Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

BACKLASH:Buhari: Dinner With The Devil

By Abraham Ogbodo
26 April 2015   |   1:20 am
THE crowd currently building around President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, is not unusual.

Abraham Ogbodo CopyTHE crowd currently building around President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, is not unusual. His victory wasn’t a fluke according to the narrative. It was carefully planned and delivered. At all stages, men, women and huge resources were involved. People invested heavily in the Buhari victory, and since it has turned out fruitful, investors should earn profit.

On the whole, the brokers of the Buhari stock did a good job. It was well marketed causing it to be almost oversubscribed. There were early buyers, late buyers and very late buyers. Even now, people are still struggling, as evident in the mad rush by politicians to become APC members, to buy from the secondary market after the IPO (Initial Public Offer) was closed on March 28.

Governance, which effectively begins on May 29, when President Jonathan will hand over the presidency to Buhari does not seem a primary challenge in the circumstance. The bigger issue in the APC’s victorious camp is equitable distribution of the dividends of the victory (not democracy please) in a manner that will obliterate rancor among the multitude of shareholders.

Last Thursday, a meeting, not exactly an AGM, called to discuss and agree on a sharing formula, was reportedly deadlocked. One insider at the meeting revealed that the unwieldy crowd of investors needed to be properly screened and ranked to separate the preferential shareholders from the ordinary shareholders. This is to say that the investments came in varying intensity and the arising dividends cannot, therefore, be flat-rate.

For instance, the Northeast, which claims second position to the Northwest in the investment matrix wants something commensurate. This is natural and socially correct too. From whom much is taken, much is given. The Bible says so in Luke 12:48. Put differently, he that gives little, takes little, and he that gives nothing, takes nothing.

It explains why the South South and Southeast, which contributed very little to the Buhari victory, shall have very little or nothing in the ongoing allocation of political largesse. Northwest has the presidency as the biggest investor. The region returned the most votes to put Buhari in Aso Rock. But for purposes of geo-political balancing, the Southwest, which ranks third in contribution, is allowed to have the vice president, which in strict business sense, should go to the second largest contributor of votes, the Northeast.

Going forward, let us agree that this is a very big sacrifice that the Northeast is making to balance up Nigeria. It is, therefore, not too much, if by way of making up for the silver trophy it has magnanimously yielded to the Southwest, which is only good for a bronze, the region is asking for the Senate presidency, speakership of the House of Reps and Secretary-ship of the Government of the Federation.

On the whole, the formula is beautiful. If it is followed through, it can offer a new power template that will be less rancorous and energy sapping. That is, instead of fielding candidates and going through calumnious campaigns every four years, a presidential election can be conducted without candidates. Call it candidateless polls if you like, but it seems to hold the key to peace in Nigeria, before, during and after elections. Guided by the existing zonal structure, the zone that returns the most votes will automatically donate Nigeria’s president. The vice president will come from number two in the voting strength and number three and four shall produce the leadership of the Senate and the House of Reps respectively.

No other arrangement is more transparent in our current circumstances. The same process can be applied to source the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), who is number five in the order of protocol. The fifth largest voting region should bring somebody, even if all it can get is a charge-and-bail lawyer, to head the judiciary to keep the political arithmetic running. This leaves just a zone and the one with the least voting power uncompensated.
What do we do? Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), which is the third ranking officer in the Federal cabinet after the President and the Vice can go that way to bring the equation to a glorious balance. This will suffice for now. If there is need to drive down to the specifics of ethnic balancing, as we increase in time and self consciousness, we shall adjust to spread equitably the common heritage also called ‘National Cake’ among the 400 or so ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria.

The cake sharing is usually a serious national assignment.

While thanking his constituents for giving him the mandate to represent them at the National Assembly, one senator-elect from Kogi State called Dino Melaye, promised that, his constituency — Kogi West — would no longer be short-changed in the sharing of the national cake. In effect, he was saying that for eight years that he has been in the Senate, the man he (Melaye) is succeeding, Smart Adeyemi, has not been bringing home for onward transmission to the people, a fair share of the ‘national cake’.

