PENDULUM BY DELE MOMODU, Email: dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

Fellow Nigerians, let me confess that I do not envy General Muhammadu Buhari at this moment. I will explain what I mean very shortly and briefly. The People’s General, as I love to call him, is a victim of his own popularity. What ordinarily should have been an asset has almost become a liability, or put another way, a blessing turning to a curse. From all empirical data as well as mathematical calculations, General Buhari looks set to create a major upset on March 28, or whenever it pleases the gods of Abuja to hold the elections. A game of abracadabra is still playing out while the world is watching our shenanigans with pity or amusement or both.

The ruling party has chosen to engage in a political Russian roulette while the country speeds dangerously towards the abyss. Who are we to challenge those who see power as the beginning and the end and are incorrigibly committed to fighting to retain what they got on a platter of gold. At any rate, I am one of those subscribing to the permutations of a General Buhari victory no matter how tall a dream it seems. As a matter of fact, I’m willing and ready to place a bet that the election is not going to be as closely and keenly contested as many people think. I foresee a landslide that would make it difficult for troublemakers to practise their trade. The Buhari Movement has finally ignited and spreading at the speed of sound.

My simple and straight-forward projection is that both President Goodluck Jonathan and General Buhari would obtain and satisfy the mandatory 25% votes in two/thirds of the 36 states making up the Federal Republic of Nigeria (plus the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, the ultimate seat of power). This translates to the fact that the two leading candidates must work assiduously at locking down 24 states each while battling hard to close the game with some blistering majority votes. I believe this is where Buhari would have a towering advantage.

If you consider my optimism a mirage, please cool temper for the D-day is at hand. By this time next week all us would have fixed our gaze on Saturday May 28, 2015. How time flies! When the elections were postponed, from February 14, 2015, it was as if the new date would never come. But blessed are the patient at heart for they shall inherit the earth. The PDP no doubt has regained some momentum and they have now had ample opportunity to bulldoze their ways into earlier impregnable fortresses with the whiff of money. But the effect is not yet palpable.

What is certain is that APC has sparked the panic mode in PDP. This seems to be their time. I’ve never seen President Jonathan work as frenetically as he’s being doing these past weeks. It is certain President Jonathan is under no illusion that this is going to be an easy task or mission. In fact, this is going to be a fiercer election than any we’ve ever seen in the past. The battlegrounds would most definitely be in the North Central and South West. General Buhari will lock down the North West and North East most categorically while President Jonathan will secure his traditional catchment areas, in the South South and South East. However, let me note that General Buhari is likely to make some incursion into President Jonathan’s territories than vice versa. The President today does not control a cult followership in any part of Nigeria while General Buhari enjoys some Rock star status in many parts of Nigeria where he has become the icon of change.

This fact was revalidated only yesterday in the presence of no less a witness than the Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Mr Reno Omokri at the Transcorp Hilton hotel, in Abuja. I had entered a packed lift as the Hilton was teeming with activity as usual. As soon as I sauntered in, I was instantly hailed by most of the guys for supporting Buhari. The shout of “change” resonated and boomed in the lift. There was a white lady who appeared fascinated by the almost carnival-like atmosphere. Mr Omokri and I alighted from the lift same time and the gentleman of God requested for a selfie with me which I gladly obliged. I wished other Jonathians were as humble as Reno. I had always admired the man who had the incredibly difficult job of selling the image of an unpopular President. In recenbt time, he’s landed himself in trouble while trying so hard to make a success of a thankless job.
Anyway, the Transcorp Hilton encounter was only one of so many others during my short visit to Abuja. Everywhere I turned, the talk was about change. I am very certain that most of those supporting Buhari today are not members of APC. I’m not even sure many of them are his rabid fans. What I found common to them is their personal frustrations with a party that has been in power for 16 years with little to show for the support garnered from Nigerians. Some have openly confessed that Buhari is a candidate of necessity forced on them by limited choices. This is the thrust of my epistle today.

To whom much is given, much is expected. General Buhari is thus expected to be the Lamb of God who must be prepared to carry the sins of the world. He must possess the power of optical illusion in order to perform instant magic in a nation on its bent knees. First, Nigerians will hold him to the promise of killing corruption when the time comes. The cynics insist this is impossible and dismiss his most avowed credential as an anti-corruption crusader as a mere ruse and bloody hypocrisy. They point at the seemingly rampaging horde of politicians around him and wonder how he hopes to handle them.

