Industrialist Sam Ohuabunwa Attacks Buhari, says its a regime of uncertainty

Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa

In an article contributed, published and circulated in the media titled: “When uncertainty becomes a variant of change”, retired industrialist and business mogul, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, has questioned what he described as regime of uncertainty about President Muhammadu Buhari’s 3-week old administration.

If you ask me who is he? I would simply show you the litany of his achievements rolled into one paragraph thus: “Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa has contributed im­mensely to the eco­nomic development of Nigeria. He is one of Nigeria’s most venerated pharmacists, an entrepreneur, businessman, so­cial worker, lay minister, and au­thor, all rolled into one. The Fed­eral Government recognising that he stands out, has always tapped from his reservoir of knowledge in formulating policies and deci­sions. He was a member of Vision 2010, Vision 2020, Obasanjos’s Political Reform Committee, a member of Presidential Advisory Council to Jonathan, and others. He was chairman of Nigeria Eco­nomic Summit Group (NESG), former managing director, Pfizer and Chief Executive Officer of Neimeth”

Please read his article below:

On the May 29 (about 3 weeks now), I arrived Miami, Florida, in the United States of America to attend my son’s graduation from the Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM). The first thing I did was to link up with Nigeria on the Internet and on phone. I was eager to hear President Buhari’s inaugural speech. I was impressed with its brevity and memorable literary lacings. The quote from Shakespeare on the import of seizing the moment was heart stirring and the catcher – I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody – was poignant, brilliant and pregnant.

When he finished speaking, I swallowed hard and lingered around as if waiting for more. Somehow, rightly or wrongly, I had expected more from that speech. It was a speech and a day many Nigerians had waited for with high expectations. In the weeks preceding the handover, if you complained about anything, especially matters related to governance or the economy, you were told to wait till the May 29. And so we waited! Among other things, I was hoping to gleam from that speech the economic direction of his government, and perhaps, some major policy planks in the socio-political arena. But there was not much. Well, this may be part of the change, I thought. Traditionally in Nigeria, inaugural speeches are usually longer and more detailed, whether new civilian president or new military president.

Then I concluded that the agenda would begin to unfold from the next day, more so as I have held the view that President Muhammadu Buhari has adequately prepared for the job, perhaps more than anybody else who had occupied that position. I had canvassed the expectation that he would hit the ground running. Every day I would read all the Nigerian newspapers online, listen to Aljazeera and CNN, called my friends at home in Nigeria, no news. Then we heard of the appointment of Media Adviser and a Senior Special Assistant on media and I asked, why? If we want smaller government, this is where to start. Media adviser is good enough, why duplicate with a senior special assistant on the same assignment? That is how it was, but in this change era, it should not be so. Yet, we shall still have the Minister of Information.

By the way, I am told that Presidential advisers are on the same salary level with ministers, so we already have a minister equivalent. After that, we heard that the President has sent a request for 15 advisers, which is equivalent to 15 ministers in terms of cost to the people of Nigeria. Up till date, I do not know if the advisers were approved and who those advisers are, including what they are being hired to advise on. Maybe I missed the news. But I pray that we do not have Presidential Adviser on Domestic Affairs again. Mrs. Buhari should be in a position to handle this familiar terrain with ease. All we need is to increase her allowance! Then everything went cold and quiet.

I returned to the country last week, and I began to read all the newspapers afresh, in case I missed something from the online versions. I spoke to my friends in the private sector about business, and they said everywhere was quiet, that they were waiting for the new President to unfold his economic agenda; that they were tired of second-guessing him or listening to the economic projections of the cerebral Bismack Rewane; irrepressible Pat Utomi and their tribe of economic ‘seers and soothsayers’; that they needed to hear from the “horse’s mouth”. Then I joined in the wait.

The next thing we heard was that the President had travelled to Niger, then to Germany, later to South Africa where he told Nigerians there not to expect an old man of 72 (years) to perform miracles or magic! Thereafter we read of Elder Ahmed Joda and some APC chieftains asking Nigerians to be patient. And I said, for how long? If they told us for how long, then we could switch off and face other things, rather than listen to AIT at 8pm, NTA at 9pm and Channels at 10pm in search of direction from the new government.

Indeed it was in this search for news that I ran into the drama at the International Conference Centre in Abuja and at the National Assembly. This has kept us busy since last week, reviewing and analyzing the thriller. Who was the fifth columnist who sold the APC legislators a dummy? Whether he was an insider or outsider, he must receive an award for being the greatest dummy seller in Nigeria. For APC, it was the equivalent of scoring an own goal in a World Cup final match. But for Nigeria, I have a feeling that it is a good omen. Our legislators, having blunted the party hard line of division, can now review matters from a common nationalistic outlook. Maybe this will speed up the passage of critical bills like the PIB, the Railway Bill and the recommendations of the National Conference.

Meanwhile, the President has returned from his ‘nuptial’ trips and the transition committee has submitted its report, after reading and reviewing the handover notes from the previous government and the ‘Newswatch’ has resumed. Looking at the size of the reports submitted by Alhaji Joda and his team of ‘transistors’, I am praying that we will not need another committee to do a white paper on the report while we still wait. Yesterday at a board meeting, during the discussion on the economy, several of the directors expressed concern with the level of uncertainty in the economy and complained that it was not helping business.

They emphasized that businesses cannot thrive in climates of uncertainty, and the longer the uncertainty, the more inclement the climate becomes. As I am wont to doing, empathizing with the establishment, I joined in the “let’s be patient” sermonizing, emphasizing that preparation comes before success and that the type of change anticipated requires plenty of preparation. In apparent frustration, one of the directors quipped: “Is uncertainty part of the change we asked for?” Another answered: “It could be a variant.” “How?” the other guy retorted. “Because when you move from gear one to neutral, it is a change”, “Too bad!” the first director replied, and concluded: “If uncertainty is change, then it is a malodorous one”. At this point, the Chairman of the Board asked for adjournment of the meeting, and I supported him.