All the emphasis is on the sharing of the cake. Nothing is said about its baking. And that is not likely to change even as Buhari vows to change the DNA of Nigeria. He has threatened to fence out evil men from his team. Na shakara be that! In Warri, the boys will tell him to stop ‘raking anyhow!’ In case, he has forgotten, evil men were substantial part, almost 99 per cent, of the crowd that created his victory. How will he cut off 99 per cent of his body parts and still hope to live?
Could someone, please, tell the General that just one per cent of goodness is not good enough for good business. Even the Good Lord did not stop the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because of one good man. He had insisted on more good men in exchange for salvation. In other words, the respected General is only posturing. For now, he is morally (permit the use of the word) obliged to do business with the devil.

Look at it this way. The devil was staying on his own quietly in the PDP when Buhari who wanted victory at all costs after three failed attempts, invited him over. Even at the risk of sounding repetitive, the point must be stressed that Buhari did the invitation. Terms were agreed and a deal was struck. The devil will always deliver and he has since delivered regarding the March 28 deal. He is now anxiously waiting on Buhari to do something good and cool.

Christians or Muslims know that the devil does not offer free food and a deal with him cannot be reworked midstream. He does not also accept ‘I beg sir’ in exchange for a definite demand. He must have his pound of flesh even if blood will be spilled. Remember Dr Chris Ngige? As then PDP Governor of Anambra State, he had unilaterally repudiated a deal with the devil. The devil came and kidnapped him even as a sitting governor. The PDP establishment under former President Olusegun Obasanjo simply told him to learn to honour all agreements for peace to reign.

The same Obasanjo, who publicly tore his PDP membership card, is now very sympathetic to Buhari and the APC cause, although he has not announced a formal switch over. So many behemoths (I don’t want to mention names) of the PDP who had troubled the party to no end until they were cast out by a benevolent spirit are now loaded in the APC. They are the same forces that made Late President Umaru Shehu Yar’Adua win the 2007 presidential election, in spite of himself. They have just made Buhari to win the 2015 presidential poll in spite of himself.

The devil does not change character. That is the simple truth. And so, for General Buhari to proclaim loudly, as if on a parade ground, his disengagement from a reliable partner that has stood solidly by him, is not only unethical, but treacherous. He can think of a more peaceful way to handle matters much later. For now, he has accepted the devil’s offer for dinner and there is no backing out. His only option is to create a very long spoon to avoid being eaten in the course of the dinner, which is about to start.

15 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    We gave him the mandate, not the devil as u put it. GEJ was not an option

  • Author’s gravatar

    Nigeria has in effect made a deal with the devil by voting for a muslim criminal whom has a very bad track record and seeks to impose sharia on the whole of Nigeria. Sharia islam is 100% bad for all kaffirs and apostates, as bokoharam/isis has shown Nigerians over and over again for quite a number of years now, and Nigeria can do nothing about these muslim criminals because the muslims in the security forces are not going to fight other muslims.

  • Author’s gravatar

    We the people have voted for change so please enjoy it as it unfolds!

  • Author’s gravatar

    We agree that everybody has invested in this election . Are we still going to continue this game of sharing the loot? When are we going to start to put our best of the best to work?. Nigeria is full of brilliant selfless law abiding people all we need is a committed inspiring leader .Please GMB from 170 million people you will get those who will like to make a name for themselves .Please GMB don’t forget to solve the riddle of the electricity so that your name can be written in Gold for ever

  • Author’s gravatar

    God has a way of perfecting d imperfections. The hearts of kings belong to God. He (God) would control d centre of our leader’s hearts to favour our great country NIGERIA. Let’s be positive. God bless

    • Author’s gravatar

      God is not your house boy, Ejiro maybe it is the ”jehover wickedness green version of that their book they call ”bible” you got your exegetics from. See, Nothing good comes from evil, you cannot sow beans and expect rice to germinate, nor God’s thoughts being man’s, Rom 6:i You cannot continue in sin and expect God’s grace to abound. Please separate your sentiments from purely true scriptural Canons. Agreed that all things work together for good, not for just every one, but for those that are called by God’s Name/those who love Him. What the man wrote is the Truth and goes beyond petty, inconsequential, and baseless submission beclouded by ”APC spirit” which I think has bedeviled most of buhari’s admirers today.