They are right and wrong. They are right in as much as there are no saints in government anywhere. It is virtually impossible to win elections in Nigeria without huge sums of money for logistical and practical purposes. Everyone knows that the General has loads of integrity but no money. How then does he hope to tackle some of his supporters who may have profited from the proceeds of crime and corruption? A tough nut to crack; or so it seems! But I have a fair answer.
I have had the privilege of interacting a bit with General Buhari and his disciples and can safely confirm that he has what it takes to reduce corruption to its barest minimum allowed in decent societies. Trust me, the fear of Buhari is the beginning of wisdom in his camp. He regularly tells them not to treat him as robot. The almost surreal respect they have for him helps to whip everyone in line. And no one wishes to test the sharpness of his double-edged sword.

General Buhari recognises the fact that he has to carry saints and sinners along in party politics and a democratic setting. As a game of numbers, it would be foolhardy to be holier than the Pope. All the pontificating therefore must be measured and tested without rocking the boat entirely. He has learnt tremendous lessons and gained exceptional insight into how Nigeria works. He knows that as a civilian President, he will never be able to wield draconian powers like he did during his first coming as military dictator. History has a way of mellowing people down. The General Buhari that I see today is a man with a hard interior and a softer and more relaxed exterior. He would have to manage a delicate balance as a born again democrat. I’m sure he can do it.

The second challenge ahead of the new government, if Buhari wins as many expect and anticipate, is how to handle and ameliorate the intractable problem of mass unemployment. The General himself has confessed to this daunting challenge repeatedly. He says the first step is to stop the leaking economic sewage and block the drain pipes of unbridled corruption. A new regime of disciplined fiscal planning would have to be introduced pronto. Vocational training would have to be encouraged and recommended for the multitude of naturally endowed Nigerian youths. Nigeria is in dire need of technical expertise. Many artisans currently indulge in trial by error. Their income would improve once they can gain the confidence of clients and consumers.  Politicians, especially our elected representatives, would have to downgrade on their atrocious remunerations which have become so controversial and unsustainable. It is hoped that General Buhari would be able to convince our political office holders to have mercy on the rest of us. The era of over-inflated contracts would have to be jettisoned for a more reasonable and accountable process.
The collapse of education is not less important. In fact, it must form the bedrock of all developmental dreams and goals. No nation can advance to a developed status without correcting the anomalous and embarrassing state of our institutions from primary to tertiary level. The modest achievements of the Obasanjo administration have been wasted and truncated by subsequent governments. What makes the situation terrible is not just the fact that we are producing glorified illiterates in many institutions but the fact that the exodus of our kids to foreign lands in pursuit of the proverbial Golden Fleece has now become a major waste of our foreign exchange reserves. It is sad that many of the smaller and poorer countries around us have taken advantage of our cruel and retrogressive attitude to education. How General Buhari reverses this debilitating trend remains to be seen.

It is no longer a secret that our economy has been run aground by a most profligate government despite the pretentious grandstanding that ours is the largest economy in Africa. Many states are unable to pay salaries. The Naira has been in a free fall after nose-diving in a most cataclysmic manner. There is no way traders would not be wishing for a quick miracle before our businesses perish, especially those dependent on foreign exchange. The General and his crew must urgently tackle the over-dramatized issue of diversification of our resources to generate much needed income. We can no longer over-emphasise the importance of finding alternatives to oil which seems to have exterminated our thinking faculties. For a country reputed to be one of the largest oil producers, it is disgraceful that we are not able to refine most of our crude; we still flare our gas, and quite simply prefer the easy route to cheap money rather than invest in the creation of sustainable wealth.

Another crucial area for General Buhari to deal with is power, the generation, transmission and distribution of which seems to have become an impossible mission. It is so bizarre and inexplicable how the more investment we pump into having stable electricity, the lesser the result. Even with the much privatisation of this sector, we have had no joy.

