Prior to Christmas Day, it was as if the Muslim and Christian homage to the Presidency have gone with the last administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
During the last era, Jonathan, like former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and the late Umaru Yar’Adua, normally received Muslim and Christian delegations from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) who paid him homage at the seat of power as the President of Nigeria.
Under the military regimes, prior to the year 1999, every member of the delegation on such homage always go home with one type of gift or the other from the President.
Most often, the leaders always leave the same day for their hometowns to celebrate the festivals of their faith as soon as they were done with the homage.
If it was a Muslim festival, the delegation from the FCT, which represents all Muslims in Nigeria, always have some Christian clergymen from the city as part of the delegation, which demonstrates the unity and love between the two religions.
The same practice goes for a Christian homage to the Presidency during festivals such as Easter and Christmas celebrations.
Such homage always offer the visitors opportunity not only to dine and wine with the number one citizen of the country, but they also have a rare and cherished physical contact with the President and the Vice-President.
During such homage, residents in the city and some staff of the State House always look forward to the opportunity of posing for pictures in handshakes with the leaders.
Some of the visitors do not fail to take full opportunity of the homage by bringing their children to participate in the homage, especially posing for pictures with the leaders.
But some FCT residents felt that the change mantra of the present administration has swept away the Christian and Muslim homage.
Their fear then was anchored on inability of the Eid-el-Kabir Muslim homage to hold on September 24, last year; being the first festival after the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in May.
The President then had to spend his Eid-el-Kabir Festival in his Daura hometown of Katsina State.
As last year’s Christmas was approaching, some FCT residents, in their further calculation, completely ruled out the possibility of the Christmas homage holding.
Their thinking was that it will be impossible for the President, who is a Muslim, to hold the Christmas homage for the Christians when the Muslim festival homage was not held in September.
But President Buhari penultimate Friday proved that he was a detribalised Nigerian and a father of all Nigerians irrespective of their religion.
Buhari, clad in white Babanriga and white cap to match, was not only on ground to receive the representatives of the Christian community on Christmas homage, he ate snacks and took soft drinks with the visitors.
He also shook hands with each of them as they posed for photographs. The President was assisted by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, as the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo was absent.
Speaking during the homage, an elated Buhari said: “I am very pleased that the political leadership and religious leadership are well represented here.
“I am pleased that all the communities are well represented. I don’t know what kind of host I am as I don’t have to move around freely.”
The President also received three giant cards from the Minister of the FCT, Muhammadu Bello the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) FCT chapter, Rev. Israel Akanji and the Chaplain of the State House.
The Christmas homage has, no doubt, proved to the residents that the FCT has not seen the last of the Muslim and Christian festivals’ homage.
Timeline versus deadline
Majority of Nigerians definitely want total peace and security in the country and as such do not want any element of insurgency and criminal acts perpetuated anywhere around the country.
To them, the bloodshed and killings, especially in the Northeast by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram in the last five years should be brought to an end.
It was in line with their thinking and love for peace and development of the country that President Muhammadu Buhari gave a three-month deadline for the defeat of Boko Haram.
That deadline expired on December 31, last year.
Although former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a retired General in the Nigerian Army, few weeks back had declared that not all Boko Haram members need to be killed for Nigeria to win the war.
So, it was not surprising penultimate week for the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed to declare that the war against Boko Haram has been largely won by the Federal Government.
He said: “Today, I can report that the war against Boko Haram is largely won. I can confidently say this because just recently, I led a group of 33 journalists from both the local and international media to the hotbed of the insurgency, that is, Maiduguri, Kondugua, Kaoure and Bama.
“Today, I can report to you that the more than the 70-kilometer stretch from Maiduguri to Bama and all the way to Banki, which leads to Cameroon and the Central African Republic (CAR), are in the hands of our gallant troops.
“They have so degraded the capacity of Boko Haram that the terrorists can no longer hold on to any territory just as they can no longer carry out any spectacular attack.”
Noting that the insurgents are now engaging more in attacking soft targets, he said: “Unlike a war between two armies, an insurgency never ends with arms victory. Even in countries such as Colombia, where insurgency was supposed to have ended decades ago, attacks such as this still happen.”
In the same manner, the Minister of Defence, Monsur Dan-Ali told State House correspondents that military operations are in timelines and not deadlines.
Whatever the case may be, Nigerians are anxiously waiting for total peace and security to return to every part of the country.
They are looking forward to when the millions of internally-displaced persons (IDPs) will be returned to their various villages with their infrastructure rebuilt in a secured environment.
As in the past, everything should be done for their security to be guaranteed in those villages. They should be able to live their normal lives without fear, let alone bloodshed.