I have to say, I had considered Mr. President a clueless man. His mistaking the name of his own political party and the name of his deputy, for me, was nothing short of a show of the absence of the requisite intellectual and/or psychological capacity to run the country. This position was compounded by the fact that fairly recently, he referred to 'West Germany' and 'President Michelle.' I was certain at that point that we had a 'cow' for a president. When originally, he failed to nominate members of his cabinet, if there was any doubt left as to the cluelessness of the man we had at the helm of affairs of the Nigerian state, it was completely obliterated. I additionally thought that perhaps, he has forgotten that Nigeria is no more under Military rule. I laughed in my mind, at the laughingstock Nigeria would be all through his tenure. But I think I might have judged too soon.
Now that I look closely, I see a man with a plan. A definite plan. A man that intends first, to purge Nigeria of the corruption that has plagued our country for many years. Instead of seeing his refusal to appoint Ministers as a show of indecision and absence of direction, I now consider it a deliberate attempt to ensure that the people he works with are unstained by the oil of corruption. I see that as a show of intelligence and integrity. Our past leaders, Obasanjo, Yara'dua and Goodluck, all failed to rid the Nigerian system of this filth. They built on already existing structures, structures that were fundamentally defective right from the foundation upwards.
I think there is a need for the structures to be destroyed, and for a new one to be built. Other than to gather all the past leaders in a large hall and cause their death, the position taken by Mr. President, PMB, is a step in the right direction. Certainly, a lot of people that benefited in the past government will be affected. These people, and others too, will cry that there is a witch hunt, but seriously, if members of the past administrations are not investigated and prosecuted, who will, or rather who should? Has it not been the same persons who participated in the corruption, or allowed it to go on? All the billions that have been reported stolen during the past administration, was it not these persons who allowed them? Should we now say that because Mr. President doesn't want to seem like he is witch hunting, he should then refuse to investigate and prosecute people who are known or suspected to have committed acts of corruption? That is arrant nonsense.
Now, I may be speaking a little too early, because so far, he is yet to arrest and prosecute any of the persons who openly supported his campaign to become Commander-In-Chief, but consider that those for those persons to have supported PMB, they very likely have not benefitted, or perhaps benefitted minimally from the previous government. My position on this, of course, will change if none of these people is prosecuted soon, because in my opinion, every single one of them is rotten with corruption and ooze the disgusting stench of ill-gotten wealth.
I hope that at the end of the Mr. President's four (4) years, even the policeman who collects N50 from motorists on the street will be affected by the hammer of anti-corruption.
We all should know, however, that for the anti-corruption campaign to be successful, everyone of us will be affected. I myself will be. The reason is not difficult to find, even the most decent of us is guilty of one form of corruption or the other at some point or the other. I don't expect that every single Nigerian will be prosecuted and imprisoned, but that we all should be purged of our sins and repent in the new Nigerian spirit.
Now on the issue of Boko Haram and the terrorism, what I'm going to say now may offend a few, but what I consider to be the truth, must be told. I remember that towards the end of President Goodluck's tenure, I complained about the consistent loss of life that continued unabated in the past few years. I remember saying that if a president is unable to ensure the safety of the citizens of the country, then such government is a failure. I still hold that opinion.
Today, about two months after inauguration of the new government. The insurgency seems to have gotten stronger. The bombing seems to have become more frequent, insecurity is still the order of the day. This has forced the question, so why then did we kick out the old administration, if we are going to continue with the same problems? But before crying too hard on the matter, I realize, had the Boko Haram insurgency suddenly stopped the moment Mr. President got into power, I would have cried fowl play. In my eyes at least, there will be no further need for proof that Buhari or his supporters are the cause or fuel of the insurgency.
The question then begs to be answered, so should the insurgency go on forever? My answer is a solid 'NO!' Another question then is that of whether or not Mr. President has the capacity to improve the situation considering the increased spate of bombings. I have an interesting answer to that line of questioning. To properly answer that questions I'll have to refer to a story I was told about the tiger. Please enjoy the read.
When the tiger is about to die, it doesn't do so quietly. No. It doesn't just sit. It goes to the highest point it can find, and then makes the loudest roar. That is its final legacy. Similarly, when in a fight a strong person is pushed to the wall and there is no where else to turn but forward, he fights back with all his might and uses any tactic he can to get the upper hand. Perhaps you, the reader, have been in a fight or at least watched one, you'll notice that the person who seems about to lose usually tries his best to throw as many punches as he can or be as lethal as he can, the reason, it's either that or accept defeat.
Perhaps, the situation is the same with the insurgents. Maybe they have nowhere to go but to shout their loudest or dish out their strongest punch(es). Perhaps I'm wrong but is that line of though not worth considering? Of course my position on this will change if we don't see the end of the bombings soon. But for now, this explanation is worthy of consideration.
The above being said, I have a problem with the appointments made so far. Apparently, persons from the south-south and south-east region do not have the requisite ability to hold offices in the Federation. This is the notion that is being given by Mr. President's administration.
Mr. President is not a regional president, and as such is expected to govern all sections of the country. Nigeria is a volatile state all interests need to be protected for the nation to be at peace. I note that people from areas in the defunct Biafra are gearing up, because, the federal government is appearing to neglect them.
I am a young man from the Niger Delta, and I want to grow in a country where the same rights and privileges are given to deserving persons not withstanding their place of birth and religious creed. My advice to Mr. President and the APC is that serious consideration should be given to federal character. If not, I smell pending war.
Let's all join hands to make Nigeria great. Let us consider our collective rather than personal interests. A word, my fathers will say, is enough for the wise.
OBIENE, FERNANDEZ MARCUS (The Fernist)
#LifeUnderConstructio
