Buhari’s strange response at UNGA

Last week, President Muhammadu Buhari created some furore in the
country with the response he gave to a question at the United
Nations General Assembly. His media aide, Bashir Ahmad, circulated
a video where the President, at a panel discussion session, was
asked specifically: “President Buhari, Nigeria has a very young
population. Perhaps you might highlight what the pathway for a
resilient future looks like.”

Buhari, who was seated with four other heads of state, pulled
out a prepared speech and began to respond as follows:

“Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I share the sentiment
expressed by the Secretary-General that the world is on the verge
of climate catastrophe. Undeniably, Climate Change is a
human-induced phenomenon.

“It is now imperative that we must step up our collective
climate actions in line with the request of the Secretary-General.
It is in this regard that I wish to reiterate Nigeria’s commitment
to its obligation under the Paris Agreement, the aspirations
enshrined in our Nationally Determined Contribution and ensure a
resilient future that mainstreams climate risks in our decision
making.

“I want to announce that the Government of Nigeria will develop
a more robust sectorial action plan, and expand the scope of our
Sovereign Green Bonds in line with our intended upward review of
Nigeria’s NDC’s towards the inclusion of the water and waste
sectors by 2020.

“In the water sector, Nigeria will issue a Green Bond for
irrigation and construct multi-purpose dams for power, irrigation
and water supply. We will strengthen solid and liquid waste
management systems to attract more private sector investors.

“We will take concrete steps to harness climate innovative ideas
by including youths in decision-making processes as part of our
overall climate governance architecture. We will mobilise Nigerian
youths towards planting 25 million trees to enhance Nigeria’s
carbon sink.

“In the energy sector, Nigeria is presently diversifying its
energy sources from dependence on gas-powered system to hydro,
solar, wind, biomass and nuclear sources. Specifically, Nigeria is
progressively working to realise 30 per cent energy efficiency and
renewable energy mix by 2030. This is envisaged to lead to 179
million tons of carbon dioxide reduction per annum by 2030.

“In addition, our Administration intends to develop a
shelterbelt across 11 States of the Federation spanning a distance
of 1,500 km and 15km across through the Great Green Wall
initiative. Furthermore, the Federal Government has commenced the
implementation of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Programme
in Ogoniland, to recover the carbon sink potential of the mangrove
ecosystem of the one thousand square kilometres (1,000 KM2)
polluted site in the affected area.”

President Buahri went on to talk about the seventy-four million
tons of carbon dioxide per annum that will be unlocked through
relevant technologies, advocacy and best practices. He spoke about
the how Lake Chad basin has shrunk and how Nigeria would continue
to lead in efforts to have solid partnerships for the ecological
restoration and recharge of the Lake. He then concluded by noting
that he was happy that the Secretary-General and some of the member
states represented in the hall were partnering with Nigeria in this
fight against climate change. He thanked them for their cooperation
and said he looked forward to deepening partnership with them.

At first when I saw it, I said it was not possible. I said even
though Buhari was known for veering off tangent on many occasions,
this looked strongly like a doctored speech. I felt that the speech
he delivered at the General Assembly was cut and superimposed on
this as his response to the question. The first reason for this was
that all through his response, the camera focused on him without
showing his fellow panellists. Secondly, one can deliver a speech
from a prepared text at the start of a panel discussion, but it is
strange for one to read a prepared text as a response to a
question. It is like meeting someone who has asked you: “What’s
your name?” and you pull out a speech to respond to the person.
Thirdly, the response started by referring to the Commonwealth
Secretary General who had no connection with the question. The
question was his plan for the future in a country with high youth
population. His response was about climate change.

Shockingly, the presidency released a statement justifying the
response of the President as appropriate and direct to the point.
That confirmed to everybody that indeed the video was not doctored.
One wonders why the President of a country would use a prepared
speech to respond to a question asked during a panel discussion.
Before attending that session, the discussants must have been given
the topic that would be discussed, so that they could prepare well
and be abreast of the key issues involved. But then, what is too
technical about knowing what to reply to a question of what plans
the President has for its young population? There are some who are
of the opinion that perhaps he misplaced the prepared speeches by
reading the wrong one to the question asked.

Still photographs from that discussion session showed his
colleagues all looking at him with a shocking look on their faces.
They would be wondering why his response was off the mark and why
he had to read his response from a paper.

President Buhari has made it crystal clear that he does not have
the capacity to speak ex tempore. On many occasions he has gone
off-point. On some occasions he has been shown with a short text
pasted on the wall of a project he was about to commission. So he
had to read that line before cutting the tape. It is obvious that
those who work with him know that he has this shortcoming.

Consequently, they should block all avenues for him to talk to
people ex tempore or respond to questions. If, for example, he has
to attend the United Nations event, he can read his speech to the
general assembly, but refuse to participate in any discussion
session, because questions are going to be directed at him.

When the President performs poorly outside, he is not the only
one who takes the bashing. Nigeria as a country takes part of the
hit. So it is better he does not show up at certain events than
cause the nation periodic embarrassment.

Curiously, President Buhari is always too eager to fly out of
Nigeria to attend events across the continent and the world. He
seems to derive special joy from travelling out of Nigeria.

Nigeria is a country where people’s health challenges are hidden
because it is seen as a taboo for one to have certain health
challenge. That was why all the periods Buhari has been away for
medical treatment, the nation was not told what was wrong with him.
In countries where health challenges are not shrouded in mystery, a
political office holder gives the public a blow-by-blow account of
any health challenge.

Another issue is that in countries that are progress-driven,
people look at their overall health situation and tell themselves
the truth about their capacity to hold public office. Public
service demands full physical alertness and psychological
alertness. Public service is not a place where one goes on
retirement. It is more demanding than other endeavours, because the
actions and inactions of the public servant can make or mar the
lives of millions of people. If a person does not have the
all-round capacity to be a leader, it is a disservice to the
country to hold that country to ransom by being at the head. And
for a country like Nigeria that is facing a lot of challenges
ranging from insecurity to poverty to hunger to infrastructure
deficit, it is a big minus for its leader to consistently show
signs of lack of capacity.

–Twitter @BrandAzuka