Instances abound. The pointers are glaring and crystal clear. We have proof. We have evidence. We are heading for the rock. Samplers are legion.
We are tragically bound for the Dark Ages! We are speedily receding into the unknown. The ship must not sink. But the captains of our ship are acting awkwardly.
They appear to have lost their bearing, perhaps, totally. Their compass is losing control. And we are drifting back into the Dark Ages. The ages we left some million years past.
The indicators are scary and terrifying. We are ebbing fast into the dark ages of brawls and skirmishes. We are back to the primitive use of brute and raw power. This is frightening; it’s survival of the fittest.
We are afraid our government is fighting its citizens and the citizenry on all fronts. It is not for nothing. We know this by its policies, body language, actions and inactions.
They insist we must not complain when we are pained. Government has invariably given up on its responsibilities. It is fast abandoning and abdicating its duties.
That is why we are giving up on the government too. And we are not taking this lightly. We are being bruised and brushed daily. Even by the same government elected to sooth our pains. Strange?
President Muhammadu Buhari practically made matters messier last week. He complicated issues for us. We were left dumbfounded and bewildered. We regretted he spoke. We would have been better off if he had not.
We asked for it. And he gave it to us full and overflowing. Three times he appeared to us. Three times he put us on edge. He left us more confused and unconvinced. His responses and countenance still make us to wonder aloud.
What is revealing in these unrevealing encounters? You would want to wonder. He told us why he is doing what he is doing. He tried hard to explain some of his seeming queer behaviours.
He was bold in his assertion. All through, he remained stoically unrepentant. He would not relent either. He kept on going the opposite direction with us. The gab is widening everyday.
He was resolute. He believed he was on course all the time. He saw us as ingrates. He was cross that we never appreciated his “value.” He was astonished we intentionally misunderstood him.
He was baffled that we could not make sense out of his lopsided appointments. He insisted the appointments were made on merit. To him, it is in good faith too.
But we won’t be fooled by obvious falsehood. They can tell that to the marines. Out of the 11 security agencies, two are “miserably” headed by southerners, the remaining ones are predominantly headed by northerners, particularly Fulani.
Buhari would want us to swallow this, hook, line and sinker, that the odd arrangement is fair enough. That was before. It’s no longer possible. Things don’t work that weird way any longer. This is the height of deceit. You call it merit we call it nepotism. No other name.
Why is the President’s ethnic group so favoured at all times? Yet, he insists on merit. You skipped Course 35, leapt over Course 36 and landed in Course 37. There, you were comfortable to pick your Chief of Army Staff. Very disturbing.
This brand of merit does not and cannot hold water. It is now convenient for you to jettison federal character for the so-called merit. This is a poor and lazy argument. We are convinced this cannot convince us. It is wickedness and cruelty combined.
His views on issues he chose to address were disastrous; pushing us further to the edge of the precipice. His utterances are drawing us deeper into the Dark Ages.
He wants to reopen cattle grazing routes. Buhari is bent on taking us back to the 1960s. He is resolute on holding the rest of the country down. Yes, for his kinsmen, both here and in Niger Republic.
He displayed pettiness, fear, sheer hatred, animosity and bitterness. All demonstrated in one fell swoop. That is “unpresidential.”
He has unconsciously developed a phobia for protest, courtesy: #EndSARS. He sees every demonstration as a coup against him. He panics at any opposing opinion. He has zero tolerance for tolerance. He can’t just stand or endure it.
How time flies. What goes around comes around. He needs to be reminded fast. Buhari did in November 2014 what the #EndSARS later did in October 2020. They were on the same page.
Buhari was “tear-gassed.” But the #EndSARS protesters were pointedly shot at by the military! That is the tragic difference. He occupied the streets of Abuja on November 19, 2014, with his co-travellers in the APC. He was its presidential candidate.
They wanted ex-President Goodluck Jonathan out of government and power. Buhari & Co. believed they merely protested against bad governance then. Nothing spectacular. Nothing amiss. Agreed!
Nearly seven years after, he changed the narrative to suit his whims and caprices. He became vividly terrified and agitated. He was afraid that the youthful #EndSARS was a coup to flush him out. He bought the dummy from his corps of sycophants, bootlickers, do-gooders, praise-singers, flatterers, kowtowers et al.
They surround and cage him effectively. He almost has no choice. He needs to be pitied and helped out.
But we are sinking by the minute. We have attained the unattainable. Even government and its top officials have given up. They have lost confidence in themselves and the government they pretend to serve.
We had erroneously thought. May be, the President would halt our rapid slide into the Dark Ages. That he would restore our hopes and aspirations. The reason we insisted he must talk.
We goofed. And we swear we won’t make such a gaffe again. We would be more conscious next time. See where it has landed us.
We are being asked to defend ourselves by ourselves. All because of the failed state status they led us into. And what is more, with bows, arrows, cutlasses, axes and dane guns.
They are encouraging us to be brave. And confront the AK-47-welding killer herdsmen, bandits and terrorists with these obsolete weapons. That is our cruel lot.
Before they finally lead us into perdition. Let them hearken to the voice of reason and wisdom. They have never been in short supply.
We only need to wisely tap into them. They are priceless. Money cannot buy them. They are at our beck and call. Prof. Wole Soyinka is one such voice. The Nobel laureate is ever ready to generously offer such service. He is never tired in crying out. In fact, that is his area of core competence.
Trust him, he did it again on Monday. Yes, unsolicited. And we are happy he did. He was clear in his mind. He would not mince words. His sermon on the mountain:
“I am saying this whole nation is about to self-destruct and I am not the only one saying it, except Buhari and his government listen and take action, otherwise we would not celebrate another Democracy Day come next year.”
This is emphatic enough. Isn’t it?