By BASHIR ADEFAKA
The man of integrity, President Muhammadu Buhari, unlike empty boast the likes of Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan who wanted their party the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rule for 100 years, looks good to make his party the All Progressives Congress (APC) the Nigeria’s version of ANC of South Africa.
The undesirable battle South Africa had that freed it from apartheid is one that will continue to sink to memories. Is it the aspect where the black were so alienated like they were not as human as the white that ruled over their country for a long time one should mention? Or to mention the sacrifices of over 3,000 school children upon whom the soldiers of apartheid government opened fire?
The blood, which flowed from the souls of those kids, finally led to the resolve by comity of nations to see to emergence of new State of South Africa. Nigeria will continue to be praised and appreciated for standing with the oppressed real owners of South Africa at a time they needed help to take over their country.
The luck that country had was that, after the whole sacrifice of lives and the rest, a good man with great mind and kind heart full of love for the nation and its good people, Mr. Nelson Mandela, rather than seeing politics as dirty game, moved straight into it since it is the only way a capable citizen can effect change legally from bad governance to good.
Recall it was the struggle for freedom of South Africa that led to Mandela’s imprisonment and it was the struggle that also saw to his freedom from prison 27 years after and he went straight into the presidential race and won.
That was the luck South Africa had, to, in its very beginning as a freed nation, be ruled by selfless leader like Mandela, whose charismatic nature as a person gave change in totality to life in the country and its economy improved in no time just as its popularity soared scattering all over the world.
By that, in the book of the nobles, globally today, Nelson Mandela is a chapter. It however takes one out of 10 the likes of Nelson Mandela to come in one but definitely not as often.
The bottomline is, Mandela, as first contributed product of ANC to South Africa political leadership, transformed the party into virtual idol, unchangeable. Because, ANC came all out with policies that agreed with the spirit of the nation and so it was of no use for the people to think of change.
Same way, President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria must have left active political stage by the time he will leave power in 2023 having served as APC’s first and sustained contributed success to Nigeria political leadership. If the apartheid did well, would there have been Mandela? Same way, because the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) politicians did badly in government endangering the lives of citizens for 16 years that they held sway in power, the imperative yawn for change brought about Muhammadu Buhari, the fearless, resilient, incorruptible soldier of very highly, impeccable citizen of pragmatic personality.
Fondly called PMB, the Nigerian Leader of Hausa/Fulani extractions brings in more than 50 percent of votes capable of producing any Nigerian President into APC fold, which is the magic wand being that he remained constantly in total grip of his region where his people particularly thetalakawa love him for his pro-people policies either as General of the Military, GOC, Military Secretary, Military Governor of North Eastern Nigeria (now states of North East Nigeria), Federal Commissioner of Petroleum and Natural Resources, Military Head of State, Chairman PTF and now as President of Nigeria.
By the time he will finish, Insha Allah, in 2023, Nigerians will not like to listen to politicians from any party other than APC to seek office and that will be their choice.
So the APC needs to achieve a lot and make more irreversible progress in key essential areas of common man’s life. This will now serve as a PRINT on people’s mind for a very long time.
As for the rejection by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Presidential Candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), of Saturday 23 February 2019 presidential election results and his threatening to go to court, it will not be out of place to say nothing will come out of his heading to court.
It is just a tactical gear towards 2023 election but the question is, will Atiku be relevant at that time to win election as President of Nigeria? The Buhari/Osinbajo combination has proved to the cynics of Nigeria that the growth, development and peace of this country are now in safer hands of sincere people with undisputable connection with fear of God.
Muhammadu Buhari practices Islam by believing in Allah in accordance with the dictate of the Qur’an and performing his five times daily prayers full of humility in his dispositions. Upon the whole, he fears Allah as the supreme watcher over his actions and so has consistently refused to steal the money of the nation or abuse the power that he grips, for as long as he sits in that Rock of Power, as Nigeria’s (and by extension Africa’s) most powerful man after Allah. By this, he lays bare and exposes the mischievous claims that Muslims are problem of Nigeria. Equally his Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has proved that Christians are not problem of Nigeria.
The wisdom in this is that, elements in the country, who profess religion by mere word of mouth but go about administration of the country and socializing without fear of Allah and who therefore steal to enrich themselves and their friends, are the problem that has bedeviled the country for a long time before the coming of this Fulani man as democratically elected President of Nigeria in 2015.
Those elements lack faith in God but rather have interest in voodooism and fetish way of life thereby plunging the country’s fate into the hands of fake prophets who see nothing but bad, evil and calamity about Nigeria. And, in effort to make good their prophecies, they join the already wicked political souls to cause chaos in the land like Nigerians have always witnessed particularly in time election season.
Atiku represents this clique of politicians threatening the peaceful coexistence of the country by his lack of spiritual consciousness to accept that only in reliance and contentment with one’s portion of life as designed by Allah one’s heart can actually find rest. That is why he believes in all sorts of marabout, predictions and so, like the Macbeth of Shakespeare’s book of literature, Atiku took the 2019 presidential election more desperate than Nigeria ever witnessed: do-or-die.
Instead for him now to listen to the word of reason, he wants to go to court to challenge the rights of Nigerians to choose a leader they believe will make their country and lives better, not just in stomach infrastructure but integrity and development devoid of insecurity and impunity.
This, anyway, is just to create a false hope for his followers in a bid to glue them together. Atiku doesn’t want to lose the numbers hence he needs to keep them with false hope that the court will give him the underserved victory.
Unfortunately, the National Peace Committee headed by former Head of State which caused parties particularly the leading contestants – Buhari and Atiku – to sign a peace accord ahead the presidential election failed to call Atiku to order. It is however important for all concerned to know that Nigerians have decided to take up the ownership of their country and that is the level we are.
