By Sonnie EkwowusiWhat would have been the June 12 Democracy Day Celebration last Saturday was marred or scuttled by the Buhari-must-go protests. By midday last Saturday different anti-Buhari protesters across the country had staged tumultuous nationwide protests tagged #June12protests. The protesters were demanding that President Buhari should quit power because he has failed to put the country on the path to political, economic, social, cultural progress. Despite the spirited efforts of the Nigerian security forces to intimidate, threaten or scare away the protesters to abandon their protests, the protesters were undeterred in their resolve to exercise their right to peaceful protest.
This is the first time June 12 celebration has sparked off nationwide protests against a sitting President. The previous June 12 celebrations were marked with flowery speeches on the imperative of triumph of democracy in Nigeria. But this year’s June 12 Celebration took a different turn last week. It was marred with different protests rocking the different parts of the country. Some of the peaceful protesters were waving colourful placards some of which bore the following messages: “Buhari Must Go!”, “Say No to Government Funding Terrorism”, “#BuhariMustGo Protest is a fundamental right. All illegally detained citizens must be released unconditionally”.
But some young protesters in Kwara State went too far. They carried a mock coffin of Mr. President and were parading it on the streets whilst chanting the song “Buhari must go”. This is too bad. There is a right to peaceful protest but there is no right to mock Mr. President. Whoever organized those young persons in Kwara last week to mock the President did something very bad. There were also anti-Buhari protesters in the streets of London last week. Similar Anti-Buhari protesters waving ‘Buhari must go’ placards were sighted in Toronto, Canada, Texas, USA and other countries. Of course there was the pro-Buhari crowd apparently rented by the Presidency to neutralize the Anti-Buhari protest. But unfortunately the anti-Buhari protesters overpowered the pro-Buhari rented crowd to the extent that the impact of the latter could hardly be felt. Each of the pro-Buhari protesters was paid N1,000 to carry out the pro-Buhari protest. But not all of them got N1,000. Those who did not get the N1,000 dramatically staged protests in front of camera last Saturday and vowed that they would not embark on any pro-Buhari protest. In London the Anti-Buhari protesters were seen chasing away the pro-Buhari protesters at the Abuja House, London.
If President Buhari had been promoting the welfare of the people in the last years the people would not have organized protests last Saturday to demand that he must quit power. As far as about 85% of Nigerians are concerned, the Buhari government is synonymous with failure, under-performance and cluelessness. At least under the Jonathan government the people could eke out a living. Now under the present Buhari government the living condition of the average Nigerian has been appalling. Small wonder the people are clamouring that President Buhari should quit power so that there will be a new dawn of peace, stability, security and economic prosperity in Nigeria. If you listen carefully as you read this you will hear the following prayers of frustrated Nigerians to the Almighty God. “The Buhari government has failed us. Hear us, O! Lord ! Take this yoke away from us. Listen to your Nigerian children mobbed and murdered by Fulani herdsmen, bandits, unknown gun men, kidnappers and hired assassins. We raise our shackled hand and charge Thee amid the tears of our murdered heroes. Save us, Oh Lord. Make haste and hearken to the assistance of your children drowning in the rivers of blood flowing down the city streets and alleyways of Nigeria. Sit no longer blind, Lord. Lord, let not our cries sink in silence in the midnight. God, thou are the undoer of evil deeds. ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay’, said the Lord of Host!”.
A successful administration is one with a strong presidential leadership. Weak leadership-or no leadership is often a disaster. One of the great responsibilities and opportunities of the President under Presidential democracy is to lead and inspire the people and public opinion. The words of a President carry great weight. Of course, his acts carry weight. For example, the words of former U.S. President D Roosevelt in his inaugural address did so much to revive the waning spirit of Americans who were at that time of Roosevelt’s Presidency struggling through the depths of an American depression. Roosevelt said; “ the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. Those words, backed up later by action, restored the faith of Americans in the Roosevelt government.
But unfortunately the present Buhari government is a big disaster. The words of President Buhari do not carry weights. There is no dispute anymore that President Buhari doesn’t inspire anybody. Whenever the President speaks he annoys the people. This is why Nigerians are no longer looking up to him for leadership inspiration. Right from the very day he took power as President of Nigeria he has been performing below expectation. Mr. President lacks the soundness of mind to respond to questions put across to him. If you ask him one question he would disregard it and start talking about something else unrelated to the question. For example, last Thursday Mr. President was asked a question relating to foreign investors in Nigeria and he veered off the question and started quibbling with the last #EndSARS protests and plans to dislodge him from power. The sad aspect is that our dear President is not in touch with reality. For example, Mr. President does not tackle the hydra-headed problems imperiling the country with the urgency and seriousness that they demand. He does not listen to the voice of the people. Whereas about 89% of Nigerians are clamouring for outright restructuring of Nigeria, Mr. President is insisting that only the National Assembly should shoulder the responsibility of restructuring Nigeria and enthroning true federalism and devolution of power of Nigeria in its on-gong Constitutional Review exercise.
Those surrounding Mr. President should let him know that the voice of the people is the voice of Allah. Whoever does not listen to the people does not listen to Allah. The Holy Qur’an itself contains a number of injunctions and warnings on good manners and various aspects of social behavior and attitudes. In their book entitled: Islamic Manners & Social Conduct, Abdullahi Orire, B. Aisha Lemu and Asiya Rodrigo write that the obligation to avoid inflicting either physical or psychological; harm on others is a primary ethical principle in Islam. The Prophet said, “There should be no harming or reciprocating harm” (Sunam Ibn Majah), for “He who causes harm will be harmed by Allah and he who acts in a hostile manner will be treated in a hostile manner by Allah”. (Jami’ al-Tirmidhi No. 1306). One of the wrong assumptions about democracy is that the political officer holders have enough wisdom and virtue to pursue the end of democracy-promotion of the welfare of the people. But viewed against the backdrop of the reign of the Buhari government in the last six years, the political leaders do not have enough wisdom and virtue to pursue the end of democracy. The Buhari democracy attests that democracy is challenged from within by sheer ignorance and pursuit of personal interests at the expense of the common good and welfare of the people.
