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There have been many moments in recent times when one began to think about the manner of leaders we have as governors. Not all, but some of them. These moments were brought on by inward feelings that there’s indeed danger in a society when leaders who should speak up, stand up for the truth, be defenders of the people, unifiers, but have rather turned out to be dividers and ‘yes men’ of the President. As Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of South Africa, and Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up by late Nelson Mandela, said in his book titled “No Future Without Forgiveness”, the society is in deep trouble when yes men surround a leader and tell him only things he wants to hear.
That, figuratively speaking, is poisoned chalice, something that initially looked good, but later harmful. It has brought the downfall of many. Looking back at the events of recent weeks in the country, resulting from the #EndSARS protests that turned violent, traumatized many and led to destruction of lives and property, we expected soothing words that will turn hurts into healing and deep-seated divisions into common ground. Some leaders did, others didn’t. Those who did not, have polarised the country and widened the fautlines that triggered the protests in the first place.
And you begin to ask: How low can some people go? How was it possible for normal, decent and God-fearing leaders as some state governors are, or considered themselves to be, that they would turn a blind eye to a system which has impoverished, oppressed and violated the human rights of the citizens, and went ahead to claim that the recent protests were a grand plot to topple President Muhamnadu Buhari? In short, we are far from growing great leaders in Nigeria, leaders with conviction. Clearly, that’s where we shall miss a Northern leader like Balarabe Musa who passed on last week.
In a recent allegation that left most Nigerians gobsmacked, the Northern Governors’ Forum alleged that some anti-democratic forces wanted to hijack #EndSARS protest to overthrow President Buhari. The forum under the chairmanship of Gov of Plateau State Simon Lalong, alleged without concrete evidence, that the so-called plot and their masterminds wanted to hide under the protest movement to destabilize the country . In a communique read by Lalong at the end of the meeting held in Kaduna, it said in part,” the meeting rejects and condemns the subversive actions of the #EndSARS protest. The superlative agitations and other change regime actions outside the ballot box soon took advantage of the peaceful protest to push for their separative agenda…”
Anyone who has followed keenly the behaviour and comments by Gov. Lalong and others won’t be totally surprised at the statement . Lalong, for instance, is known for almost always, playing loose and fast with facts. He exaggerates a lot. He makes simple matters complex. He’s a master of doublespeak. He did exactly that two years ago, when he tackled his brother governor, Samuel Ortom of Benue state after some Fulani herdsmen allegedly murdered farmers in Benue state.
Lalong had blamed the killings on the anti-grazing law passed by the Benue House of Assembly He later doubled down on his earlier statement that tended to support the attack. For Lalong , like some of our present state governors, power means being able to bend people to their will. There’s nothing there but the desire for power. They have no agenda but to dominate other people, to accomplish their own agenda.
The allegation that the protest was orchestrated by subversive elements hiding under EndSARS movement pushed me back on my heels. You know why? Power reveals more than it hides. The truth is that many people want to be leaders, but as historian Robert A. Caro, a Pulitzer prize winner says, “very few are leaders in the true sense of it”, that is, using great power for great purposes.What the Northern Governors simply did was to ingratiate the President. That’s cheap crap. They didn’t stop at the puerile allegation of regime change slogan, they also flew off the handle by calling for a clampdown on social media in the country. It was uncouth tantrum. They deliberately, in the communique turned a blind eye to the numerous problems of immediate sort affecting their region: hunger, poverty, insecurity, problem of out-of -school children, untold suffering, inequality of unspeakable dimension that continue to hamper the wellbeing of the people and the development of the Northern states. The truth is this: A government that has no issues with its citizens, should not be bothered by the use of the social media.
But don’t blame anybody close to the president who buys the Northern Governors’ scrappy stuff. Reason: As Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, former Chairman National Human Rights Commission(NHRC) told Daily Sun in an interview, November 3, 2020, the “president and his intimates are fixated on 1985 and on making sure it doesn’t repeat itself and they tend to see everything they don’t like from a window built from 1985”. Do you need to be reminded of what happened in that early 1985? Odinkalu may not be far away from the truth, and that’s what the Northern Governors wanted to remind the president believing it would sell. Maybe, it did.
Perhaps the Nigerian Army had that notion, driven by the fear of what took place in January, 1985. In a country like ours where leaders lack utter realism, the ability to look facts – even very unpleasant facts – in the face and not let themselves be deluded by wishful thinking, you can easily fall for the poisoned chalice they have given to the president. In all of this, president Buhari should understand this: It’s dangerous to listen to, or surround yourself with yes men who tell you about what you want to hear. These are sycophants who have ran aground many presidents. That’s exactly the point Catholic priest, Rev.Fr.Ejike Mbaka was making the other day. I’m not a fan of this cleric. I don’t like quoting him, but he made a point worth listening to when he alleged that president Buhari has “encircled himself with criminals and hooligans, people who do not just tell him lies, but magnify lies – lies with NAFDAC number – and feed him”. Such harsh words coming from someone like Mbaka who had taken pictures with the president before and other officials of the presidency, should be taken seriously. Does Mbaka have evidence to support his weighty allegation? Ask him. Anyway, my unsolicited advice to president Buhari is to remember that a leader does not shape a new and personal vision of his country. Rather, he collects it from the scattered hopes of the citizens, past and present. I think there’s no solid justification to prosecute or freeze the bank accounts of those believed to have supported the #EndSARS movement. The mood and circumstances of the moment create immense opportunity for a swift and successful action to meet the sensed urgencies of the time. Indeed, there’s almost nothing beyond the practical capacities of a united and determined people.
This is time for healing, not time for recriminations. We know how difficult it is for this government, this president to acknowledge the truth and accept that it has a lot to do to bring us together. Realising this urgency will help the ongoing efforts to the issues that led to the recent civil unrest . It will also help the process of forgiveness and reconciliation immensely. It will serve the president well if he will focus more on the greater goals which is the common good of the citizens rather than the inconsequential things that are making his administration squander the trust of the people.
The truth is, as neuroscience reveals , what distorts a leader’s judgment is because our brains often leap to conclusions and reluctant to considers other alternative. It mirrors a mindset that leads to errors in judgment. It’s, therefore, important that the president should begin to think seriously about his legacy and how history will judge him. It’s something any leader can only ignore at his own peril.
