Femi Adesina Opens Up on Why He Stands With Buhari
 |
| FEMI-ADESINA |
I stand with Buhari, because it is solid ground for
Nigeria. All other ground I see, at least for now, is sinking sand. For us, for
our children, for generations yet unborn, Buhari is engendering a new country,
whose builder and maker is God. Let the wailers wail; endlessly. Let the
heathens rage; till they render themselves hoarse.
These are very difficult times in our country. Sad,
mournful and dolorous times, as the New Year opened with killings in Rivers,
Kaduna, Taraba, and Benue States, among others. Of course, there had been
gruesome carnage on the Mambilla plateau mid last year, and bloodletting in
Numan, Adamawa State, as well as in other places. Hell suddenly seemed to have
enlarged itself against Nigeria. Sincere condolences to those who are grieving
and mourning the loss of loved ones.
But instead of finding solutions, and joining to chart
the way forward, some people are making political capital out of the killings.
They are trying to use the orgy of bloodshed to advance their political
interests, wanting to make it appear that it is a failure of the Muhammadu
Buhari administration.
Faults are thick where love is thin. There is prejudice
in Nigeria. Plenty. There is insularity, in prodigious quantity. There is
animus, antipathy against anyone that is not of your ethnic or religious stock,
or that belongs to a different political orientation or persuasion. If you meet
him, kill him; if you can’t catch him, poison his footsteps, seems to be the
singsong among some people. And as the build up to general elections next year
gathers momentum, matters are made worse. Everything must be politicised,
including wanton killings. There must be spurious handshakes across the Niger,
and across the Benue, all for political gains.
But I stand with Buhari, and will always do. Why won’t
you? Your snout is in the honeypot, licking the nectars of office, some cynics
would say. Really? My bank balances do not indicate so. It is not just about
money. It is about conviction. It is about believing in a man who can bring
enduring change to our country, if we allow God to have His way through him.
Standing with Buhari through thick and thin is not about
money, or the spoils of office, which are not even available in these lean
times. In or out of my present position, I stand with Buhari. Sir Walter Scott
wrote: “Other people’s resolutions may fluctuate on the wild and changeful
billows of human opinion. Ours, now and forever, are anchored on the Rock of
Ages.” In or out of government, I stand with Buhari. Why? You will get to know
shortly.
They won’t tell you about humongous amounts of money made
from oil, which stood at over $100 dollars per barrel for about six years, and
which they looted to the last cent. Foreign reserves; depleted… But deftly and
sure-footed, the Buhari administration is building a new foundation for the
economy, erecting an edifice that will stand the test of time, not a bubble
that collapses with just a pinprick…
There is a strident attempt to defame, demean and
de-market the Buhari government today. Who are those behind it? The crooks,
thieves, freeloaders, who want business as usual. They hate probity. Their
souls abhor accountability. They prefer the plunder of the past years, and
can’t wait to see that epoch return. They engage in all sorts of misinformation
and disinformation. Hate speeches. Fake news. Under us, you had leeks, onions and
garlic to eat. You were fed manna till you wanted no more. When you were tired
of the fluffy stuff, we gave you meat, you gorged yourself so much, till meat
began to come out of your noses. They wouldn’t tell you about what William
Shakespeare calls “the goodly apple, but rotten at the cheek.” They won’t tell
you about humongous amounts of money made from oil, which stood at over $100
dollars per barrel for about six years, and which they looted to the last cent.
Foreign reserves; depleted. Excess Crude Account; looted. Federation Account;
plundered. They turned the country to a wasteland, leaving an economy primed
for recession. But deftly and sure-footed, the Buhari administration is
building a new foundation for the economy, erecting an edifice that will stand
the test of time, not a bubble that collapses with just a pinprick, not a
will-o-the-wisp that vanishes in the midday sun.
That is why I stand with Buhari, and have stood with him
since he was a military leader in the 1980s. I can trust this president. I can
go to bed, knowing that my leader is not striking deals to fleece the country
in the dead of night. I can trust that every money that comes into the coffers
of Nigeria, will be used for the good of Nigerians. Am I saying it is a perfect
administration? Such has not been forged from the smithy of the divine powers.
Every human enterprise will have its shortcomings, but on Buhari I still stand.
I stand with him, and by him, any day.
Some people ask themselves: Can we afford to be outside
government for another four years from 2019? We would be dead! No access to the
public treasury, which we know how well to abuse and plunder? To ravage and
savage. They have spat into the sky, and collected the spittle with their
faces. Rather than let Buhari be, we would employ all the tricks in the books.
Defame, demean, de-market him. Is he not Fulani? He is supporting herdsmen
causing murder and mayhem round the country. Trumpet it from the rooftops, even
without a scintilla of evidence. He is sectional, and bent on Islamising the
country. He is fighting a one sided anti-corruption war. His war against
insurgency is a fluke, not winnable.
They refuse to see massive investments in infrastructure,
which would burst into full bloom in another year or two. Roads, rail, power.
They refuse to see the rebounding economy, strides in agriculture and mining,
all with good auguries for the future. They refuse to acknowledge the stock
market, which recently recorded N15.78 trillion, the highest in the history of
the country. What of N1.3 trillion spent on capital projects in 2016? And
almost the same amount for 2017? No, they rather imagine how much of that
amount they would have pocketed if they were in power, living in obscene
luxury, while the rest of the country went to hell, if it wanted. They refuse
to see the good things happening to the country. And none is as blind as those
who deliberately refuse to see. All these and more are the reasons I stand with
Buhari, and will always do. So that Nigeria can have a future and a hope. Our
own Canaan, flowing with milk and honey.
I stand with Buhari. I know his heart for Nigeria, and
for Nigerians. Let people shed their prejudices. Let them eschew hate, and
purge themselves of all malice. The future can only then be written in gold.
After primitive fury was unleashed in Benue, and about 73
people were left dead, a sitting president eyeing reelection could also play
politics with it, visiting and muttering the right words to impress the people.
Nothing wrong. But for President Buhari, action speaks louder than words.
Action stations, he told the security agencies. The deputy inspector general of
Police in charge of Operations was first despatched, then the minister of
Interior, the inspector general of Police himself, and then the Nigerian Army.
Consultations were held with the governor of the State, with Benue elders, and
now, a committee headed by the vice president, made up of nine governors, has
been set up to proffer solutions to farmers/herdsmen clashes. Action truly
speaks louder than words.
President Buhari has not thrown his hat officially into
the ring for a second term in office. But they are in mortal fear of him
running. Therefore, they do all they can to dissuade him. Malign him, paint him
black, devalue him before the electorate. But they don’t know that there are
many devices in the hearts of men, but only the counsel of God shall stand. If
God has ordained President Buhari to be in power beyond 2019, human effort to
stop it can only end in futility.
I stand with Buhari, because it is solid ground for
Nigeria. All other ground I see, at least for now, is sinking sand. For us, for
our children, for gener
Femi Adesina Opens Up on Why He Stands With Buhari
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Saturday, January 20, 2018
Rating:
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Saturday, January 20, 2018
Rating:
No comments