Patience for President Muhammadu Buhari
“ The Devil takes a hand in what is done in a hurry’’ – Turkish Proverb
I
had the privilege some few years back-around 2009 to be precise, to sit down
for an exclusive interview with President Muhammadu Buhari in his office in
Kaduna. As a Journalist and writer, I still believe it has been one of the most
interesting interviews in my career.
What comes out of a
Man’s mind defines who he is and sitting close to four hours exclusively with
the man who is now our current president afforded me an ample opportunity to
make a personal judgement of the kind of person he is. Some significant facts I
noted about him was his organised setting, his tall slim frame, his charisma
and most importantly his simplicity and frankness.
His
forthrightness throughout our close to four hours encounter is still embedded
in my memory. I could still recall his unexpected answer when I asked when has
been his happiest moment in life. A question that had took him some few seconds
to answer after some reflection. ‘’ I think my most happiest moment in life so
far was the day the Nigerian civil war ended.’’ His answer till date carved a
personal respect for him and made me a fan of the most resilient Nigerian I
have ever come across.
Though,
all these are not the main reasons why I decided to pen this article. I just
wanted the reader to have a feel of the on –the- spot experience I had with the
current Nigerian president so that he or she might be able to make a personal
choice about my request on behalf of Mr President, although unauthorised by
neither the subject nor his media team.
I
am soliciting for the generosity of patience from Nigerians irrespective of
political, tribal or religious affiliation for our current president. I am
doing this based on the fact that I consciously believe that one of the
greatest things that have happened to this great country after our independence
from the colonial forces is the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as the President
of this famous Africa country.
As
a Nigerian, I have also been aware of the tremendous influence the devil is
trying to play in our current political change through some fifth elements
among us. If not, what sensibility does it portray as these various selfish
individuals and groups kept insisting that the president must hasten up to name
his cabinet and also take us to the long awaited Promised Land. An intangible
Promised Land the failed Peoples Democratic Government (PDP) could not ferried
us to in sixteen years despite all the resources and goodwill at its disposal.
It
is quite shameful that the same PDP through its elements are now the ones
trying to grab the devil’s hands to propel our embryonic change into a dismay
haste we don’t really need at the moment. I am amused at the unpatriotic call
by a failed political party that betrayed our collective trust for sixteen
years to imagine that Nigerians would fall suckers to their lopsided views.
It
is actually unrealistic for those with open mind to see that the Buhari
presidency cannot clean the stench left over by the PDP within the shortest
possible time, unless if we are willing to keep covering our noses with their
poisonous pong while we pretend that all is well.
And
like the President rightly told them a few days back that the Nigerian
corrupted and almost sunk stable was being clean of the filth left behind by
the past PDP government; A herculean task that requires patience and not
selfish haste. We should comprehend that Buhari like all of us is human and not
a super angel that could strike a finger and make things happen in a swift.
I
am appealing for more of our trademark tolerant nature to cross our fingers
faithfully and kindly donate some patience to President Buhari so that our
nation would rise up and stand boldly as the giant it was meant to be. I
passionately believe that it will be to our good as a nation if we can be
generous with some patriotic patience to the current capable captain navigating
our almost sunk ship away from the deep hole hitherto headed blindly by our
past confused captain and his greedy crew. We should be grateful to God for
saving us from the hands of these few selfish men and women and dish out some
sweet patience to the current government, headed by Ship-Captain Buhari.
I
am confident to say that the Buhari I interacted with some few years ago given
his forthrightness will cleanse our rich nation of the maladministration and
corruption that has eaten deep into its fabric. If only we can be generous with
some patience and understanding. I am confident that our railway would work
again, and that our homes, offices and industries would come back to life with
uninterrupted power supply. I am enthusiastic with a strong hope that our
public schools would bounce back strongly and that we will enjoy the wind-fall
of being an oil producing nation and the other goodies that has long eluded us.
This
will only be possible if we can be considerate in our judgement and bestow some
unquantifiable patience on Buhari and his administration. It is important to
note like the Turkish proverb above rightly cautioned not to allow the devil
and its supporters to take hand in doing the right thing for our country as
cautiously being done by President Buhari in his few weeks in office.
It
is only the devil that will have the audacity to say the president has not
performed since assuming office. I guess the devil and his supporters must have
been drunk with sleep when the president hit the ground few hours after his
swearing in, and intelligently raced towards Niger, Chad, Benin republic and
the G-7 summit in Germany all in his sincere efforts to rally round supports to
defeat the forces of the devil masquerading as Boko Haram around our beloved
country.
We must stand far ahead
of the scheme of the devil and his self-centred devotees to plant their
deceptive fangs into our collective reasoning and make us support their
wasteful act of haste. For as rightly pointed out by Benjamin Franklin, the
American Philosopher, inventor, author, diplomat and scientist: ‘’ Take time for all things
great. Haste makes great waste.’’ We should be wise enough to
understand that these selfish few among us are greedily trying to push us to
their unfruitful ways of waste, long enmeshed in their haste to get things
done.
Please
a little patience for Mr President as we democratically saunter towards a new
beginning that is gleaming with hope from afar, away from the wasteful haste
lavishly embarked by the past government for sixteen years.
God
bless Nigeria.
Ahmed Dodo
yarodangari@gmail.com
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