Nigeria's Reckless Arrogance Amidst Self-Destructive Indices

Nigeria's Reckless Arrogance Amidst Self-Destructive Indices Life is never a bed of roses! Nigeria has become a horror movie. We have se...

Nigeria's Reckless Arrogance Amidst Self-Destructive Indices

Life is never a bed of roses! Nigeria has become a horror movie. We have seen many horrible things, yet what has occurred may well be a child’s play in comparison to what is about to happen unless something is urgently done to put a reversal.

The report by major National dailies on the view of the Presidency and it's threat to groups asking for separation through referendum, has  been one of the most misguided utterances ever.

According to the story, the Presidency reacted to the growing wave of seperation agitations in some parts of the country, by stating that President Muhammadu Buhari cannot be intimidated or bullied into giving in to the threats of such agitators.

Describing them as mercantile agents who are only out for pecuniary gains, the Presidency said that Buhari would not open the vaults to share free money with anyone.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, stated the government’s position recently in Abuja while giving a scorecard of the administration at an event organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) Professional Forum, which held at the National Secretariat of the Party.

He also dismissed calls for the convocation of a National Conference, saying that with an elected parliament in place, having such a conference is a misnomer.

Shehu added that the Boko Haram terrorists are currently fighting for survival as their supply chain has been cut off.

“On the unity of this country, the calls for secession and the insinuation that the Presidency is not talking is untrue. The Presidency has been talking. And our position is clearly that this country is one, is united and by the grace of God will continue to be united.

Look, one thing with this President and the National Secretary of the party has said a bit of that, you cannot intimidate Buhari. You cannot bully him. A lot of these people who are calling for secession are the problem of this country and I am happy that reasonable opinions, reasonable voices are now rising. Is it not only yesterday we were reading Afenifere, the most credible faction, saying that they were not for secession?"

“The Ohanaze Ndigbo has said this over and over again. So this thing about secession is that they had used it in the past. You create secession and break up Nigeria, then you intimidate the sitting leader, then he opens the vaults and he brings money to settle people. President Buhari will pay no one. He is not going to pay and now it is clear that having ignored all of that, reasonable opinions are coming from those States and from those regions".

“Now, the South-East is part of the earlier conversation we just had now. Criminals are fighting to gain the upper hand but I tell you that no criminal or terrorist is bigger than this country. None of them is mightier than our armed forces. This structure has been there. They were certificated and praised for World War one, World War two, they stabilized the entire West African region. Without Nigeria, would there be Liberia in it's present form, would there be Sierra Leone in it's present form, even Gambia? So just give it time and support and pray, we will win against these forces.”

I have pondered on the statements to fish out any vital and essential fact but to no avail. From the statements, I can only sense misplaced priority, ego, arrogance, incompetence and uncultured civilian administrative voice.

Critical analysis of the above statements will prove that this government is drowning hence it is grabbing every straw. First of all, it trumpets unity as though unity is by force. Secondly, it is only talking to terrorists which is indicative of a government sympathetic to terrorism. Thirdly, it is only playing a popular card: factionalize every agitating group to cut down their influence – with the credible Afenifere nonsense. Fourthly, having tried to control the future of the South-East by imposing every political office holder – the latest being Ohaneze – and having watched helplessly as it fell through, with a full realization that Ohaneze has no structure or control in the region, it is now pretending that the opposite is true to save it's face. Lastly, the government is trying to mount a moral high ground and this is even more laughable. A government that has dialogued with and paid ransom to terrorist groups they helped to build, is claiming that Buhari whose government is the most corrupt - according to Transparency International, will not open the vault because it wants to criminalize legitimate demands for addressing social anomalies. Let me sound this note of warning: the Nigeria military as we know it today, is dead. The people that made it what it was in World Wars 1 and 2 are not the Fulanis. Liberia and Sierra Leone were not liberated by the Fulanis. Today, the Nigerian military, and other security apparatus, are controlled by the Fulanis, the most lazy and incompetent set of people in Africa, whose only ambitions hinge on terrorism and conquest.

In the same vein, a government that is confident will not implore time, support and prayers. The citizens will willingly and patriotically give out such. Majority of the people want a renegotiated nation. If Buhari and his goons insist otherwise, then the sensible and civilized option to adopt, is to conduct a referendum. It is that simple!

It is quite unfortunate that the Nigerian President can be this silent while his spokesperson sounds thunderously. The earlier the President and his Presidency realize that they are serving the citizens and start subscribing to their demands for a referendum, the better for the country. The people can clearly see through their arrogance and it is well known that pride goes before a fall.

Written by Eme Onyemachi Gabriel

Edited by Chibueze Daniel

For Family Writers Press International

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