The last and probably the most critical issue that the General will have to tackle and resolve quickly is that of the security of the nation. A nation may be rich, corruption free and peopled with citizens who are well educated and in suitably employment.  However, this will count for naught when their lives and property are not secure.  This is where the General’s military experience and his past antecedent as the scourge of another terrorist religious group, the Maitatsine Sect, will come into play. It is not just Boko Haram that we are worried about though. Although largely unspoken, because of the fear and support they are receiving, the country is being held to ransom by terrorists referred to as ‘militants’ simply because they come from the same area as the President.  It is not just because there is open plundering of our wealth through the large-scale, unbridled stealing of the nation’s oil but the thieving buccaneering spirit they engender means that others feed into their frenzy.  Hence, the spate of kidnappings and resort to use of sophisticated weapons and equipment by armed robbers remains largely unchecked. Our people, indeed our leaders as well, live in constant fear. But for now they dare not speak.  I am convinced from what I have seen and heard that the People’s General will deal with this issue of security in a decisive, efficient and effective manner.
I must add that it has been rightly observed by some people that General Buhari has not offered a solution to our apparently intractable security problem.  The answer is simple! The right security policy in the hands of the wrong leader will lead to further disastrous consequences.  I need say no more.
You can now see why no one should envy General Buhari. The cross he would have to bear would be a heavy one. I believe he has what it takes to take on the demons plaguing our country. He would have to step on some fat toes. However, it won’t be strange act to a man known for his no-nonsense approach.

With so much rancid rot refusing to leave us alone and in peace, we certainly need a General Buhari now more than ever.
I can’t wait.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/buhari-and-the-burden-of-expectations/204009/

Sincerely, the expectations are so much and I hope when he wins he will select his ministers wisely and based on competence.

You are always on point sir!

Sai Buhari !!!

many thanks to Fayose and FFK
For making the people's General more popular.
Thanks to Bastard Doyin Okupe too for given APC brain to think.





Vote for CHANGE

TRULY THE EXPECTATION ON THIS GUY IS HEAVY...Just the other day i was in a BRT bus, some group of Men in the bus were arguing nd screaming their support for GMB nd GEJ, one man just shouted out of anger, he said " iF GMB wins I give him two years if he Doesn't implement all that he said, i will gather people to hold night vigil against him nd His family, i will be sending curse to him day nd night". people in the bus couldn't help but start laughing nd that ended the arguements...

Buhari, na me dey warn you now, if you know say you just dey play with our emotions no climb that sit oooo or else thunder wey go fire you dey do press-up

i refused to be deceived and convinced that Buhari will make better president, even if converts to be a democrat 50times the spirit of slavery will still remain, lets say no to a tyrant , we need freedom .GMB FOR SLAVES.,GEJ FREEDOM ,suit yourself

General Buhari has got a whole lot of burden of expectation placed on him by the dejected,depressed,oppress and frustrated citizens of the country. And he dare not fall short of it!


The world is watching!

Kudos to dele.. He intelligently discussed the major problems facing us as a nation today and profess solutions to some of them. What are the major problems bedeviling our nation today ?

The 3 major problems holding our progress and development as a nation today are;

• corruption
• insecurity
• unemployment


Corruption - what have the jonathan administration done in the past 6 years to fight corruption or to reduce corruption to a minimum level? The answer is nothing. The OBJ we all love to hate established a corruption fighting body called EFCC. During the tenure of OBJ, this body spearheaded by nuhu ribadu did a little wonders to the dreaded monster called corruption, it sends fears in the stomach of corrupt government officials. The nuhu ribadu EFCC reduced corruption to a minimum level. It created the NFIU, but today the unit is completely dead. During nuhu ribadu's EFCC some notable corrupt men were arrested and prosecuted. E.g

Dipreye alamieyesiegha

Even OBJ's daughter(iyabo) was investigated in 2008

We can still remember the case of the vaswani brothers. To mention a few.

But the EFCC of today is fighting corruption within itself. SMH


insecurity - our nation has never been unsecured like what we experiencing now.

Boko haram in the north
Militants in the south south
Kidnappings in the south east
arm robbery in the south west

And yet the jonathan government has spend an estimated $27billion dollars in tackling insecurity, but instead of our security to get better, it is worsening everyday.


Unemployment - jonathan just lied some months by telling the entire world that he has created more jobs than any pass administration in the country. And sane nigerians are asking him some questions like "where are the jobs he said he created"? It is the fraudulent SURE-P Job scams that jonathan is talking about or the silly YOU-WIN nonsense that jonathan is reffering to? The immigration scam jobs is still at the back of our minds.

just last two months, OBJ accused jonathan of squandering $55billion oil money. Jonathan has failed nigerians and doesn't deserve any second tenure in office.. he has already wasted 6years that was given to him.

