Anatomy of support

By DR UCHE DIALA

His (Buhari’s) supporters didn’t unduly start defending him or bullying others. They joined to complain and pushed until he eventually constituted his cabinet and it wasn’t a bad cabinet by any consideration.

I have read some revisionists claim that some people didn’t criticise the Buhari Administration for 8 years.

I have also read some people (even some who couldn’t touch Buhari with a 100-foot pole) claim that they supported Buhari for 8 years, somehow suggesting that some people are not supporting President Tinubu or are not supporting him how or as much as they supported Buhari.

For those who actually did support Buhari who either pretend to forget or have genuinely forgotten, I want to remind them with just a few examples, what supporting Buhari meant and was and how we supported Buhari. At least I should know.

▪︎ Early on, when Buhari was taking long in constituting his first cabinet, he was tagged ‘baba go slow’ by some people.

His supporters didn’t unduly start defending him or bullying others. They joined to complain and pushed until he eventually constituted his cabinet and it wasn’t a bad cabinet by any consideration.

They didn’t go attacking those who called him baba go slow. Indeed they owned the sobriquet and made something creative of it in line with Buhari’s mantra – “order is better than speed”.

▪︎ When after the release of many of the Chibok girls, another set of students were abducted in Dapchi, Buhari’s supporters didn’t seek to shield him, play down on it or pass the buck to the State Governors.

Instead, they joined other Nigerians to put pressure on him to secure their release until it happened.

Indeed no one was more critical and pressuring of the President over the Boko Haram insurgency until it was reasonably tamed than his supporters.

▪︎ When there were allegations of a ‘cabal’ in the villa essentially holding the President ‘hostage’, his supporters didn’t play the ostrich or seek to bully, malign or attack those alleging so.

Instead they spoke up. Indeed Buhari’s wife and chief supporter, Hajiya Aisha Buhari led the charge and many of his supporters stood bravely behind her.

▪︎ When many people from the South East were accusing Buhari of hate, his supporters didn’t just stay abusing them.

Instead, they diligently and effectively responded by sharing verified updates on the 2nd Niger Bridge, the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, the Fertilizer Blending Plant in Ebonyi state, Zik’s Masouleum, payment of pensions of ex-Biafran policemen, and other undeniable efforts of the President in the SE geopolitical zone.

▪︎ When Buhari’s media team was laid back, his supporters didn’t go supporting or defending them or bullying those who called them out.

Instead, they took the lead in calling them out, asking the president to do something about it. In some cases the supporters got together themselves to assist with the information and communication war.

▪︎ When Buhari was being accused of being nepotistic in his appointment, his supporters didn’t go bullying or attacking those who thought or were saying so.

Instead, they dilligently researched and produced a comprehensive breakdown of his appointments by geopolitical zones to debunk that allegation.

▪︎ On the partisan front, during the 2022 APC Primaries, when it appeared that both Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu and Dr Betta Edu were on course to become the National Chairman and National Woman Leader respectively, even though they had their way in the end, Buhari supporters in significant numbers were the most vociferous in opposing both candidates on principles and in calling out the President.

▪︎ Towards the end, during the implementation of the CBN Cash Swap Policy, Buhari supporters were some of the most vocal in criticising and opposing the policy, including including one of Buhari’s most prominent supporters, ex Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

I can go on but let me pause here. Others can add theirs.

The simple idea was to ensure that the right things were done by the ex President for the good of the nation and for the success of his administration. That is the core duty and responsibility of serious and responsible supporters.

Supporters are not merely attack dogs and lions. They are critical elements that any leader needs to truly succeed, in deeds, not words. They are watch dogs, advocates, advisers, critics and foot soldiers.

How effectively and efficiently they play that role, goes a long way in contributing to the success or failure of a leader as well in shaping his or her legacy, and it must be driven by intellectualism and objectivity to be effective.

Let me quickly add. It is instructive to note that Buhari’s support was broad based. It was not predominantly domiciled in either the Northern region or his North West geopolitical zone.

Indeed, some of his most ardent supporters were from other geopolitical zones. That was very crucial and helpful to his governance and whatever he achieved during his presidency.

I hope I have managed to refresh the minds of those Buhari supporters who may have gotten confused and hopefully also enlightened some supporters of President Tinubu who are new to this whole supporting business.

In conclusion, I urge all of us, progressives and others alike to think about the collective good of our nation.

Let’s support President Tinubu appropriately, patriotically and responsibly.

Let’s dutifully commend, critique and objectively criticise when necessary and offer ideas for solutions where we can.

His success is our collective success. His failure is our collective failure.

#GodBlessNigeria

©️ Uche Diala

(Picked from Diala’s Facebook as posted on Sunday August 11, 2024)