By Bashir Adefaka
“The media allowed themselves to be used in promoting the girl’s especially giant stride in negative way. They were only seeing daughter of Nigerian President, who went to school abroad while schools at home are left uncatered for. But is it really the case that Nigeria’s university system still does not receive attention of government under the administration of Hanan’s father?”
Nigeria, many say, is a country of many surprises where acclaimed most educated people willingly or unwillingly dicipate energies in destroying what they cry over as not being built.
Last time question was asked about how a society being cursed daily by its citizens would ever bless such citizens. Likewise, you queued up in sun and rain to elect a leadership but, from day one in office, you never contributed single positive comment or idea to its leadership in terms of everything, how does that leadership favour you?
What is funny but baffling is that, these people who are consciously or unconsciously destroying their own country by debarring its progress and blocking its development are on the frontline of support eulogizing and contributing to progress and development of foreign countries, particularly America. So much that when America commits genocide, to them it is democratic. But when the President of their own one and only country makes effort to block elements within, who collaborate with foreigners to destabilise the nation, they cry to all that care to listen around the globe alleging dictatorship as if Nigeria is not sovereign enough to sort out its affairs in a sincere government.
It is the reason when United States President Donald Trump ordered, recently, the unconvincingly justified killing (by his country’s troops in Iraq) of Iran’s Major General Qossem Soleimani and several others, these fellow Nigerians, as religious group, media and legal practitioners, defended him and the action now tagged terrorist attack by Tehran until they became exposed and ashamed that they were alone as every saner member of global community saw that the act, majorly backed by unfortunate elements only in Nigeria, was being defended by them because their lives depend on foreign aids or grants by the US. They then began to keep mum. Too bad!
But the moment Iran admitted mistaken shutdown of a plane killing all its passengers, these silenced America’s “terrorism” backers resumed work as they were quick to scream “Iran is blood suckers” albeit failed persistently to provide answer to the question: “Of America and Iran, who struck first?”
More embarrassing of all of these is that, some Nigerians are those that carry this as big project. With what eyes would other (even) smaller Africa or world countries look at us as African Giant where our learned ones; lawyers, media practitioners, civil societies’ activists continue to behave like hungry masters who engage in attitude depicting that of survival of the fittest, destroying their own country because of personal gains derivable from America’s aids?
If I may ask, who do America’s aids help in our country, Nigeria? I once asked to be pointed to one development those foreign aids have brought to Nigeria other than destructions, civil unrest and war. It is appalling, therefore, when we begin to see that people who ordinarily would cry over insecurity and corruption in the land in days past are now the ones hiding under one human rights activism, constitutional technicality and freedom of speech or free press to disrupt the sincere effort being made to make the country better. Too sad!
As if we haven’t had enough of these embarrassments, our media print and airwaves that would “traditionally” be quiet over positive things happening from and by the sitting government in our country is again awash with trends and hypes of a so called president’s daughter using presidential jet to carry out her personal photographic business.
I am aware that when recently Hanan Buhari graduated and with first class in a university abroad, having studied photography, the people I would rather tag “blocked headed educated illiterates” not only went blind to the pride of the development. As Hon. Bosun Oladele would say, they were only seeing ghosts in the feat by the young, vibrant and very highly futuristically promising girl’s education, where many of us were seeing lives.
The media allowed themselves to be used in promoting the girl’s especially giant stride in negative way. They were only seeing daughter of Nigerian President, who went to school abroad while schools at home are left uncatered for. But is it really the case that Nigeria’s university system still does not receive attention of government under the administration of Hanan’s father?
If yes, where is the proof? And if no, then, what offence had Buhari committed for only exercising his freedom of choice to send his daughter to school abroad? Those crying over this should have nailed the President with just one information they failed to provide: Did he send Hanan, his daughter by Aisha, to school abroad at the cost of state resources? None of that is the issue, yet these wailers would not let our breathing space clear!
The missing point is, Hanan, as a girl photographer, would have become the cynosure of the eyes for all, including the media and so called social critics complaining, if she had been daughter of a Southern Nigerian elite, daughter of CAN Presidebt, don’t even talk of daughter of a Southern Nigerian poor farmer because the poor cannot be qualified for that attention. HIPOCRISY taken too far!