Maccoy1:
TRULY THE EXPECTATION ON THIS GUY IS HEAVY...Just the other day i was in a BRT bus, some group of Men in the bus were arguing nd screaming their support for GMB nd GEJ, one man just shouted out of anger, he said " iF GMB wins I give him two years if he Doesn't implement all that he said, i will gather people to hold night vigil against him nd His family, i will be sending curse to him day nd night". people in the bus couldn't help but start laughing nd that ended the arguements...

Buhari, na me dey warn you now, if you know say you just dey play with our emotions no climb that sit oooo or else thunder wey go fire you dey do press-up

Don't worry my brother the peoples general as a good people around him....he will definately achieve is dream for this nation

My costly vote for GEJ in 2011 has led me to days of regrets and anger.
The expectations were not met, even when it is expected that having once had no shoes,he should know the plight of the poor masses.
The greatest we lost during these periods since 2011 has been the eroding values of the nation...
The sanctity of life
The national conscience
The guilt of wrongdoing
The boldness of evildoers
The open show of corruption
The profligacy in use of our resources
The utter reduction in our monies worth
The hardness of living here
The lower standard of goods in the market
The idleness of both employed and the unemployed.
Etc...

Honestly, GMB has a lot to do if he wins.

Maccoy1:
TRULY THE EXPECTATION ON THIS GUY IS HEAVY...Just the other day i was in a BRT bus, some group of Men in the bus were arguing nd screaming their support for GMB nd GEJ, one man just shouted out of anger, he said " iF GMB wins I give him two years if he Doesn't implement all that he said, i will gather people to hold night vigil against him nd His family, i will be sending curse to him day nd night". people in the bus couldn't help but start laughing nd that ended the arguements...

Buhari, na me dey warn you now, if you know say you just dey play with our emotions no climb that sit oooo or else thunder wey go fire you dey do press-up

Oga pls allow him to win it first b4 raining the fire

Montaque:
My costly vote for GEJ in 2011 has led me to days of regrets and anger.
The expectations were not met, even when it is expected that having once had no shoes,he should know the plight of the poor masses.
The greatest we lost during these periods since 2011 has been the eroding values of the nation...
The sanctity of life
The national conscience
The guilt of wrongdoing
The boldness of evildoers
The open show of corruption
The profligacy in use of our resources
The utter reduction in our monies worth
The hardness of living here
The lower standard of goods in the market
The idleness of both employed and the unemployed.
Etc...

Honestly, GMB has a lot to do if he wins.

We must not make the mistake again!

Nice article, But uncle dele should pls keep the remaining 1 till some days to the election, cos there's no way Oga JONA will conduct the election if he continues reading something like this every Saturday. Buhari I know, Buhari I go VOTE for

Baba oyoyo! Baba oyoyo!! GMB himself knows that the only reason why we all are running to him this time around is because PDP and the gang have kicked our azzes so much for the past 16 years, we have been frustrated up to the point that we said to hell with PDP, Anything But Jonathan (ABJ)! At 73, baba doesn't need money for anything so I can bet my last kobo that GMB WILL NOT LOOT! And if he's not stealing, I doubt if anybody working for him will have the courage to steal because they know how unforgiving baba is with criminals.. Once stealing ("corruption") is killed in government, every other thing will work.

afoo02:
Nice article, But uncle dele should pls keep the remaining 1 till some days to the election, cos there's no way Oga JONA will conduct the election if he continues reading something like this every Saturday. Buhari I know, Buhari I go VOTE for

Whenever it please the gods of Abuja let him conduct the election

Montaque:
My costly vote for GEJ in 2011 has led me to days of regrets and anger.
The expectations were not met, even when it is expected that having once had no shoes,he should know the plight of the poor masses.
The greatest we lost during these periods since 2011 has been the eroding values of the nation...
The sanctity of life
The national conscience
The guilt of wrongdoing
The boldness of evildoers
The open show of corruption
The profligacy in use of our resources
The utter reduction in our monies worth
The hardness of living here
The lower standard of goods in the market
The idleness of both employed and the unemployed.
Etc...

Honestly, GMB has a lot to do if he wins.

very true....

