Buhari has taken nepotism to the next level

Buhari has the winner-takes-it-all syndrome. He considers his election a personal triumph and the power of the president a license to dispense patronage. His crass nepotism represents his attempt to reward his family and friends for keeping faith. His vaulting nepotism is a shame. It is beyond the pale. Love for family and friends should not move the leader of a democratic republic to concentrate power within the circumference of his personal shadow. He is setting a very atrocious example. For example, under his watch, the heads of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigerian Prison Service have conducted scandalous backdoor recruitments that favored only the scions of the privileged. He offered no reprimand. He sanctioned the three cases of apartheid employment… as though he desires to count the institutionalization of nepotism in Nigeria as part of his legacy. This is quite a shame. It’s a big shame that the man who stood before his countrymen and an attentive global audience and proclaimed ‘’I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody’’ is today making a show of belonging to nepotism! This opinion first appeared in Sahara Reporters. This article expresses the authors’ opinion only. The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Naij.com or its editors. Your own opinion articles are welcome at info@naij.com — drop an email telling us what you want to write about and why. More details in Naij.com’s step-by-step guide for guest contributors. We’re ready to trade your news for our money: submit news and photo reports from your area using our Citizen Journalism App.
In the early days of his administration, Buhari raised hopes that he would compose the most competent Executive Council of The Federation in Nigerian history. He was the candidate of ‘change’. He would jettison the old order of cronyism. He would set a precedent for meritocracy. He would nominate Nigeria’s finest technocrats and professionals. Buhari promised that he won’t appoint garden variety politicians as ministers. He said he was ‘looking for’ people of integrity. He would need ample time to make a thorough search. Nigeria was a moral wasteland. Only a few upright citizens that could pass his integrity test. It was a false claim and a collective insult. Still, Nigerians did not take offence. They thought he had set high standards for his prospective picks. The nominees would be clean Nigerians with compelling resumes, track records of notable achievements and a leaning towards twenty first century ideas.
SOURCE:NAIJ.COM