Buhari Visits Obama on his turf - tough days ahead!

As President Muhammadu Buhari begins his state visit to the US today, we have good reasons to be full of prayers - both for the President and the country as a whole.  There could be no doubts that US President, Barack Obama considers this "Pay back" time for his role and supports during the Nigerian election. We are about to receive our bills!

According to news report, while President Buhari would have settled for a two-day visit, the Americans are coaxing him to stay a day longer. And he would be lodging at the famous Blair House, all at the expense of America’s taxpayers.  But we do know that there are no free lunches, least of all places in the United States.  Blair house is right across the White House, and PMB staying there as Obama’s personal guest would facilitate even more informal meetings, hand-twistings, and whatever!
I personally suspect that one reason we've had a resurgence of Boko Haram activities since May 29 would be to keep PMB on the edge.  As it were, seeking America's help against Boko Haram would need to top his list of pleas to Uncle Sam.

And at what price? We've had already some uncomfortable policy somersaults that clearly indicate our President might be having tough times sticking with his lovely “I belong to everybody, and to nobody”  pronouncement.  Take for instance the order that all military checkpoints  be immediately removed  - with almost immediate compliance effected in full public glare.  Only for the NSA to come back 2 weeks later claiming no such instruction was ever issued by the President! How then do we discount those who insist that the “stuffs” that needed to be moved across the nation had already been moved in the window of opportunity afforded by the military-off-the-road order!  And most curiously, Boko Haram, who in the dying days of the Jonathan administration reportedly had resorted to executing non-cooperating female captives by stoning, to save precious bullets, has now bounced back into reckoning fully armed.

Similarly, even General Yakubu Gowon had to strongly come in defense of the Nigerian Army before there was a little dousing of the threats by PMB’s spokespersons to roast the Army leadership, based on the Amnesty International's hurriedly packaged report demonizing the Nigeria’s military.  Interestingly, as the President goes into the shark-infested waters of our Shylock western friends, their media is giving the Boko Haram palaver, (the Amnesty International version) maximum hype.  For instance, as we write this article (in the evening of 20/7/15), Germany's official media house,  Deutch Welle , is featuring a major documentary on Boko Haram brought out from its archive.  The conclusions are the stark opposite of those reached when the DW, a few weeks ago, featured a similar documentary on the operations of German and American soldiers in Afghanistan!.

 So what’s in stock for us as the President spends the next three days in the den of Obama?  Obama had already indicated he would be forcing the homosexual issue down Nigeria’s throat.  That’s one pill President Buhari would almost certainly find too bitter to swallow.  But then how does he refuse that, and also go on to refuse America’s desire to take over our military establishment with its infamous African High Command dream? Especially as we would be asking for help to fight Boko Haram!  And it is almost certain that the President would have to embrace Obama’s incredibly malicious nuclear deal with Iran.  Even while admitting that Iran is committed to the annihilation of Israel, Obama insists there is no other option than accept to, at the very best, delay Iran’s production of nuclear weapon by 10 years while pacifying her with generous financial largesse that would most certainly only help consolidate the Mullah’s stranglehold on the country in the meantime. PMB is also likely to find the Iranian deal inexorably connected with support for Palestinian State – even when it is clear that such a state would sooner than later be taken over by some of the Arab terrorist groups bent on wiping Israel off the map.  Gaza is a clear demonstration of this reality.  All these are going to be tough issues that would pitch PMB literally between the devil and the deep blue sea !

In my personal humble opinion, the next few days are going to be critical to how events would play out in the next four years in the country.  For instance, the choice of cabinet ministers – and all that goes with that - might be significantly affected by this visit.  For all his sincerity and honesty of purpose, the late President Yar Adua had his administration literally crippled by the appointment of Mr Andoaaka as his justice minister – obviously at the instance of James Ibori.  The rest is history.  We pray President Buhari returns relatively unscathed, and that the unfolding Divine Agenda for our country is not truncated at this very delicate moment.