Former President Muhammadu Buhari is an “all-rounder.” In all our national spheres, he gave us his “best.” That’s how his die-hard followers perceived him. And they remain faithful to that till eternity.
Pity them in their bewilderment and perplexity. They are greatly pained that we don’t align. Why? His “best” was his worst to us. And you dare not blame us.
We had misplaced thoughts. That a Buhari’s “best” would never happen to us anymore, anytime, anywhere. How erroneously we goof. And woefully too!
He was extremely generous when he held sway. Even to a fault. We didn’t realise then that he was kind. He displayed the rare milk of kindness in him without fear or favour.
He was a talk-and-do. He strictly walked his talk. And he did it meticulously. He made no mistake in his intention. Nor did he showcase any iota of pretence. That’s not in his eerie character.
He was focused. He was clear in his mind. He fixed his gaze on what he wanted from us: REVENGE! And throughout his heavily tailored electioneering. He was honest to his mission. He didn’t fail to tell us this.
Whenever party supporters shouted: “APC,” Buhari would respond appropriately, his right fist raised, even with a louder: “From-top-to-bottom.” That was his slogan. It was credited to him exclusively.
To him, it was deeper than that. Actually, he was passing a profound message across. And he was sincere. Revenge was his mission! But we were blinded by sheer ignorance. This was acutely lost on us. His handlers made that happen.
For his gruesome eight dark years. Buhari lived to his billing. His hailers would proudly beat their chests. And testify: Promise made, promise kept. He came, he saw and he destroyed. What a queer fulfilment.
But the one that came after him! We thought he would reverse the ugly trend. And put a huge spanner in the works. So, we hoped. And we were expectant with bated breath.
Not President Bola Tinubu. He did his own deed differently. And elected to distance himself, far away from us. To our disdain, he acted his mind. That was sordid, awkward and absurd. He stubbornly followed every step of his predecessor.
Suddenly, we were jerked out of our deep slumber and came to stark and barefaced realisation. Tinubu never failed to tell us. That he would start where Buhari stopped. He did us in. He went many kilometres further, digging deep our pit.
Several times over. Tinubu rammed into our gullible skulls. He pumped into our senses. He was unambiguous. And vowed to continue Buhari’s “good job.”
We have been given out as a prey to Tinubu’s teeth. And he’s enjoying a sumptuous bite of us. He’s driving down hard on us. To the lowest deep and deepest low.
Our fears are genuine. Our apprehensions are visible and perceptible. This time, our fledgling democracy is the hardest hit. It’s under serious threat of derailment.
We ponder endlessly into the wild wind: Why the sledgehammer on democracy? The same democracy Tinubu allegedly ran away to protect! We cannot comprehend. It beats our wildest imagination real hollow.
Only he alone can explain himself. In barely two years, the democracy you claimed you once cherished. That same democracy you are submerging down below. And to this abysmal levelness! What a sorry, messy situation.
Defections are the vogue now. Jumping from all parties. And the destination is one almighty party: All Progressives Party (APC). And the President is unperturbed. It’s the least of his worries.
One bad morning. A whole state apparatus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) woke up from the wrong side of its awful bed. And voluntarily dissolved itself in an unmatched hurry. Herded all of its members; elected, appointed, officials, etc.
And emptied them into the APC. They included but not limited to the governor, his deputy, ex-governor, his ex-deputy, speaker, his deputy, lawmakers, local government chairmen and councillors.
All these happened in Delta State. And in a tsunami-like jiffy. Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and his predecessor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, led the curious onslaught. The rest is now fast slipping into our dirty, stinking, appalling history.
Presently, they are all cooling off their nerves in APC’s comfort zone. And the sole reason for mass defection: To benefit and enjoy the massive resources from the centre. All other reasons given are blabbing and make-believe.
Okowa gave himself out: “We tried our best in the state, but we could not lay our hands on a lot of things that would have benefited us at the federal level.”
From his crystal ball, he made a startling discovery: “For the stability of this nation, it’s best for us to have him (Tinubu) complete his eight-year tenure. Then the Presidency can move to the North. I believe that’s the right thing.” If you say so!
He then picked on Atiku Abubakar. He “exposed” the ex-Vice President and “bombed” him accordingly: “I discussed the coalition with Atiku, who’s on his way out of the PDP, before we moved to the APC.”
This brought out the best in Tinubu. He was emboldened. His kind of character wouldn’t hide such. He was urged on. His hangers-on saw a great feat in Delta State.
Their expected interpretation: His reforms are bearing fruits. Bitter and sour! “Fruits na fruits.” We can see them in their ugly faces.
Tinubu took to mockery. He didn’t find the Delta defections anything to lose sleep about. It was a miracle. It’s democracy running its normal course. It must be celebrated and encouraged.
