Must read: Buhari and the (Evil) servants.

Given the frenzy that accompanied President Muhaamadu Buhari’s inauguration on May 29, 2015, one would have thought that the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) Federal administration should by now be laying solid foundation for our national renaissance. Rather what we have is a party that took almost all of two months to resolve issues of the National Assembly leadership. That done the party now finds a pastime in its mirage of attacks on the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

No thanks to the nation’s media that is celebrating the attacks instead of asking the necessary questions.  Just this weekend the APC accused the PDP of squandering our commonwealth to tune of N13trillion Naira, and the media went haywire with screaming headlines; but, regrettably, none of them asked for the facts. Just as well, the media have thus far refused to ask for justification in Buhari’s refusal to appoint his cabinet; as it is rumoured that Mr. President is yet to find any Nigerian clean enough to be appointed Minister.

Perhaps, we can recommend the importation of angels from the heavens to man the ministries; after all, it is in our national character to import everything – almost everything.  In that Buhari may be scoring a first. Outside of that one is really at a loss as to what the APC administration is doing. The various travels by Buhari are reducing. There is a gale of sacks at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) following the appointments of Emmanuel Ibe Kachukwu as the new Group Managing Director and firms to conduct a forensic audit of NNPC are seen as probe of the corporation.

Truly, one is yet to get the direction of this administration. Many Nigerians are in agreement with the need to probe, no doubt; as well as win the war against the terrorists group Boko Haram. Beyond these two, however, is the need to heal the wound of the past electoral engineering, fix the economy, and at least refurbish decaying infrastructure. It does appear the administration is not interested in these all important issues. APC as the ruling is more interested in laying blames and accusations on the past administration than finding solutions to the problems.

But it must be noted that the President and his party were aware of the national decay before they sought the mandate of Nigerians for power. Haven secured that power it is incumbent on them to find solutions and stop throwing blames and aspersion on the former administration. It also goes beyond making frivolous accusations that smacks of daftness. The other day, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Mohammed Bashar, in a presentation to Buhari, accused the former administration of diverting a substantial part of the $1.005billion loan from China Exim-Bank obtained for the construction of a standard gauge rail line linking Lagos to Kano. That was, at best, laughable if truly the perm sec is worth his onus.

As expected, the former coordinating minister of the economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala took him to the cleaners, as such foreign loans, tied to specific projects, are never given in cash or disbursed by the recipient. Buhari would, therefore, need to be careful in accepting hook, line and sinker the advice and memoirs of civil servants, whom my friend would prefer to refer to as evil servants. They are quick at teaching politicians how to steal government money on the one hand, and make haste to provide documents that will nail the politicians on the other. It is their stock in trade in the survival game.  Recall the scandal that removed the Prof. Adenike Grange as Minister for health in the administration of late President Umaru Yar’Adua. The civil servants in the ministry were instrumental to the whole scam.

Such are the lots of the civil servants that any politicians that trust them do so to his or her own peril. That is why President Buhari’s reliance on this class of Nigerians to run the affairs of state will do the nation no good. If he has not received such misleading information as that of Basher, the President should be prepared to receive more. This is not deriding the federal civil service but we do know as Nigerians that their top echelons rank among the richest Nigerians. How do they come into such stupendous wealth, if not through corrupt connivance with public officials (political office holders)?

My only source of consolation is that Buhari parades a high degree of integrity, and my worry is that that could be compromised by these ‘evil’ servants. For, as it is now fast becoming a parlance among informed Nigerians, corruption begins and ends with the civil servants. While, indeed, Nigerian welcome Buhari’s probe of the past administrations, such probe should not be restricted to politicians alone; the top echelon of the civil service from assistant directors through permanent secretaries must be brought into the search light.

©Daily independent.