It would be madness to give Buhari emergency powers

Just when you think it would not get worse, the worst happens. As a friend would say, what is bad will get worse. I heard that President Buhari is planning to seek emergency powers through a bill, titled: Emergency Economic Stabilisation Bill 2016. The bill is said to be in three parts: Objectives and application; Timeliness, thresholds and other limitations; and miscellaneous.
In the bill, the president will have absolute powers decide whatever happens in Nigeria.
The executive orders will involve issuance of visas, registration of businesses, granting of waivers, process of tendering and sales of non-core assets.
The emergency powers that have the legislative components include the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Act, procurement process and virement of budget allocations.
The implications of the above powers with Buhari are better imagined. The executive part of the bill will give him power to decide who pays custom duties, who gets contract and who buys whatever the government wants to sale.
Buhari is seeking power to enable him transfer items on financial account to the place he wants. In other words, to disregard the budget. For a president who is sectarian in attitude, and  have dismissed many people from the army and police because they are from the south and are not Sunni Muslims and disproportionately appointed northerners to top positions, this will spell doom for Nigeria.
Why would any democratic leader need authoritarian powers if his intentions were honest? There is not a single thing listed in the proposed bill, which the president does not have more than enough power to do in an accountable way.
Buhari, really thinks that Nigerians are fools.
Where are the Nigerian opposition parties? Where is the PDP?
Buhari does not need emergency powers to reflate the economy. He does not need more powers to create jobs, boost foreign reserves, ensure inflow of foreign exchange, strengthen the naira, resuscitate the manufacturing sector and get contractors back to site.
Solutions to Nigerian economic and political problem exist.
A country like Nigeria with currency under pressure in the face of falling oil price, should do everything to reduce waste, encourage investment, sanitise monetary policy and make the country attractive for business.
Such a country will consider reducing interest rate to single digit and ending the foreign exchange parallel market. With most money channelled through the banks, the negative effect of black market would be reduced.
In addition, the banks will be encouraged to loan to business men and women to grow the economy and fund investments and, government investment Banks recapitalise to lend to some targeted investors to diversify and increase capacity.
All these will stimulate the economy, create jobs and result in increased tax revenue. Of course, with corruption under control, by extricating the judiciary from the pocket of corrupt politicians, and reduced cost of government, investors will return to Nigeria. It is not rocket science.
It is clear that Buhari is a dictator and finds democratic process inconvenient. It would seem that once a dictator always a dictator.
Buhari does not seem to know how to exercise accountable power. He thinks that he has to dictate to govern and intimidate to have his way. What Buhari is seeking is absolute power, and we know that it corrupts absolutely.
This bill is evidence of even more sinister intentions by Buhari than many imagined. This request for emergency power is a ruse.
President Buhari is seeking absolute power to enable him push Islamic values in Nigerian schools and punish those who oppose him.
I have no doubt that his reasons include to impose Islamic values and Sharia all over Nigeria and secure grazing grounds in the Middle Belt and South by subterfuge and fiat.
He does not need emergency power to carry out the responsibility of a president.
In fact, the Nigerian president has too much power, which stifles evolution of independent and strong institutions.
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Buhari has contempt for democracy and is seeking ways to supplant it.
Since the election that brought him to power, most foreign investments coming to Nigeria has been to the north. A very small fraction is to the west and none to the East.
The World Bank is rebuilding the water supply in Kaduna State. In May 2016, they paid for most of the state’s plans in Agriculture. In July 2016, the bank donated $20m to the Kaduna Ministry of Education.
I am not against the development of the north, but when the wealth that sustains the country comes from the south, and the geopolitical zone is neglected.
Buhari should be reminded that Nigeria is a democracy and there cannot be a place for autocracy in a democracy.