With six days to the end of his presidency, President Muhammadu Buhari has gone out to defend some of his selections and acts that may not sit well with many of his supporters.
Top of the list is his selection of women as Finance Ministers, which he described as a deliberate strategy to repel people, particularly men, who naturally feel too big to bother a lady for contracts and other favours.
Buhari made the announcement on Tuesday in Abuja, when dedicating the new Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) corporate headquarters.
Mrs Kemi Adeosun and Mrs Zainab Ahmed were the two women who oversaw the Finance Ministry during Buhari’s eight-year presidency.
He said: “I deliberately appointed ladies so that it will give me a lot of peace.
“I made sure I gave the ministry of finance to a lady to exploit the cultural behaviour of all Nigerians: once ladies are in charge, people feel too big to go to ladies. So, I am sure peace will be allowed in the Ministry of Finance where people will go and lobby for their contracts to be paid and so on. So, they feel too big to go to ladies. So, I put a lady in charge. That gave me a lot of peace,”.
Buhari also gave reasons why he defiantly appointed Hameed Ali, a retired Army Colonel and former military administrator of Kaduna State, as the Comptroller-General of Customs in 2015, despite deafening objections from various quarters, including the National Assembly.
The president, aside applauding Ali for his dexterity, recalled how late Sani Abacha assigned tough tasks to him to execute.
He said he loved Ali’s leadership style, prompting him assign the task of restructuring and reforming the NCS.
“As for Hameed Ali, I asked him to be in charge of Customs. No matter what people say about the late Sani Abacha, may his soul rest in peace.”
“I knew him very well, when somehow he became president of this country, Head of State, the biggest problematic area was around Kaduna.
“He picked Colonel Hameed Ali and dumped the problems on him. My decision for Hameed Ali to come to customs was a deliberate one. I brought Colonel Hameed Ali to ensure that I have peace of mind.”
Buhari also said he deliberately closed down Nigeria’s borders a few years ago to ensure that Nigerians eat what is produced locally, citing positive impacts of encouraging local production on job creation and security.
“Please note that from Lake Chad to Benin is more than 1,000km. Only God can effectively guard that border. So, you need a person who will have the energy and competence to effectively supervise it.