…Submits I Cannot Pretend I am Satisfied
When I look back at my time in government, I cannot pretend that I am satisfied with how events unfolded. I owe Nigerians honesty because history should be told as it happened, not as we wished it had happened.
When we sought the mandate of Nigerians in 2015, we promised to rescue the country from insecurity, corruption and economic hardship. We campaigned vigorously, criticizing the failures of the previous administration and assuring Nigerians that we had the solutions. Today, I must admit that many of those promises did not materialize. The expectations we created were not matched by the reality that followed. In that sense, we failed Nigerians.
I served in the Federal Executive Council during President Muhammadu Buhari’s first term, so I speak not as an outsider but as someone who witnessed government from within. What I discovered was that the government many Nigerians believed they had elected gradually became something different from what we had envisioned.
President Buhari’s personal reputation for integrity was a major factor in our electoral victory. Many Nigerians trusted him because they believed he possessed the character and discipline to transform the country. Unfortunately, shortly after we assumed office, powerful interests emerged around the presidency and increasingly influenced the direction of government. In my assessment, the government was effectively taken over by individuals whose priorities were not necessarily aligned with the promises we made to Nigerians.
Over time, I became convinced that President Buhari himself was not fully aware of many developments taking place under his administration. That conclusion did not come from speculation but from my personal interactions with him.
In 2020, after I had left office, I requested an audience with the President because my conscience would not allow me to remain silent, even after many occasions of speaking about it at FEC while in office, I told him directly that this was not the government we had promised Nigerians. I pointed to the worsening insecurity across the country. When we came into office, the insurgency was largely concentrated in the North-East. As the years passed, insecurity spread into other regions, and even major highways became dangerous. I challenged him that if he doubted the seriousness of the situation, we could travel by road together from Abuja to Daura with only official security and see for ourselves what ordinary Nigerians faced daily.
To his credit, he appeared genuinely surprised by some of the issues I raised. That conversation strengthened my belief that there were critical matters reaching neither his desk nor his attention.
I also recall an incident involving security agencies that occupied public attention for days in Abuja. During a Federal Executive Council meeting, I expected the matter to be discussed because of its significance. When it was not mentioned, I raised it under Any Other Business. The President reacted with visible surprise, suggesting that he had not been adequately briefed. We ended that meeting under an atmosphere of obvious concern.
Experiences like these convinced me that there were people around the presidency who exercised enormous influence over government while limiting the President’s access to accurate information. That situation weakened governance and undermined the confidence Nigerians had placed in us.
My purpose in speaking today is not to shift responsibility or absolve anyone, including myself. I was part of that administration, and I must accept my own share of responsibility. Public office demands accountability, and honesty requires us to acknowledge where we fell short.
Nigerians deserve leaders who tell them the truth, keep faith with campaign promises, and place national interest above personal or political calculations. If our experience teaches anything, it is that a government must never allow itself to become disconnected from the realities confronting its citizens.
That is why I believe it is important to speak openly now. The lessons of that administration should guide future governments so that the mistakes of the past are neither repeated nor forgotten.
By Solomon Dalung
