Limited scope of experience compels one to deny the existence of a hunchback laden squirrel, if one travels wide, the possibility of seeing a fish with human gogle is obtainable.
In the cause of my professional career I had long held a desire to know how the tradition of transition of power from one President of the United States of America to the another is conducted without using the search engine or learn through books or movie, having been familiar with the British parliamentary tradition. The opportunity presented itself on January 20th 2017 while President Donald John Trump took oath of office. I saw it, I knew and I learnt from it- live and direct. Mission accomplished!
As beautiful as the inauguration was at the capitol hill, as radical as the speech of trump was, and as colourful as the whole scenario appeared, my pick from the entire scenario is that each man, each leader and each nation is designed for a purpose; while the people of US, leaders and the nation are designed to work for their country irrespective of their position on issues, some other countries have no known tradition to point to, particularly in Africa, because Philosophers are no longer kings in power in most of the developing countries.
Make no mistake, I was not in Washington because I love Trump, I only seized the advantage of being on the soil to understudy the power transition in the country. Besides, a good journalist must have hunger for the “why” of the story. As I was ruminating on which angle to take for the story, the theatre of absurdity in Gambia provided a rough interlude, for the erstwhile ruler, Yahaya Jameh of that tiny country gave the world another piece of African animalistic behavior.
However, the second day of Trump America, the world was reminded what the nation stands for, as women from states sympathetic to the ruling party and strongholds of the opposition party rose and seized cities through what they tagged “Women March” in order to pass anti-bigotry message to the new American President. I saw-live and direct- how two narratives could compete with one another within two days in the same country.
While the drama of ideas was unfolding in episodes, I quickly retooled in Houston, only to read that Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari who was holidaying in United kingdom was dead in German hospital, but I dismissed the report which has no source as the wish list of the people who wanted the man dead, even before he assumed presidency at all. Interestingly, it turned out to be like that. Then the question that came to my mind is, why would some people want their leaders dead? And the answers trickled in:
In the first premise, it is a statement of fact that politics in Nigeria is seen as a business, while the politicking is seen as the biggest investment. Most of the politicians are staking their money, not because they love the people or they desire to serve, but because their interest is to loot. In that wise, it is possible to have some people who staked their money and energy on Buhari’s ambition to wish him dead, because the Daura born Military General turned politician appears to be tightening the noose around the public coffer, and making stealing of public funds difficult. And it could be the handiwork of uncouth opposition that has just elevated the “cowboy” governor of Ekiti state, whose desire to see Buhari dead knows no bound, to the position of the PDP governors forum.
In another breathe, the opposition leaders in the country appear helpless, because it is still a difficult phase for them to penetrate the North where Buhari has a cult following of the talakawas, and without the massive support of the North, no one could become a President in Nigeria, the last election has proved it substantially.
Either of the two propositions above, the undisputed fact is that the political tradition in Nigeria is either lost or corrosive. For crying out loud, how could some people wish their leaders dead when such leaders could be chased out in another election? And another election in Nigeria is 2019. Some Americans are disgruntled with their President and they went to work, delivering the result the following day of inauguration. That is how democracy should be work.
I am of opinion that Nigerians should learn the rope from some countries that are getting it right, by watching and critiquing their leaders on every issue, and design a political chain to carry people along, not wishing the President dead. The concept of soul is so rigid in its design that its destruction should be reserved for the worst form of the mankind, and certainly Buhari may have fallen into some political and economic missteps, but events have shown he has a pious heart, and the death wish is uncalled for. So, let the people with heart of service regroup, let them come up with people centred ideology, and let them go to work on the credible way out of the economic quagmire in which the country is dealing with, not a diabolical death wish for the President.
Butika writes from Washington DC, USA.
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