Buhari’s govt ineffectual, indifference – Adichie

The celebrated author, Chimamanda Adichie, on Thursday, blasted President Muhammadu Buhari over its lackadaisical approach to national emergencies.

Adichie, who expressed her opinion on the current situation in the country in an article titled: “Nigeria Is Murdering Its Citizens,” published in the New York Times, expressed surprise that the president finds it difficult to engage Nigerians on national issues.

The article was published a few hours before President Buhari addressed Nigerians on the violence that had trailed the campaign for police reform in Nigeria.

She wrote: “The government of President Muhammadu Buhari has long been ineffectual, with a kind of willful indifference.

“Under his leadership, insecurity has worsened; there is the sense that Nigeria could very well burn to the ground while the president remains malevolently aloof.

READ ALSO: Take advantage of my govt’s programmes, Buhari tells #EndSARS protesters

“The president himself has often telegraphed a contemptuous self-righteousness, as though engaging fully with Nigerians is beneath him.”

Adichie added that she had relatives that were victims of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS)

She added: “In the first week of the protests, the president sent out a tweet and then gave a flaccid speech about ending SARS. The inspector general of police has announced that SARS has been scrapped, but the government has announced the dissolution of SARS a few times in the past, starting in 2017.

“Because Nigerians are so accustomed to the two-faced nature of their governments, to promises destroyed even before being made, it is unsurprising that the protesters distrust the government and are demanding clear actions rather than words.”

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