Different Nigerians view the performance of the Buhari-led
administration with diverse lenses.
To some, Buhari is The Immaculate, The Perfect! while to
others, he is the worst thing to have happened to Nigeria after the civil war!
After careful speculation, I present to you the top six
categories of Nigerians you will find in the Buhari dispensation.
1. The Praise Singers – Just like a golden fish has no
hiding place, this group is easily identifiable. They are the
Buhari-can-never-be-wrong crew. In their eyes basically, Buhari is a demi-god
who is infallible. In fact, it doesn’t matter to them that they have believed
something to be wrong all their lives. The moment Buhari does it, it becomes
right!
They have employed
all sorts of tactics to advance their bizarre standpoint. Anybody that dare
criticizes the President is tagged “Corruption-fighting back,” “wailing
wailer,” "enemy of progress," or some other names. They have gone to
incredible lengths to defend many seemingly indefensible actions and inactions
of the President. This group are masters in the art of conspiracy theories.
They preposterously posit that GEJ created Boko Haram to decimate the North.
They would have left no words unsaid if a GEJ had skipped
the burial of fallen heroes (Late Lt. Col. Abu Ali amongst others) for a visit
to Edo.
Another instance is when Buhari failed to fulfill his
promise of releasing details of looted funds recovered (including the name of
looters and amount returned). This group conjured up the flimsiest of excuses
to defend this act. While the Shiites have a portion of the blame, they have
stoutly defended the massacre of Shiites in Kaduna and some other parts of the
North.
Dodoism is the new epidemic in Nigeria. The presidential cluelessness inherited from
the previous administration is fast becoming airborne, and this group of
psychopathic sycophants are the most vulnerable
If the Buhari government ends up failing after four years
(and I sincerely hope that this doesn’t happen), this group would have
contributed immensely to the failure. Many of his close aides belong to this
group.
2. The Die-Hard Ranters
–
This is another group highly susceptible to Dodoism. This group is a readymade tool for any opposition
politician. Beg them, sermonize them, bring Jesus Christ to show them any good side of
the PMB's administration, LAYE LAYE; dem
no go gree. They are diehard ranters!
This set of people, even after eighteen months, have not
gotten over the loss of their hero (GEJ). In their warped thinking, they
believe that the recession wouldn’t have occurred if Uncle “Clueless” was still
in power. They still do not realize that with their hero still in power,
Nigeria would definitely have been put up for auction.
This group of people specialises in churning out conspiracy
theories. The most of recent of their depravities is their spreading of the
outrageous claim that Buhari sponsored Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign
with $500M!
If you believe this, you are definitely an illiterate; it
doesnt matter if you have a Ph.D.
To this group, everything Buhari does is wrong. Anytime an
official of the previous government is arrested on an allegation of corruption;
they fill the air with chants of ‘witch-hunting.' Even when it’s clear that
such individual has returned a portion of the loot, they still claim that it’s
witch-hunting.
To this group, the activities of Boko Haram have dwindled
because to them their sponsor “Buhari” is in power. Another patent nonsense
they spew out is to say that Buhari promised to make $1 = N1. Till date, none
can provide an exact quote of Buhari where he supposedly made that pledge! Even
after some Chibok girls have been released, they still stick to their theory
that they were never kidnapped!
They are happy that this government is failing and hope and
pray hard that it remains so till 2019. The goal is that they want to be able
to boastfully say “we told you, Jonathan is the best president Nigeria has ever
had”. They hope to be able to add the annoying cliché “you do not know the
value of what you have until you lose it”.
3. The Tinubuist – The average member of this group does not
give a damn about the state of the country. All they are concerned with is
whether Buhari is on good terms with APC National leader Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Their only worry is that Tinubu remains influential and is not sidelined at the
federal level. Even if Buhari performs well, they are ready to move with Tinubu
if he forms another party.
A significant chunk
of this group was instrumental to the ludicrous #IStandWithTinubu walk that was
held recently in Lagos. I find chronic members of this group pathetic! How on
God’s earth is how you perceive the Buhari-led government tied to how close he
remains to one man!
4. The Covert Wailers – This is a group fast gaining
followers. They are “wailers” by heart but temper it with occasional lauding of
some of Buhari’s feats so far. They would criticize 99% of what the President
does and reserve a lame mention for any glaring feat achieved by the government
in power. They hate being tagged “wailing-wailers”; this is why they have
resorted to faintly highlighting some positive actions of this government.
This group always gladly anticipate blunders of the
government and release their ever-ready vitriolic when it happens.
5. The Humble Pie
Eaters – This group of people campaigned vigorously for Buhari during the last
elections. They did not necessarily view him as an ideal candidate; they only
saw him as better than the clueless GEJ.
So far, they have been roundly disappointed. Some have
resorted to taking solace in silence, practically retreating into a shell in
shame.
Some others have relentlessly launched tirades of criticisms
at this hope-sapping administration. They staunchly support the anti-corruption
war, even though they believe that it may be one-sided.
They are also quick to dismiss The Die-hard Ranters and
Praise-singers.
6. The “No-be-my-business” Crew – This is a group that
houses perhaps the majority. Due to successive government failures, they have
completely given up hope in any government. Governance to them is simply a tool
for the powerful to exploit the weak. They believe nothing can be done about
the status quo and have resigned the fate of Nigeria to prayers.
They hardly vote; however, they ensure they milk politicians
as dry as possible, especially during campaigns. They see it as the only
opportunity to get back a chunk of their national cake, however small.
A number of them would only vote when their ‘son’ is
contesting. They would rather have their son loot the national treasury than
any other person.
Ultimately, the change that Nigerians crave isn’t likely to
emanate from any government house. It begins with getting it at right at the
micro level.
It may be a long and arduous journey, but the fact remains
that the larger society will only become ideal when we make deliberate efforts
to make things right at our inner circles.
Written by Saheed Animashaun
Saheed Animashaun is an Accountant and Social
commentator.
He can be reached via saheed.animash@gmail.com
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