In fact, it serves as a vital cue for the remaining non-APC states. They should wisely join the queue. Tinubu derided the opposition and celebrated their unending losses.
He insisted. No room to pass the buck. They must carry their heavy burden by themselves. His spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, vomited:
“The opposition cannot blame President Tinubu and the governing APC for their poor organisation, indiscipline and gross incompetence in managing their affairs. It is certainly not part of Tinubu’s job to organise or strengthen opposition parties.”
In case anybody is in doubt: “We want to state that democracy is not threatened or undermined simply because politicians exercise their rights to freedom of association.”
We never disputed this factual fact. No sane mortal will contest it. It’s the norm all over. And it’s the beauty of democracy. And we don’t want to lose it for any reason.
We are adamant to forget in a hurry. When Buhari sank us. And did what he despicably did to us. We thought Tinubu would be different. They actually made us believe so. We didn’t know it was their deliberate intention to do us in.
Buhari “only” dragged us from-top-to-bottom. And graciously left us at that. There was still this slim hope of survival . Tinubu rightly saw that.
We thought he would elect to make a difference. And impact positively on us. By pulling us out of the darkness that Buhari annoyingly and wickedly threw us into.
Sad. Tinubu wouldn’t do that. We were taken aback. We were more than disappointed. We were scandalised. We became blank; literally empty. Dazed and dazzled! All at the same intensity.
He opted otherwise. He rather cashed on it heavily. And to our utter detriment. He coined his “Renewed Hope Agenda.” He knew we were forever gullible. And we would sheepishly fall for it.
He was damned correct. We were carried away by mere slogans and semantics. We weren’t allowed to properly interrogate the slogan.
His handlers fenced us out. They were always ahead. Give it to them. They deserve our unkind kudos. They are naturally gifted as experts in menacing and evil propaganda. And they made the best use of their rich expertise.
They went to work. And did what they knew how to do the best. They did not only persist. They ensured Tinubu didn’t face any serious debate. Yes, throughout the electioneering, home and abroad. It was an unequalled masterstroke.
Other candidates willingly submitted themselves. They were subjected to all kinds of studious scrutiny, Tinubu escaped. He remained aloof, unwilling, unavailable and untouchable. He stuck to his deadly guns to the end.
That built in him a false confidence that he could do and undo. According to his whims and caprices. The commencement of the abysmal, crazy rat race to the bottomless pit!
That’s one major reason for our unending plight, predicament and discomfort. We’re grieved! Tinubu is fast taking us down into the unknown.
And if he remains stoic, unyielding, apathetic, unmoved and indifferent to our festering plight. Then, we’re set for a long-distance commotion and confusion. God forbid.
There’s still a window. We have a viable alternative. We ought to make positive use of our democratic institutions. They must, as a matter of urgency, be strengthened. And not deliberately weakened for sinister purposes. Or a hideous agenda.
We are afraid. That’s what appears to be playing out now. It is being thrown up recklessly. We need to treat the institutions, specifically, the National Assembly and Judiciary, as sacred.
They are to be untainted and spotless. To checkmate democratic excesses emanating from our all-powerful and overbearing Presidency. They ought to be effectively deployed to discourage party defection and its ilk.
Not at all to fester it. That’s if we are genuinely serious about running a federal democracy. If not, let’s quickly go back to our vomit of the 1960s: Parliamentary democracy. And jettison our home-grown “Unitary democracy.”
It has no place in any sane clime. It’s stranger than fiction! It’s neither a viable nor applicable duplicate anywhere else. We’re just wasting our valuable time and precious resources.
No other country does it the despicable manner we do it. Ours is detestable, abominable and abhorrent. We need to discard it. Defections and defectors are not adding any democratic value.
They diminish us as a people. We’re fast losing it. This species of characters are wild and weird. They are playing politics the wrong way. They are walking democracy on its head.
They are the political pandemic in our midst. We have to confront them. And expunge them from our body polity. And bring back our politics of the 50s and early 60s.
We are lost. The whole apparatus of a state ruling party could walk leisurely. And dissolve itself into an opposition party in the same state. Exemplars: First Ebonyi State. Now Delta. And many more are on the waiting list. APC is the ultimate beneficiary of the political shenanigans!
We never dreamt, not even remotely, that our democracy would ever come down this low. In barely two years. See what we have been made to become. A cowed, cajoled and conquered people. A people in mental chains. Hung in our brutally injured psych.
Deliberate slavery. Everyone is in excruciating pain. Even the makers, implementers and hardened supporters of these obnoxious policies.
Including their league of cousins and uncles: The bootlickers, hangers-on, do-gooders, sycophants, praise singers and hailers. No one is spared. Ask them. They’re all around you. They aren’t in short supply.
Help! Halt our crazy race to the bottomless pit, or…