There are people in Nigeria, who would still vote for the current President even if they saw him with their own eyes doing 'number two' on their lawn at noon. They will rationalize even the most absurd and idiotic things. Why? Because, he is a Christian and because he is from a particular ethnic group. In my opinion, they are even worse and worse off than those who do it for monetary benefit. I have not come to address these ones. That will be akin to attempting to stop a goat from eating yam. 'Pikin wey go die, go die'. By all means, carry on.
Leadership is a bitter-sweet pill. It is as easy as it is as hard. About a week ago, a Tunisian museum was attacked by two terrorists who opened fire on mostly tourists and killed a few people. Later that day, I caught the Prime Minister on television, assuring his people that they were on top of the matter. A few days later, he sacked prominent security chiefs when investigations showed there were indeed lapses in security. Swift, precise and assertive action. No committees. No hearings. What this tells the world and the new security chiefs is that the government isn't joking. We will fire as required!
A few weeks ago on Facebook, I chastised Nigerian 'Christians' for the part they had played in the campaigns of calumny leading up to Saturday. I was disappointed that the current President appeared to be banking his ambition solely on divisiveness and not merit. I got a lot of stick for that. I was unhappy about the way churches were fingered everyday in bribe scandals and partisanship. I wondered why one man was allowed to take campaign to churches while the other man could not take his to mosques. What I got, was the feeling that Christians, Nigerian ones especially, had a delusion of grandeur about the supremacy of their creed. You got the vibe that they adamantly believed they were 'better' than any other and they had no apologies for this view. That is however, a matter for another day.
Since Buhari threw his hat in the ring for this election, I have heard nothing but a calculated attempt at assassinating his character. He was first too old to be President. Then, he was a fundamentalist whose ultimate plan was to institute Sharia Law in Nigeria. Then he became the sponsor of Boko Haram. Then he became an illiterate who scored F9 in Mathematics in precolonial Nigeria. Then he was sick and couldn't run around a stadium. Then he was admitted in a London Hospital. Then, he was surrounded by too many criminals and so was not worthy. Then he was an al-Qaeda sponsor or was it even the other way round. Now, he is a paedophile who married his current wife when she was 13 years old. Interesting isn't it?
Many people say Buhari set our democracy backwards in 1983 after the Shagari coup. I beg to disagree. The real setback started in 1985. We all agree that corruption has beleaguered us since the days of our founding fathers. Under Shagari, nobody disputes that corruption assumed a new level of brazenness and 'anyhowness'. Morality had been thrown to dogs and we were on the brink. Buhari and Idiagbon understood the root cause of the problem and sincerely, maybe not popularly, tried to address it.
The root cause was the 'Nigerian mentality'. A mindset of doing things anyhow. They understood where the correction had to start from. So they forced us to queue like human beings were expected to do. They sanctioned hoarding traders and were crude in their war against indiscipline. Perhaps, if this process had not been truncated, if civility had been ingrained into our DNA, maybe today, our anyhowness would not reached such epic proportions.
We are at the brink yet again. We're looking up the barrel of a shotgun. The economy is stiff from rigor mortis and only awaits an official funeral. The hospitals and schools are thoroughly embalmed in the mortuary, they've been dead for a while. Unemployment thrives like a God-given natural resource and the unemployed present healthy fodder for mischief makers. The idle mind is the devil's workshop after all. Every day, you have figures hurled at you to force pseudo-progress down your throat while you still can't sleep without generators blaring.
This isn't the time for 'birthrights' my people. This is crunch time. We need to make pragmatic choices now. Sentiments have no place now. If you're not prejudiced and can engage in self-reflection then ask yourself truly how your life has fared in the last decade as a Nigerian. Answer sincerely.
How President Goodluck Jonathan himself isn't even voting for Buhari is what surprises me more. You would have thought it was a no-brainer. Yoruba ni 'iku jina s'orun' (sleep is very different from death). Let us stop, breath and start over. The excuse that saboteurs abound who constantly truncate progressive steps made by this government can't be acceptable any longer. A leader must know how to pick a functional team. Hire and fire weekly, if you must till you get it right. Excuses just can't cut it again where there are so many lives at stake.
I wish to implore you the weary and undecided voter. Not the reprobate apologist. You, who is worried that they are all the same after all. I agree with you. Maybe they are. Maybe they are not. The taste of the pudding is in the eating. You have munched on this 'kpomo' for six years and it still hasn't softened. Perhaps it is time to spit it out and try beef? Here and now is a chance for us to test the strength of our democracy by flushing out incompetence at any level and by any government. Does Buhari strike you like the type of man that will be a stooge to Bola Tinubu in office as they comically claim? Even Jonathan as innocuous as he looks defied Obasanjo after he came President and refused to be a stooge. Let us give Nigeria a lifeline at least.
Truth is whoever wins on Saturday has an arduous task ahead of him. The economy for one is in dire need of CPR. Buhari's frugality and discipline assures you that even if we are drinking garri, we would all be drinking it together. The sacrifice will be across board. It will not fall squarely on the poor as it almost did in 2012 with fuel subsidy scam but you are sure we will cut waste which this government has promoted in the last 6 years. We will all tighten the belt!
I believe a lot of good can still come out of Nigeria. This is the reason why I am trying again at this eleventh hour to appeal to your good judgment and conscience. I am hoping I will strike the right nerve that will jolt you from your hypnosis and apathy. I am appealing to the centers in your brain that control reason and insight. Activate them! Think about it. The numbers do not simply add up and the next four years are crucial.
As a parting thought, with all you've read and seen in the news, imagine two scenarios. Each a Wednesday morning at Aso Rock Villa and the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting is on. Seated are Namadi Sambo, Femi Fani-Kayode, Gani Adams, Asari Dokubo, Doyin Okupe, Buruji Kashamu, Bode George, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, Musuliu Obanikoro, Iyiola Omisore and James Ibori (as he would complete his sentence very soon).
The other scenario:Professor Yemi Osinbajo walks in with Buhari. He is flanked by Babatunde Fashola, Ben Akabueze, Bolaji Abdullahi, Oby Ezekwesilli, Donald Duke, Odein Ajumogobia, Kayode Fayemi, Pat Utomi, Charles Soludo and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (if God answers my prayers and he can run the Finance Ministry as Emir). Close your eyes for a minute and imagine the content of such a discourse.
I urge you. Nothing but our best eleven should be on the field between now and 2019. If we miss it now, we may never get it right again, EVER!
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