Buhari and Burden of Forlorn Expectations
Rather than cast this discourse in the mould of a ‘rejoinder’ to Dele Momodu’s BUHARI AND THE BURDEN OF EXPECTATIONS in his PENDULUM on March 14, 2015 this piece should be read from the perspective of a ‘reminder’ of the inevitability of a Goodluck Ebele Jonathan victory over the forces of vile propaganda, cant and morbid desperation.
It is not hard to decipher where Dele Momodu is coming from, given his prominence as a majordomo in the All Progressive Congress’s bilious propaganda machine that has virtually awarded the 2015 Presidential diadem to his principal, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) even when votes are yet to be cast and counted.
We must remind ourselves of certain elements of any electoral contest that many people, often take for granted. No election offers a consolation prize. You either win or lose. There is no grey area. You either savour the sweet aroma of victory or marinate in the foulness of failure.
In spite of the foregoing, those who want to hallucinate are free to do so but should be ready to adjust!
In contrast to the all-conquering scenario being painted by Dele Momodu , serious and dispassionate followers of the trending political tide in Nigeria see the fortunes of the APC and its presidential candidate gradually ebbing, whittling and fizzling away, by the day, in many areas hitherto thought to be impregnable fortresses under Buhari or Tinubu’s imperial subjugation.
Momodu’s piece gives the impression that there exists a Tabula Rasa (or virgin land) in Nigeria that is traceable to the lack of initiative by the Jonathan Administration that has resulted in a state of arrested development in many areas of governance, which only a re-invented Muhammadu Buhari can set aright. This messianic illusion has driven Buhari and the unwary and brainwashed horde of party ‘faithful’ that has been fed on a sour staple of his “super human and divine mission” in the 2015 General Election.
The only credit Buhari possess is that he is the current local champion who is wearing the toga of a “liberator” and the “Defender of the Faith” in a region groaning under the weight of impoverished youngsters who eat from the crumbs that drop from the rich tables of the elites.
The kernel of Momodu’s predilection for a dream Buhari victory is that whether the “baboons and the foxes” like it or not, the APC “must” triumph and they will be “soaked in blood” if it does not come to pass as predicted. Momodu was not fair to his principal as he failed to regale Nigerians of Buhari’s numerous “achievements and strides” that qualify him for the 2015 Presidential Election, in the first place. These ‘achievements and strides include: a) the overthrow of the democratically-elected government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari on December 31, 1984 b) Selective incarceration and treatment of political detainees (especially Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Cheif Adekunle Ajasin, Mr Ebenezer Babatope, Ayo Ojewunmi, Mr Sam Mbakwe, Mr Jim Nwobodo, Prof Ambrose Alli, etc) in the course of stabilising his dictatorial junta c) Truncation of the Lagos Metro line Project d) Institution of draconian restrictions on the Nigerian Press, civil society groups, trade unionism and the general populace e) the illegal air-freighting of 53 suitcases of currency by his ADC, Major Mustafa Jokolo, into Nigeria in breach of an ongoing restriction ordered by Buhari himself . f) refusal to attend or appear before the Oputa Panel to clarify certain human rights infractions committed by his 20-month military junta etc.
Dele Momodu made a peripheral reference to what he thinks Buhari will concentrate on if he, ever, gets elected.
It is common wisdom that the All Progressive Congress (APC) manifesto has no substance but premised on a matrix of a vaguely-interpreted mantra of change” built around a phalanx of political dinosaurs and celebrated economic blood-suckers poised to unfurl, like mambas, as soon as a Buhari victory is attained – a forlorn hope, thought and expectation; that will NEVER come to pass!
It beats the imagination of well-meaning political pundits on the aspects of Muhammadu Buhari political make-up that will give him an edge over a Goodluck Ebele Jonathan with a trailer-load of authenticated, verified and people-friendly giant strides in good governance, prioritised policies, programmes and projects that past administrations have either glossed over or never thought of at all.
Momodu’s inference that Buhari is an experienced hand at curtailing insurgency, with a specific reference to his much-hyped role in routing the Maitatsine Sect, is mortally defective. In 1980 when Alhaji Muhammad ‘Maitatsine’ Maruwa was killed, Buhari was on a course at the American War College from June 1979 to July 1980, when he returned and resumed duties as the General Officer Commanding, 4th Infantry Division in Enugu until 1981. He knows that the feat being credited to him is not true. In fact, Mr Kayode Uanreroro, who retired as an Assistant Commisioner of Police and now a practising lawyer in Lagos, led the Police team that captured Maitatsine, not Buhari!
Nigerians are not fooled by Buhari’s contrived metamorphosis and constant window-dressing as a “committed democrat” from his well-known template as a morbid and rabid hater of politics, politicking and politicians who he is tolerating for the moment for their nuisance value as they are the ones funding his present shot at the presidency from the spoils of corruption as attested to by Dele Momodu.
