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By Harold Chinonyerem
It was a cool and breezy morning sometime towards the end of the year 1984. It was in the days when soldiers broke warehouses to sell hoarded essential commodities to the masses at controlled prices. In those days, both the lowly and the mighty were made to come out on designated Saturdays to clean up the cities and those who defaulted were made to carry dirt in their luxury cars. It was the days when the military held sway and, in the words of George Orwells’ Animal Farm: ‘All animals were equal.’ I was a form one student of Wilcox Memorial Grammar School, Ogbor-Hill, Aba, in the old Imo State. As students, we were made to believe that the dawn of a new Nigeria had come, when all things would be good. So, it was with joy that we lined the streets that day, alongside students from other schools, awaiting the passing of the motorcade of the Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, on his way to the opening ceremony of the Aba Glass Industry. I was at the Ogbor-Hill junction connecting the Glass Industry road.
I still remember the song we sang as we waited for our ‘messiah’ Head of State. The lyrics, in Igbo language were, “Unu ahutula Motor Buhari? (2x) O mara mma k O joro njo? Unu Ahutula Moto Buhari ? Mama Ihutula Motor Buhari? Papa Ihutula Moto Buhari? O mara mma ka ojoro njo? Unu ahutula motor Buhari?” The translation reads, “Have you seen Buhari’s car? (2x). Is it beautiful or is it ugly? Have you seen Buhari’s car? Mother have you seen Buhari’s car? Father have you seen Buhari’s car? Is it beautiful or ugly? Have you seen Buhari’s car?’ We sang and marched until the motorcade came by. We waved and followed the car from a distance, chanting “Moto Buhari, Moto Buhari,” until we arrived at the Glass Industry. By the time we arrived, he had entered the complex. So, we all waited outside, singing until he finished and came out. Just before he entered the car, he turned and waved at us. There and then, I caught a glimpse of the bespectacled general who we were told would bring ‘utopia’ to Nigeria. For me, that day was like no other because I had caught a glimpse of the hero who would make our country great. So, when I heard that his government had been overthrown about a year later, I felt that evil had prevailed over good.
My impression of Buhari as a saviour persisted until his second coming to power. Having watched him try, albeit unsuccessfully, for the past seven years to steer the rudder of this nation to the ‘El-dorado’ we expected, my perception of him has descended from the realm of the stars to that of humans. The unending economic and security crises threatening the nation’s existence have robbed the bespectacled general of that messianic toga. Perhaps it was in realization of this fact that the President had an outburst in his last visit to Imo State, where he lamented that those who should be promoting the good works of his administration were not effective. That outburst proved that Buhari, like many great men, desires to defy mortality by living on the lips of men.
In retrospect, the President’s lament seems to belly the frustrations of a man who wished he could do more for his nation. Surely, his realization that his tenure is gradually coming to an end on a low note is definitely not satiating. But all hope is not lost for his dreams. In fact, methinks the President himself has probably discovered the path to his dream. In a recent interview, the President was recorded saying: “My aim is to make sure that Nigerians believe that we respect them as an administration. So Nigerians should vote for whoever they like from whichever party. Nobody would be allowed to mobilize resources and thugs to intimidate people in any constituency; this is what I want to go down into Nigerian history for.”
Though the above promise is ‘music to the ears’ of many, the Daura General faces an uphill task to fulfill it. Such peculiarities of the African political clime as religious, political, familial and sectional influences would definitely interfere to compromise his decisions.
But whether President Buhari goes down in history as a villain or a hero would largely depend on how he handles this election. Whereas he would be under pressure from vested interests to manipulate the system to favour one candidate or the other, the majority of Nigerians would prefer that the President fulfills his promise by superintending over a free and fair election that would usher in a credible and acceptable leadership for Nigeria. As it stands today, February 25 is only a few days away. The manipulations and machinations are ongoing. The puppets and puppeteers are all playing their respective roles, while the permutations and calculations are unending. For Mr. President, the choices are straight. The path of least resistance would be to pander to pressure and manipulate the process to favour some cliques. But that path would drag Nigeria further down the pit, accentuating the vicious cycle of bloodletting, mutual suspicion and calamities. On the other hand, the President can, against all odds, engage all the might of the state to give Nigeria free and fair elections. By so doing, he will break the vicious cycle hovering over the nation the same way the Mahatma, Mohandas K. Gandhi, did for post-colonial India with his selfless, impartial and non-violent politicking. In addition, fulfilling his promise to the people of Nigeria by giving us a credible poll as a parting gift would definitely exalt Muhammadu Buhari into humanity’s ‘Honour Hall of Fame’ alongside such greats as the Philosopher Emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, who is famed in history as the emperor who fulfilled his word.
•Rev. Chinonyerem wrote from Lagos
