by Abdulrazaq Magaji
Take
it or leave it, General Muhammadu Buhari is not an ordinary Nigerian
even though this is his own way of describing himself. Respected and
eulogised by many just as he is falsely accused and suspected, the
former Nigerian head of state represents the face of the new leadership
the country is desirous of.
He has been sincere enough to admit that, under his presidency, things won’t change within the first year but four years should be enough to get the country working again. In a country where ill prepared people corner political power and are only happy at the executiveness of office even when they are clearly overwhelmed by its trappings, General Buhari could be likened to a race horse in the midst of cart horses; an oasis in an inhospitable desert. Sadly, we still have many people who think that race tracks are meant for cart horses. They are not!
He has been sincere enough to admit that, under his presidency, things won’t change within the first year but four years should be enough to get the country working again. In a country where ill prepared people corner political power and are only happy at the executiveness of office even when they are clearly overwhelmed by its trappings, General Buhari could be likened to a race horse in the midst of cart horses; an oasis in an inhospitable desert. Sadly, we still have many people who think that race tracks are meant for cart horses. They are not!
On my last meeting with him, I was
pleasantly surprised to discover the General had not changed much, both
in stature status, since my last chanced meeting with him nearly one
decade earlier. Through a meeting facilitated by Malam Buba Galadima,
General Buhari looked fresh, just like a day-old chick, and bedecked in
his trade mark kaftan da wando with a cap to match. Like every other
person and every other thing around him, the General was relaxed and
full of banters. Of course, the permanent scowl, which many grossly
mistake for some meanness, was plastered on his face. Do not even try to
take that away from the General as it would amount to asking Federal
House speaker, Aminu Waziri Tambawal to quit smiling. General Buhari’s
permanent scowl does not depict an unfeeling, insensitive fair faced
despot just as Speaker Waziri’s permanent smile does not mean the man is
happy at the suffering in the land. You need only five minutes in
company of the former head of state to appreciate that the General is
full of humour. And he joins in the general laughter after bringing down
the roof!
Behind his permanent scowl is a man with
an unquenchable love for country: a patriot, a wonderful democrat and
teacher as well as a student with eyes for details. At close quarters,
you come out with the feeling that General Buhari is not cut out for the
shark infested waters of Nigerian politics. Indeed, you begin to wonder
why such a fine breed does not feel genuinely frustrated by the failure
of Nigeria to get it right and barely restrain yourself from requesting
him to opt out of politics. But the man is not frustrated and this
feeling is steeled by his belief that the emergence of transformational
leadership which Nigerians yearn for will remain a dream if good leaders
like him quit the stage for leaders who reek of evil. Were he
frustrated the General would not even make himself available for the
presidency in a democratic setting. Of course, General Buhari is cut out
for democracy, an art he practiced as head of state. And this, aside
his forthrightness and transparency, explains why he remains one of the
few prominent Nigerians, indeed the only Nigerian leader, to be spared
by late Chief Gani Fawehinmi. And which also explains why former
president, Olusegun Obasanjo, despite his caustic tongue distinguished
General Buhari for praise. To his credit, this is one man whose worst
enemy would never call a thief. As a military governor, petroleum
minister as well as chairman of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,
NNPC, a General Officer Commanding, then Head of State and Commander in
Chief and later as chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund, General Buhari
could have been the richest retired general today. He had every
opportunity to loot the treasury and amass enough wealth to take care of
his needs but never did. He never will if he has to live his exemplary
life all over again!
As with all standard bearers, General
Buhari’s main crime is not refusing to steal when he had all the chances
in the world to loot the treasury! No! After all there are many other
Nigerians like him in that regard. His crime, and for which many have
vowed to fight him for life is that he would not allow others to steal!
No unrepentant thief would wish a man who will expose and sanction them
around! When Buhari pledges to stop treasury looters from running the
nation aground, all he is saying is that he will plug all holes
deliberately bored in the system to ensure thieves get away with their
crime. All he asks for and all he believes Nigerians deserve is a
dedicated, committed and exemplary leadership which he is prepared to
provide. As it is, we are still beating about the bush, experimenting
with leadership based on trial and error while waiting for the
opportunity to describe General Buhari as another best president
Nigerians did not get!
It is just as well that General Buhari has not given up on the presidency. By 2015 when he will be seventy three, General Buhari will still be in good shape to take another shot at the crown. He need not feel frustrated or humiliated by the boast of some of his country men who insist they will rule for ever. Michael Sata once trod that frustrating and humiliating albeit weather beaten path in Zambia. Mamadou Yusufu was once told by some God- rivalling men in Niger Republic that he would only rule in his next life! Just as Macky Sall upstaged old man Abdoulaye Wade in Senegal even after he was told to forget the presidency. Until very recently, Zambia, Senegal and Niger Republic were countries where opposition politicians were practically told to go stew in their own juice, just as it is still the case in Cameroon, in Uganda, in Angola, Burkina Faso and elsewhere on the continent of Africa.
Our situation too, sorry and pathetic as
it is, will rise to that level when election riggers, more out of
balance of fear, will have no choice but to allow the vote of the
people to count. That day should not far off.
DailyTrust
No comments:
Post a Comment