  • Author’s gravatar

    One Ghanaian proverb states that it is the wakeful bird that proclaims the dawn. Nigeria needs one wakeful bird, probably more than one! If the one the author, Ogbodo, refers to as the devil is the wakeful bird as recent events in this country has revealed, then for once, probably at great risk to its infamy, the devil has been steadfastly on the side of the people to no harm.

    If your right eye is the one that will make you sin, pluck it out. So you do to a friend who is ready to pull you down and tarnish your image with stains. If you keep telling your friend in whom you established confidence, warning day and night, that he is dragging you towards the precipice and your friend would not listen, you do away with that friend. If your friend stars stabbing you at the back, calling you a tout, a murderer and saying h is his own man, you stay away. There is a saying that the person who helps you get on top of a tree quite honestly and unmistakably know how to get you down from the top of the tree. Bite not the finger that fed you – more so if that finger has not contracted arthritis. That is the tale of two “numero uno” citizens of this country. One may be recalcitrant; the other may be unforgiving. The unforgiving one may not be a devil after all!

  • Author’s gravatar

    Ogbodo Abati nonsense.

  • Author’s gravatar

    In all humans settings all over the world,,,,,everybody can not operate at the same level, so also investments and contributions, all we need is SACRIFICE and TRUST,,,,we are also aware that the dividends of any investment comes not at once but gradual,hence our believed that their will surely be a solutions to all these teething problems since there is a ”WILL”,,,,,,,,,,,,at the very beginning of the formation of APC, we are intimidated with ONE MILLION AND ONE reasons why it can’t work and will not work,,,,,,,but today it is history and the likes of CHIEF RICHARD AKINJIDE are alive to attest to it,,,,,,,,,,,with prayers and determination, we shall cross the bridge(ies) together,,,,,,,,,,,thank you, mr Ogbodo.

  • Author’s gravatar

    I say went through this piece, my reaction is that “God save Nigeria,” because the wisdom one possessed to build a house is not enough to that which s/he needs to live in it peacefully. God help us.

  • Author’s gravatar

    As I went through this piece, my reaction is that “God save Nigeria,” because the wisdom one possessed to build a house is not enough to that which s/he needs to live in it peacefully. God help us.

  • Author’s gravatar

    Hmmmm….such pessimistic perspectives. I would like to remind us though, that there are other ‘devils’ ; the Nigerian voters that were also part of bringing in GMB. Me think these ‘devils’, given the numerical advantage, would be too ready to chase out the few devils that may want to eat with him. It is also pertinent to note that the people power which the electorate appear to have discovered, would be brought to bear on those with any arm-twisting cabalistic tendencies. For now, I chose to revel in this sweet aroma and a refreshingly CHANGE of real breath of fresh air. God bless Nigeria!!!

  • Author’s gravatar

    As far as I am concerned GMB will be the best president we ever had. Just take a look at the history on GMB’s presidential bids and electoral struggles, you will notice that the Almighty God had taking him through fire for refinement. Remember GMB once believed he could win by Religion, and then by the Northern Region, and by threats, all to no avail. Why would he fail those three times if not to be thought a lesson that Power belongs to God? What it means is that GMB now understands and appreciates that God alone empowers. This new understanding has emboldened him and will surely show in his assignment/approval of positions that will cut across ethnicities in Nigeria. We will see careful selection based on merit and enterprise. I can tell that GMB will ensure justice and will be supported by Nigerians and the international community. We should note that Nigerians are wiser and are ready to sacrifice for the Country’s good. The international community will also act positively to GMB’s govt. because it is tired of the ills inflicted on them by those rotten Nigerians such as looters, 419ners who have made the greatest damage to our collective image.