By Anthony Kolawole
Nigeria’s opposition elements have a very strong and bigoted mindset. They are unbending in designs of heartlessness; something more virile than mere evil. Nigeria’s opposition claim expertise in everything. They strive through the backdoor to administer Nigeria on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari who has the popular mandate of the people to govern Nigeria.
Life is full of oddities and uncertainties. For genuine leaders, it is a tormenting disease, especially when he finds himself in the pool of thoughtless opposition politics. When discerning minds observe the mindset of the opposition elements in Nigeria, it prickles laughter.
The opposition in Nigeria held power in Nigeria for 16 years. These were years of abundance for Nigeria. They were years of the new millennium’s oil boom for Nigeria. Earnings from crude were surplus and superfluous. The nation appreciated astronomically in wealth.
But the opposition which ruled the country rather indulged in endless profligacy and looting of the nation’s commonwealth. They dragged Nigeria backwards for three decades. It hobnobbed and celebrated looters and thieves; but shunned every positive value. Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s infamous statement that PDP created millionaires and billionaires has remained a sour point in the country’s beleaguered history. But what else can anyone say?
Incredible as it sounded, yet some people fervently argued in favour of it or stoutly defended it with raised voices. But to sane minds, it is quite funny to understand that a political party would morph into an investment firm which generates billions and millions of naira in dividends for its shareholders. It is part of the prattles of opposition elements in Nigeria. These were the funny ideas the PDP which has slipped into an opposition party in Nigeria now harboured on leadership and governance.
Laughably, in ironic ululations today, the opposition disparages everything done by President Buhari, who exudes a vision, focus and competence in governance. In five years, President Buhari has accomplished what the then ruling party, which is now in opposition dreaded in 16 years. But the opposition elements desperately seek to transmute into unofficial advisers of Mr. President.
Unfortunately for them, President Buhari is not an imbecile. He is not weak-minded. He set out on a redemption voyage in Nigeria and knows the destination. He ploughs his graph and adheres to it. He knows how to puncture the gales of opposition elements who have sworn to destroy the legacies birthed by him in Nigeria.
Yesterday, the Kankara boys were rescued in six days. And precisely, eight days after the Kankara abductions; another set of 84 schoolchildren retuning to Mahuta village, after a religious ceremony in the same Katsina state were also abducted by unknown gunmen. Security agents and vigilante instantly rescued all the 84 schoolchildren after a fierce battle with the abductors. This is only happening in the days of Buhari Presidency. The severally embarrassing slaps on President Buhari’s face have refused to show eternal bruises and so, they are angry at the foibles of their tactics.
When in power, the opposition elements had no nerve or strength to rescue any Nigerian trapped by armed criminal gangs. They were natural devoid of senses or any wisdom to rescue an entangled fowl, much more a human being. But they spew expertise on security matters today in an egoistic manner. But who has the President offended? He has only offended the power brokers in the country by seeking to revive and regenerate the nation.
He is assailed with near outright or indecorous insults by those who have tethered Nigeria to serfdom in perpetuity. The opposition is disgusted that Buhari is breaking the chain of bondage; he is giving hope to the hopeless; he is wiping the tears on the cheeks of the poor of the poorest of Nigerians.
Therefore, the opposition elements have become adversarial advisers to Mr. President. They want to think for Buhari and perform his official leadership functions. They are out to usurp the brain of Mr. President and think for him. They display a “brilliance” which only drapes with damaging ambience. Nigeria’s opposition elements are the only fortunetellers who are themselves ignorant of their own fortunes; languish in penury, misery and internally disconnected with selves.
The common dictum at their beck and call is “sack.” They are disenchanted with everything and everybody and so, unintelligibly goad Mr. President to sack everyone. These opposition elements fail to market any worthwhile idea to assist Mr. President in the areas they consider defective or dysfunctional. The language is “sack.” Of course, it’s a truism that no one can offer what he doesn’t possess. So, it is understandable that the opposition’s choruses of “sack” resonates everywhere and all the times. It’s the only knowledge in their kitty.
In the next couple of days, and by the divine grace of God Almighty, Nigerians would wake up into another brand-new year; that is, 2021. And it is another auspicious period for opposition campaigns for “sack” or goading of Mr. President to reshuffle his cabinet or change his team in malicious exhibition of indignation. For people with such mindset, it is foolhardy to advise them to wait for their time to be enthroned leaders again.
So, as 2021 approaches, Nigerians should not be shocked to hear the renewed trumpets for the sack of Mr. President. Yes, they will first target his person and office. They will sermonize about how President Buhari has dragged Nigeria’s economy into recession twice in just five years. The opposition will refuse to remember that they foisted a recessed economy on Nigeria thorough reckless spending or looting; and obtaining foreign loans to fund recurrent expenditures, as against investments.
The opposition will hate to tell Nigerians that President Buhari only inherited a recessed economy from them in 2015 and pulled it out through prudent management of scarce resources and the application of rewarding monetary policies. The opposition would wish it a secret that the 2020 economic recession is a global pandemic caused by Covid-19 epidemic. Even the world’s strongest of economies have not been isolated from it. But they will preach to gullible minds that Buhari caused it and should be sacked.
Nigeria’s opposition would evangelize on resurgent insecurities in the country and how President Buhari has demonstrated incompetence in protecting the lives and property of Nigerians. They will shamelessly call for his “sack” or “resignation;” meanwhile, these are the same people who could not rescue even chick caught by a hawk throughout their years in Aso Rock.
In 2021, Nigerians should not be stunned with the vociferousness of the wailers in calling for the sack of the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha; they should expect the haters to call for sack of the Chief of Staff to Mr. President, Prof. Gambari and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Monguno (rtd). They will mouth loudly for the sack of all Ministers of the Government or FEC members.
Nothing belittles the esteem and conscience of the opposition gangs. The wailers can even call for the sack of wife of Mr. President, Hajia Aisha Buhari. Honed on the path of self-destruct and mindless abuses of democratic liberty of expression, they can also call on President Buhari to sack of Mamman Daura’s family as the President’s relations. So, the expectations from the opposition in Year 2021 will see an endless sack list from the wailers centered on the aforementioned personalities.
That’s not the end anyway! Those who would escape the list of “sacks” in January 2021 should tarry a while. They should not count themselves lucky yet. More names will surely crop up by February 2021. But President Buhari cannot be bowed by such opposition antics.
He is a master of the gimmicks of the antagonists. But like the theme of class struggles in post-independence Kenya as reflected in Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Ngugi wa Mirii’s play, “I Will Marry When I Want;” President Buhari will only sack whoever he wishes to sack when he wants as empowered by laws of the Federation. He will certainly not pander to the demonic or bigoted opinions or adversarial counsels of opposition elements and wailers.
Kolawole PhD wrote this piece from Keffi, Nasarawa State.
