Questions On Critical National Issues Avoided By Buhari During Interview

President Muhammadu Buhari avoided some questions on critical national issues raised during the first interview of his second term in office.

Nigeria is battling serious economic, political and security challenges which Nigerians are seeking presidential action.

In a monitored interview on Arise TV on Thursday, Buhari wriggled out of such issues including the ban on Twitter and rewriting the constitution.

Restructuring the country was among Buhari’s 2015 campaign promises.

Then, Buhari had said he would “Initiate action to amend the Nigerian Constitution with a view to devolving powers, duties, and responsibilities to states in order to entrench true Federalism and the Federal spirit.”

When asked by the interviewers on issues surrounding the clamour for rewriting the constitution he responded outside the question as he talked on issues around education.

He was asked, “How can we reduce the powers of governors and the president and give more powers to the LG, by writing a new constitution?”

Buhari responded, “I think this question of accountability is very important. School, especially education, is suffering so much throughout our generation, I spent nine years in boarding school and the teachers then treated us as they treat their own children.”

Nigerians were controversially banned from accessing Twitter after the microblogging platform deleted his ‘civil war’ tweet.

When asked about the controversy of Twitter and when is the government going to lift the ban on Twitter, Buhari said, “Twitter? That I’ll keep to myself.”

The case between Twitter and the Federal Government has cost many businesses in the last six days.

Nigerian Small and Medium Enterprises rely on the platform as a medium to advertise their products.

With over 200 million population, it is estimated that there are over 17 million Nigerians on the Twitter platform.

The ban on Twitter according to experts may undermine the government’s effort to attract multibillion dollar firms which could worsen the alarming unemployment rate.