An Open Letter To General Muhammadu Buhari, President Elect – Federal Republic Of Nigeria

By Comrade Shettima Umar, Maiduguri Metropolitan Council – M.M.C Borno State, Nigeria, 

With due respect to your distinguished personality, On behalf of the entire People of Borno State, I warmly congratulate you on your victory as the President Elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Your Excellency, your victory reflects the confidence and hope that the Nigerian people have in your past leadership as the Former Military Head of State.

It was a hard-fought campaign but you won Nigerians over with your Mission, Vision, your focus on their concerns and aspirations towards your natural identification.

Mr. President, Nigerians and the International community have placed their trust in your people-oriented vision to improve their lives and take Nigeria to a greater height.

Unlike before, North-Eastern Nigeria has today become a hotbed and theatre of intolerance, general sense of fear and insecurity such that insurgent do call some of its part their Caliphate etc.

The effect on the economic angle can hardly be quantified as over 600,000 people are displaced from their homes.

Your Excellency, The people of Borno State have indeed been down heated into red bloody eyes by experiencing a daily dark hit out Boko Haram attacks.

Our Hopes as you emerge as the President Elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is that you are going to wipe out our red tears of bad feelings and experience for the past  five years Boko Haram Insurgency in the North East part of the Country.

Sir, The internally displaced persons in different part of the world are indeed need of your seriously urgent proper attention, by rebuilding our lost/destroyed homes by the insurgent, a special rehabilitation program should be kicked so that does affected will go back to their respective homes.

Mr. President, All these series of political upheavals, incessant conflicts, Bomb blast, insurgency, communal clashes, boundary disputes, religious crises, rulership tussles, complaints of marginalization, settler/indigene conflicts and the most Disturbing Boko Haram phenomena pose serious security challenges of monumental proportion to the unity of our region, which

has get out of hand and like wild fire, engulfing everyone.

Sir, I am confident that under your leadership, North East, Borno State to be precise will restore back it lost glories and maintain back it slogan as “Home of Peace”.

The current insecurity today clearly confirms that since the Nigerian independence, the North has never faced the kinds of challenges it is facing today.

Your Excellency, The Educational Sector in North East have been rated on a low basic ground due to the burning of Schools and Killing of our innocent school childrens during the insurgency, it is on this regards Sir, I urge your indulgence as a matter of Insurgency to lunch a Special Fund raising tagged “North East Educational Revival Fund Raising” as soon as you were sworn into office.

This proposed fund will be specifically used to revive educational system in the region and renovate educational infrastructure as already been kicked up by Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno State.

On this regards of the “Fund Raising” I want to urge you to established a Federal Polytechnic in the state, my reasons are on the basic of Borno State having only one Federal University (University of Maiduguri) apart from the state own Tertiary Institutions which makes some students not to be admitted due to certain number of required applicant to be admitted per section.

Mr. President Sir, In the last 15years Borno State has been systematically impoverished, its legitimate share of the federal resources diminished, its teeming population, especially its youth abandoned to their devices, its economic activities paralyzed in the face of increasing insecurity, its presence in the Federal services pruned because we are always in an opposition party with the Presidency.

These crises are also multi-dimensional with the evident primacy of politics, ethnicity and religion in almost all of them. In the struggle for power, political supremacy and get-rich quickly syndrome.

In addendum, The current insecurity challenges has turned Borno State to be the most dangerous region to stay in the country not as before that Borno happens to be the center of business of West Africa.

Your Excellency, My expectation immediately you assumed into office come May 29th 2015 is to see a peaceful North East and particularly Borno, Yobe and Adamawa who experienced a hard rate of hardship during the insurgency attacks.

Sir, As you embark upon your onerous responsibilities, I wish to assure you that Nigerians are ready to cooperate with you for a better future Nigeria.

I look forward to working with you not only to develop our country but also to concert our  effort in the cause of Peace and the brotherhood of all peoples.

Once again Congratulations Mr. President

Yours in Services,

Comrade Shettima Umar,
President, National Union of Borno State Students – NUBOSS

Borno State Coordinator, African Visionary Leaders Association – AVI