Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has said President Muhammadu Buhari is not above criticism, but said critics should be constructive and objective in their criticism, whilst proffering appropriate solutions.
Malami, who stated this during the 2021 national conference of National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), Abuja chapter, said while the judiciary was expected to look into issues brought before it for proper adjudication, the media is expected to give balanced, unbiased and untainted reports of activities unfolding in the society.
Malami's statement came amidst furore over Catholic bishop, Matthew Kukah's Christmas message last December where he accused Buhari of nepotism.
In his sermon, he said, “Every honest Nigerian knows that there is no way any non-Northern Muslim President could have done a fraction of what President Buhari has done by his nepotism and gotten away with it.
“There would have been a military coup a long time ago or we would have been at war. The President may have concluded that Christians will do nothing and will live with these actions.”
There's also the allegation that the Buhari administration is part of secret ploys by Northern Fulani to dominate the country.
This assertion is particularly pushed by the president of Yoruba World Congress, Prof. Banji Akintoye, who is one of prominent voices in the Southwest, clamoring for self determination.
He said, "There is so much injustice in Nigeria, and it is only here you have this kind of injustice, and oppression. There has been so much Fulani domination, and oppression of other groups in the country, and we can’t continue this way and this is why we feel that the best option for Yoruba is to exercise their right to self-determination.
"A country where one group is always aspiring to conquer other sections can no longer be called a country. The situation in the country today is so bad that it has gone beyond restructuring, which some people are even calling for.
"The Fulani people have a hidden agenda, and unfortunately President Muhammadu Buhari is helping the Fulani to actualise their agenda of dominating other Nigerians through his political appointments and general ways he has been running his government, and other Nigerians can no longer fold their hands and continue watching things going on this way.
"Another annoying thing is that the Fulani in Nigeria are even bringing Fulani from outside Nigeria to participate in the conquest of other Nigerians. This is no longer acceptable. Countries fight wars but when they do so, it is against outsiders, and not against their own people like the Fulani are doing to others in Nigeria.
"A country where a section is aspiring to conquer other sections can no longer be referred to as a country. The Fulani say Nigeria belongs to them, and that they are going to take lands that belong to other ethnic nationalities, and this is why you have all these invasions taking place in the Middle-Belt, Southern Kaduna, and other parts of the country. The reality of the situation is that we the Yoruba can’t continue to live with another group that believes in the subjugation, and conquest of others," he added.