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In life, President Muhammadu Buhari represented different things to many people. At death, he was garbed in shroud of many colours, hence different reactions that trailed his exit. To some, he was a man of strong principles and aversion to primitive acquisition of wealth. Others saw him as a lifeless bigot that did not bother at what happened to others as long as his interest was covered.
Two broad shades of expressions exemplified these impressions on the man. On one hand were the kids, incidentally, from the northern part of the country, who poured into the streets in wild jubilation the moment the news of his death hit the air. The second group comprised mostly politicians who, in their trademark political correctness, did not want to appear as mocking the dead. That was not strange, anyway. A regularly abused and hackneyed mantra in that respect is that the African culture forbids speaking ill of the dead. But I bet that those that easily front that expression rarely understand or contextualise it.
I grew up in a typical Igbo setting where lying-in-state meant a lot for the dead and the living. It was a moment of solemnity and sincerity where relations of the dead spoke truth to his remains, in the belief that life and death are parts of a cycle, a continuum in which the dead sees and hears from the living. At that point, the dead was brought out in the open and his lifestyle x-rayed. If he led a good life, he was admonished to continue with such in his next coming. Where he was found wanting, he would be criticised and asked to turn a new leaf, if ever he would come back to life. That was the essence of the Igbo saying: ‘nwanne ozu na a gwa ya okwu o bu a la mmuo’ (a relation of the dead talks to him in a manner he understands as he journeys on). There was no diplomacy or double talk at that crucial moment.
Outside that circle, people mourned or celebrated the dead as they thought he deserved. It was not unusual seeing neighbours and relations heaving sighs of relief at the passage of one considered to be wicked or diabolical, in same way as they bowed their heads in pains when a good person died. The salient lesson was for the living to know that the society was monitoring and taking note of his actions and ways of life.
There was, thus, much to pick from in the children from the North dancing in the streets at Buhari’s death. If such demonstrations had taken place in the South, especially in the South East, it would not have come as a surprise. Buhari in life, did not hide his disdain for the zone and its people. In his policies and programmes, it was obvious that he did not consider the people as strategic partners in the making of the Nigerian nation. Recall when he was confronted with questions on his lopsided appointments and how he retorted that nobody should expect him to give equal considerations to the people that gave him 97 percent of votes with those that gave him 5 per cent. He was referring to the Igbo of the South East and lived it through. At another point, he described the people as “dot in the circle,”, possible as easy targets in the event of another warfare. He had nothing remarkable to say throughout his tenure about the Igbo except to take umbrage at the people. Under Buhari, the Igbo were serially reminded that they had no stake in the Nigeria Project. Pushed to the wall by years of exclusion, youths from the region who did not see any future in the system, opted for self-determination under the aegis of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), but were visited with maximum military operations under such code-names as Operation Python Dance (Egwu-Eke). This was the case when a report by Amnesty International exposed the atrocities of the Nigerian Army against members of IPOB between August 2015 and August 2016. It put members of IPOB killed by the soldiers within the period at over 150. The report was based on analysis of 87 videos, 122 photographs and 146 eyewitness testimonies, all revealing soldiers firing live ammunition to disperse IPOB members. A chilling aspect of the report was on how, at least 60 defenceless protesters were shot dead within two days leading to the Biafra Remembrance Day of May 29, 2016. It also captured the gory incidence of massacre of the members of the organisation in Aba, Abia State, earlier in February. That was the lot of the South East under Buhari.
It would have been understandable seeing people treated with such level of bestiality trooping into the streets to celebrate Buhari’s death. But wisdom prevailed and the Easterners held their peace. When former Head of State General Sani Abacha died, people poured out into the streets of Lagos and elsewhere mocking his death. The bulk of those rejoicing were Yoruba and other Nigerians angry that Abacha played a key role in the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election believed to have been won by late Chief MKO Abiola. They had their reasons.
The youths from the North dancing over Buhari’s death should serve as a lesson for the leaders and the living. In his journey to the Presidency, Buhari rode on the people and with them. He had a cult personality among the people and was seen as the rallying point of the downtrodden – the Talakawas of the North. In him, ordinary Nigerians looked forward to a better Nigeria, devoid of corruption, nepotism and favouritism. Unfortunately, under Buhari, those vices developed wings and became monsters.
There is no doubt that he recorded some marks in infrastructure. The Lagos Ibadan Expressway, Lagos-Ibadan Rail, Warri-Itakpe Rail, Abuja-Kaduna Rail, Kaduna-Kano Expressway, and the Second Nigeria Bridge are there for him as legacies. He refused to remove the fuel subsidy to save Nigerians from hardship and suffering. But the people through whom he rode to power were neglected and abandoned; hunger became rife; insecurity soared; out-of-school children ratio ballooned. Manipulation of the 2023 presidential election in favour of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner is another pain the Buhari administration inflicted on Nigerians, for which history will judge him harshly.
So, when politicians try to paint the late President in other colours different from what the people thought of him, they are getting it wrong. Nigerians know when a leader does it well and when he does not. When they speak good of Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello, Obafemi Awolowo, Michael Iheaonukara (M.I) Okpara, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Lateef Jakande, Sam Mbakwe in glowing terms, they are not being delusional. They only give honour to those that merit it. Buhari does not come close for such.
