On the 16th of April 2011, there l stood at the
receiving end of the treacherous blaze of the Lagos
mid-day sunshine. As l looked on in clear contempt
for the literally unending snaky line of people on
the queue opposite me; enduring the endless jibes
thrown at those of us on the other queue, a
number of things piqued my mind. My contempt
was hinged on one fundamental issue: here we
were as a nation, with a chance to for once make a
detour from the perilous path we had trod since
the new democratic dispensation, and we were on
the verge of throwing it all away.
We had a choice to make between Goodluck
Jonathan of the PDP and General Muhammadu
Buhari who was the standard bearer of the CPC.
The battle cry then was ‘’l am voting for Goodluck
and not PDP’’. The General had a few days earlier
shed tears on national TV and that for me was as
bad as it could get. It was a testament to how badly
he wanted to right the wrongs that had brought a
once great nation to its knees. As l cast my vote for
the General, and left the polling booth, l knew it
was a tall order expecting the General to win, but l
was satisfied that even as a Rivers man from the
same South-South geopolitical zone as his
opponent, l had voted with my conscience. That
alone was good enough for me.
Four years on, we are yet again faced with a similar
scenario; with a choice to decide who would lead
our great nation for another four years and
ironically the gladiators are the same. However,
this time, General Buhari as against running on the
platform of the CPC is the flag bearer of the APC; a
coalition of opposition parties who have made the
occupation of Aso Rock their primary objective. To
achieve this purpose, they are leveraging on the
mantra of ‘’CHANGE’’ as their value proposition. A
cardinal linchpin of this mantra is the fight against
corruption; yes, that hydra headed monster that
has eaten so deep into every facet of our national
lives. And who is best suited to be the fulcrum of
this proposition than General Buhari, the one man
who is touted to be the embodiment of honesty,
integrity and incorruptibility.
To be certain, these were the very same virtues on
which my voting for Buhari in 2011 was premised.
However, like they say, a day in politics is a long
time. If we are to do an extrapolation based on this
wise saying, you can imagine what four years
translates to. Well, the materialization of that can
clearly be seen in the calibre of characters the
General has surrounded himself with in the APC.
Amongst these are two of the most corrupt
individuals to have ever trodden the Nigerian
political landscape. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
needs no introduction in contemporary Nigeria.
Like a colossus, he has bestrodden this landscape
for as long as our memories can take us. Actively
participating in the opposition NADECO during the
despotic terror reign of Sani Abacha, he became
governor of Lagos State during the fourth republic.
As compensation for his activism, Tinubu helped
himself in no small measure to the Lagos State
treasury, a skill he still exhibits masterfully by
proxy, under the Fashola administration.
Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi on the other hand has
earned his corruption stripes. If corruption were
an army, he would easily be a five star General. As
speaker of the Rivers State House Assembly, he
was the quintessential rubber stamp that sealed
the financial debauchery and recklessness that was
the hallmark of Dr. Peter Odili’s eight year reign. If
there was any doubt about the ridiculous levels of
looting perpetuated by the Odili government, the
interminable injunction against his being
investigated by the EFCC, granted by an Abuja High
Court, tells the whole story. As Governor, Amaechi
has simply exploited all the ‘’lootocracy’’ skills he
acquired under the tutelage of his principal.
Between them, these two men; Tinubu and
Amaechi, are the biggest financiers of the Buhari
candidacy.
The question any discerning mind should then ask
is, what really is this ‘’change’’ that continues to be
mouthed all about? If Buhari is the epitome of all
that is incorruptible, how come he is comfortable
in the gathering of people who personify
corruption in its rawest form? The unambiguous
answer lies in the words of the great philosopher
who once said ‘’show me your friends and l would
tell you who you are’’. This characteristic blowing
hot and cold is only a manifestation of the political
ambivalence of the General towards an issue that
we are made to believe he stands against. It
therefore seems that while this legend of
incorruptibility around Buhari has taken on a
mythical dimension, when critically analysed based
on current evidence; it is just an escapist sophistry
leveraged on by his supporters to cover their
ideological emptiness.
In the final analysis, it is simply the height of
hypocrisy for anyone to say Buhari and the APC
represent any semblance of the kind of change
Nigerians deserve. I need to be schooled on how
Buhari is expected to fight corruption when the
very people who are financing him are an
embodiment of the very thing. It is becoming
clearer that the change mantra is only about the
interests of certain individuals as against the
generality of Nigerians. Certainly, this variant of
change is a Greek gift nicely wrapped in a box of
hypocrisy; one that is tempting enough to force a
change in the hands that hold the knife slicing off
the Nigerian national cake. However, it is one gift
that ought to repulse every right thinking Nigerian.
As William Hazlitt once surmised, hypocrisy is the
only vice that cannot be forgiven. If corruption is
defined as a failure of systems, l completely
consent that it is a national malaise and its
resolution is non-negotiable. However, what l
oppose is change for the sake of it ; in this case
swapping one corrupt administration with another,
without a deliberate attempt to address the
fundamental issues that would make a definite
difference.
If this is the kind of change we clamour for and
deserve, I’d leave us to our consciences.
Let that be the judge.
Read more: www.theheraldng.com/voting-
buhari-represent-change/