@ seun lalasticlala ishilove obinoscopy, this is a nice piece and a FP material

Dele Momodu and his delusions of grandeur.

Keep dreaming, it is allowed.

In God through GMB we trust...

It will be really nice to see GMB transform Nigeria into a paradise in just 4 years, assuming he wins the forthcoming elections.

God bless Nigeria!

Dele Momodu, always pretending to know Nigeria more than any other Nigerian and overconfidently speaking as an anointed oracle of the "people's General". Ironically, in one section of his epistle, he claims available empirical evidence attests to Buhari's sacrosanct victory in the coming election while in another paragraph, he sees Buhari's victory as a tall dream. That's a trait of confused jingoists like Dele Momodu who lost scandalously in his few attempts at the presidency. He should be reminded that his projection of wining the presidential election of 2011 could only fetch him about 26,376 (yes, less than 27,000) votes nationwide- despite running under the platform of Late Gani Fawehinmi's popular party, the NCP! What an appalling record of a political analyst. Those who followed Ekiti elections and its outcome will attest to how uncharitable and unrealistic armchair analysts like Dele Momodu can be. It's obvious their projections are based on parochial interests, emotions and caucus affinity rather than the reality on ground but no matter how long they deceive themselves with phantom forecasts, it does little in changing the reality. The fact is that Buhari/APC does not have the national spread to win the presidential election. Full stop.

Why is Dele and other GMB supporters conveniently forgetting, that many of the main corrupt men in PDP over those past 16 years as he puts it are now forming the power base of APC?


Many that were part of the problem not only are part of APC, but are now out of PDP never to return. The rats have simply jumped ship.

Why does Dele forget to appraise the people now in APC that have been part of the PDP assault over the years?

His focus and talk is only about Buhari, a man he has met only a few times and even in this article aportions a style of leaderhip that was draconian and tyrannical the first time around.

Yet when he talks about PDP he talks about the whole government/party.....the party that was made up of cross carpeters/opportunists to APC.



He tends to conveniently be silent on the most important factos about the APC of today and just who the front runners/financiers are and is not asking why they are there.

Dele is an opportunist, at every chance to gain attention he is right there with his mouth wide open, but when it is time to proffer solutions, he is silent from his home in Ghana.

His head is firmly buried in the sand most of the time.

If buhari wins, it will only take six months for his fans to revolt against him.

henryangelo:
i refused to be deceived and convinced that Buhari will make better president, even if converts to be a democrat 50times the spirit of slavery will still remain, lets say no to a tyrant , we need freedom .GMB FOR SLAVES.,GEJ FREEDOM ,suit yourself

Its always good to speak for ursef.. No offense .. Wht is slavery ?

londoner:
Why is Dele and other GMB supporters conveniently forgetting, that many of the main corrupt men in PDP over those past 16 years as he puts it are now forming the power base of APC?


Many that were part of the problem not only are part of APC, but are now out of PDP never to return. The rats have simply jumped ship.

Why does Dele forget to appraise the people now in APC that have been part of the PDP assault over the years?

His focus and talk is only about Buhari, a man he has met only a few times and even in this article aportions a style of leaderhip that was draconian and tyrannical the first time around.

Yet when he talks about PDP he talks about the whole government/party.....the party that was made up of cross carpeters/opportunists to APC.



He tends to conveniently be silent on the most important factos about the APC of today and just who the front runners/financiers are and is not asking why they are there.

Dele is an opportunist, at every chance to gain attention he is right there with his mouth wide open, but when it is time to proffer solutions, he is silent from his home in Ghana.

His head is firmly buried in the sand most of the time.

londoner the politician, i didnt know u were a supporter of pdp......anyway what do u think are the chances of pdp in winning this election.

Beedude:


Its always good to speak for ursef.. No offense .. Wht is slavery ?

Ask Google, no offence

Oga dele ur head dey there, Oya na...
Hausa Sai buhari!
Yoruba Sai buhari!!
Igbo Sai buhari!!!

A PEE CEE.... let me hear u shout CHANGE if u believe

Good... Though Dele Momodu jumped the part where he had to critically examine the front headers/leaders of the APC and their body language to corruption

As far as Tinubu is there, APC is a no no for me... Buhari and Amaechi, I can condone but Tinubu, NO!!!!!

#GEJTill2019!!

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