an op-ed appeared in the Washington Post, with Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari credited as its author

— In it, President Buhari writes about his historic meeting with President Obama, names the date of ministerial appointments

— Such a move is not beneficial to the already frail communication system between President Buhari’s office and Nigerians

Muhammadu Buhari during his inauguration and swearing in ceremony on May 29, 2015

The 20^th of July was a historic day in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as he visited Washington DC on his first official trip to the United States of America. Meeting President Barack Obama in the Oval Office, alongside his entourage consisting of state governors and advisers, the president spoke extensively on matters concerning security and the economy.

Positive as the discussions may have been, President Buhari’s trip to America has resulted in a major faux-pas of his administration.

The Washington Post published an op-ed piece authored or endorsed by President Buhari — as it carried his name. In it, the president of Nigeria discussed a range of issues detailing, among others, his plans to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency, and also reiterated his commitment to battling terrorism.

“While we work to defeat the terrorists, I ask the people of Nigeria and the world for resolve and fortitude. The campaign we will wage will not be easy; it may not be swift. We should expect stages of success and also moments when it may appear that our advances have been checked. But no one should have any doubt as to the strength of our collective will or my commitment to rid this nation of terror and bring back peace and normalcy to all affected areas.”

Perhaps, most crucially, the President also — for the first time — officially announced the time frame for the selection and appointment of his cabinet.

“As I meet with President Obama today — the first time a president of the United States will encounter a Nigerian counterpart following the peaceful transfer of power in a contested election in our history — I will be discussing my plans for critical reforms. So, too, will I discuss why the formation of my administration is taking time and, crucially, why it must. Already there are voices saying these changes are taking too long — even though only six weeks have passed since my inauguration. I hear such calls, but this task cannot and should not be rushed. When cabinet ministers are appointed in September, it will be some months after I took the oath of office.”

For Nigerians, it was a welcome relief to finally have official confirmation for when the cabinet will be assembled as the president begins the tough job of fixing the country. But amid the relief, a critical question must be asked: why has the president provided answers to questions that Nigerians have persistently asked not to them, but to an American audience?

Since Buhari’s taking office, hundreds of Nigerians have been killed by the Boko Haram insurgency. While there are obvious moves put together to fight the insurgency, not much has been done in terms of officially communicating sympathy and verbal reassurances of a focus on securing Nigerian lives.

Similarly, seeing as weeks after being inaugurated, the president has not appointed ministers, the absence of a cabinet has been a dominant topic in the country: why has the first official confirmation of a time frame been given to a foreign audience while the presidency left Nigerians with a now-infamous phrase about appointing ministers in the fullness of time.

Since he took office, President Buhari’s communication with Nigerians has been shockingly deplorable, and the trip to America, rather than score the president some points, has only re-emphasized the issue as a result of the op-ed.

Nigerians, not Americans, should be the first to know exactly when the cabinet will be appointed. Nigerians, not Americans, should hear about the president’s will and commitment to fight Boko Haram because the votes that ensured President Buhari won the elections were Nigerian not American.

It really is that simple.

‘Yomi Kazeem for Naij.com

Yomi Kazeem is a media professional based in Lagos, Nigeria.

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