President Muhammadu Buhari should not allow the sycophants and his praise-singers to dictate the new direction his leadership should go at this point. If need be, President Buhari should turn friends to enemies and enemies to friends if he must make any headway in redirecting the already drifting vessel of nationhood. He should realise that no sooner he thought he has these men as supporters than they would ditch him for personal gains when the time comes. No friend has stayed for ever. No enemy has walked away irreconcilably. This time of our match to true nationhood is solemn. Sycophancy can drift the vessel of nationhood irrecoverably if the President does not shot his ears against divisive lyrics and his eyes against seeing only enemies.
Loading ...Mr. President should be wary of any suggestions to resort to armed suppressive strategies as that would boomerang and plunge the nation into further division along ethnic lines. He should consult where he needs to consult, visit where he needs to visit; roar where he needs to and plead where he needs to plead. Healing is all that is required in the land as anything aside this would stir all feet on war path.
At last, President Muhammadu Buhari is back from his health sojourn to London. Against all the odd news about his health; against all the altercations by politicians both in the ruling party and in the opposition, God granted him the opportunity to step back to the shores of Nigeria healthier than he left. It shows God is still in the business of answering prayers, countless prayers of Nigerians across all the geo-political zones and across all the religious sects.
Be that as it may, President Buhari is expected to resume the business of leadership at the highest political office as the elected President of Nigeria. I can say, more are expected from him and of him now than ever before. In the past, subject to individual’s view though, the President Buhari-led APC government has become a leadership that hardly attacked issues beyond propaganda.
The President’s utterances and his body language in previous times did not convincingly reassure Nigerians that we all have a President we could call our own. He is a President seen mainly by Northerners as perfect while others see him as highly sectional and tribalised. From accepting to apportion ninety five percent resources to where he go ninety five percent votes, the President has continued to stir rancor and controversy through his utterances and utterances of those found in his camp. Up until now, I do not believe that half of those who throng around the President as loyalists truly mean what they claim. They are more of sycophants who feed the ears of the Presidents with gossips and ideologies laden with sectional sentiments.
There are many nagging problems awaiting the frail-looking President which requires uncommon wisdom, divine guidance and of course sound advice by tested and trusted Nigerians who may not share the same region or religion with the President. The President should look for sound mentorship from whosoever he could get same even if it has to come from an Igbo man, an Ijaw man or from the region he got 5 percent vote. He needs to start the business of sound nation building where Nigerians can truly believe him beyond words.
Expectedly, the President should as a matter of urgency and with absolute wisdom work assiduously towards diffusing the already heated polity. He should convince Nigerians and separatist agitators be they Biafra Agitators, Oduduwa Agitators, Niger Delta Agitators or the Arewa Youths Agitators that Nigeria is for Nigerians, irrespective of where anyone lives or one’s social affiliations and political ideologies. He should ensure that ASUU strike ends as quickly as possible.
He should be seen more of a realists than a politician, more of a nationalist than a regionalist. He should make Nigeria safe for everyone irrespective of differences in religion, political affiliations or other social differences.
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Light I. Shedrack is a Conscious Writer and Poet; a literacy advocate and Edutainment Specialist. He lives in Abuja and could be reached via lightsheddie26@gmail.com