These are sentimental or emotional platforms upon which these loud voices operate: ethnicity and religion. It is worse, however, when people who try to find out what problems of Nigeria are and they generalise even though they get it right. You cannot be right to say our problem is ethnicity if you cannot point to which and how. Same way you cannot be patriotic enough if although you get it right that religion is one of three major causes of Nigerian problems but you fumble in the end when you generalise failing to point to which and how.
I, however, found consolation in comments of some Nigerians on Southern side of the divide, for example,
Teniola David Segun and Feyisetan Onyeajunwa Akeeb Kareem, who took to their respective Facebook walls Monday morning to express their displeasures to hypocritical noise about Hanan Buhari. There are some others who put questions to the wailers yet to be answered.
David Segun said: “What’s wrong in president Buhari’s daughter in flying alongside presidential entourage to a function? These wailers will never learn lesson.”
Feyisetan Akeeb Kareem in his own comment said: “The America you Nigerians Idolize Trump appointed his son in-law nobody criticize him over. Please talk about development and stop irrelevancies.”
Bosede Adelaja, a journalist, said: “The difference is that President Trump was on the flight and his Daughter and Son in law hold important positions in his Government. President Buhari’s Daughter does not hold any political position within the Nigerian Government and moreso it was for her private photography event. What a slap on the Citizens.”
But she was quickly replied to by Basit Gbenro, who smckeared her doubts: “Bosede Adepoju ,PDT wasn’t on that trip with them, the facilities you make available to the President also serves his immediate family members. Thank GOD you have agreed Nepotism is a norm in world politics, yet you guys cry the loudest when appointments are made!
“If you owned a company and your ED’s wife uses the official car for shopping, I bet if you saw her you’d seize the car?”
Adelaja did not stop at that, she still responded to Gbenro: “Basit Gbenro, PDT’s Daughter and Son in law are top officials in his Cabinet and as such they are entitled to use it. President Buhari’s Daughter using the National Asset for her personal work is totally wrong and an abuse of power. She does not have the right to a Presidential Jet for her private photography. There’s a need to separate public life from private life. Taxpayers shouldn’t be paying for his Daughters private business air trip. In a sane Country where I live, it is not done and cannot happen. Could you please give us the name of any of the the past Presidents in Nigeria that have done the same thing. Height of corruption, this President should start living by example. Using State resources for personal conveniences is unacceptable. His government is noted for “One law govern him and another law governs his people”. He practices nepotism big time. I have said more than I intended to on this post. No more response please.”
Her response did not however settle Basit Gbenro who said: “Bosede Adepoju ,you shouldn’t have responded at all,I raised three issues, you side stepped the third, now DT in YOUR SANER CLIME appointed his daughter and son in law into government positions, it’s not Nepotism, however when Buhari appoints a Northerner you come on social media and ventilate,who your ventilation epp? His daughter is a part of the presidency because she’s part of the first family, she will have the full benefits of belonging to that family and 1 billion of your types won’t change that. In your spare time, you can check on the internet how past Presidents since 1999 used the Presidential fleet and how some even abused it ferrying people to parties and carrying militants on it. We live here and we know what goes, please face your saner climes and leave us to our ways.”
On that Facebook where the discourse took place, Alhaji Bashir Adefaka partook and said: “Basit Gbenro, Thank you for saying my mind in your first response. Mrs Abosede Adelaja, so at this time you admit nd have boldly you have defended that President Donald Trump is right to pack his daughter and her husband in cabinet. Please Aunty Bose, let us be sincere to our spirit, if President Buhari had appointed Hanan into his cabinet, say as SSA Photography, would you have approved and defended it as you proudly did here to President of America, Trump? Please I need an answer very fast.
“Buhari has not even breached any law. What then is the reason some people in Nigeria, who are loud, believe that the only way they can make name or get popular is by leading in hyping news which tend to destroy the personality of their President? This, apart from being unpatriotic, is largely ungodly and has its consequences,” he said.
It is high time we wake up as a people and stop heating up our own polity with all sorts of comments that contribute nothing but backwardness to our nation as an economy and human society.
*Bashir Adefaka, an Akure, Ondo State Prince, is Lagos based media practitioner. Reach him via his WhatsApp: 08163323906.
