Over the past two years, since President Mohammed Buhari became the President of Nigeria, there has been what I may call “Buhariphobia” in the country residing in the minds of some group of persons. These groups of persons include corrupt individuals, some religious groups and ethnic groups.
For the corrupt group, they are afraid of Buhari because they know that a no nonsense Buhari will not continue to condone corruption in whatever guise and that those found wanting will be prosecuted. These corrupt persons know that Buhari will not allow business as usual in governance and that he will not be easily compromised, hence they resort to blackmail of his government, saying that the “fight against corruption is selective” or that he is abandoning all other aspects of governance and concentrating on corruption alone. For them, fighting corruption is witch-hunt. So they employ all kinds of negative propaganda, against his government, using their ill gotten wealth to fight back.
For some religious groups, they reason that Buhari being a Muslim is working in the interest of Muslims – that he is out or has an agenda to Islamize Nigeria. How erroneous ! These particular groups posit that boko haram was a creation of president Buhari. They also claim that the kidnap of Chibok girls was a stage managed affair. How Genial ! How can one rationally claim that Buhari is working in the interest of Muslims or out to Islamize Nigeria when the same Buhari administration dealt with Muslim Shiites in Kaduna who became lawless in their activities? Yes Buhari had the courage to do that even though they are his Muslim brothers/sisters. How can anyone in his or her conscience say that Boko Haram was a creation of Buhari, when the same terrorist group is being dealt with, wiped out in Nigeria as against what we used to see in the past, and the international community is praising Buhari government for this feat. Does it make any common sense for somebody to say that kidnap of Chibok girls was a stage-managed affair? Stage-managed by who? The good news is that concerted effort is being made to safeguard the life of these girls and rescue them. Thank God some have been rescued under Buhari and I believe that more will be rescued in due time until they are completely rescued.
All these noises about Buhari having an agenda to Islamise Nigeria can not in any way be substantiated with any concrete evidence, rather those who peddle these inciting and dangerous rumour are out to pitch Muslims against Christians to create crises so as to achieve their whims and caprices. Yes their goal is to see Nigeria disintegrate along religious lines which will create opportunities to satisfy their selfish interests. Just recently, a massacre in a Catholic Church in Anambra which was reported to be a fall out of communal feud between rival individuals in that community is now being wickedly peddled in social media to be caused by jihadist Muslim groups. This is another satanic ploy to pitch Christians against Muslims in the country and some gullible persons have started believing this.
For some ethnic groups, they reason that they are being marginalized under Buhari government and so they clamour for autonomy or secession. Truth is, I have not seen any government in place in Nigeria that has not been accused of marginalizing one ethnic group or the other. There has not been any government in Nigeria that has not been accused of favouring a particular section of the country in appointments, development etc. Right from the time of independence to this present time, there have been cries of marginalization. Even during the colonial era, colonial masters were accused of favouring a particular section of the country. Again those who fan these embers of marginalization are the ones who have hidden agenda, they are hiding under the umbrella of marginalization to clamour for secession from Nigeria. The clamour for Biafra has become so rampant. The social media which is awash with this Biafran clamour is now a medium to disseminate lies, insults and negative propaganda against Buhari Government. Yet the originators of these lies and insults mostly some of my Igbo brothers claim they were descendants of Israel, that God is on their side and I ask in consternation and anger, how can God support lies, insults and evil propaganda to advance a purpose? How can God be associated with hate speeches geared towards achieving selfish agenda? My advice to my brothers is, they better go back to the Bible and read the history of the Israelites, how God intervened or is intervening for them on several occasions. What God required or requires of them is obedience to His commandment/will. With obedience to Him, God always fights or fought their causes without their help. God fights or fought for them even in unbelievable and miraculous circumstances. Cases abound when the Israelites were only required to be still, to be quiet to allow God act. But some of these my brothers are here and now making inciting comments, spreading falsehood, insulting constituted/constitutional authorities, heating up the polity and in some cases resorting to violence. In the light of all these I ask, what happens to love that Jesus preached and His disciples are preaching? What happens to tolerance and peace that were or are the hallmark of Jesus Gospel to Christians and to the world at large? How do you reconcile the notion that God is with Biafran agitators with the heinous epidemic of falsehood and insults spread across the social media by Biafran agitators? May I give a word of caution. Our God should not be mocked. Do not use the name of God in vain. I do not have anything against agitation for self determination, but it has to be done in a civilized manner. If you want to involve God, pray silently about it, ask His will to be done and at the same time display conducts that are Godly – Christ like conducts. “Those who go to equity must go with clean hands”. May I also caution that you don’t blackmail those elected under Nigeria constitution, sworn to protect, defend and uphold that same constitution expecting them to breach that oath of allegiance and support Biafra. Doing that will be grave conflict of interests. Some of the south east elected officials are boxed to a corner in this regard. They are at loss as to whether to support Biafra or bear true allegiance to Nigeria. My advise to them is that since they did not elect themselves, and were rather elected within the context of Nigeria and under Nigerian constitution and sworn to protect that same Nigerian constitution; until Nigeria ceases to exist, they must continue to bear true allegiance to Nigeria and to the Nigerian constitution.
May I remind all these Buhariphobia groups that they cannot change God’s mandate. They cannot disrupt the Divine will of God for this country. They can go ahead in their evil intention to celebrate our President’s ill-health or wish him dead like some now do. Whether they like it or not, our omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God who made it possible for Buhari to come to power to rescue and sanitize this country will make it possible for him to recover from his ailments and come back to continue with his divine assignment. We thank God there is no vacuum in government. God is using the Acting president Prof Yemi Osinbajo to keep the work going excellently well.
Let me also caution our fellow Nigerian northerners, thread with caution no matter how highly provoked or how highly you feel that your brothers are insulted. We are in one Nigeria. Issuing threat and ultimatum to fellow Nigerians living in the north to leave is a height of constitutional breach. Churning out anti-Igbo songs to register your grievance is counterproductive. You do not solve problems by creating more problems. “Two wrongs, they say, do not make a right.” Nigeria is our country for Ibos, Hausas, Yorubas and other ethnic groups. No one ethnic group can lay claim to Nigeria alone.
- Vincent, Former President, Catholic Brothers United, Lagos, Vingeorge2000@yahoo.com