By Obi Nwakanma

A wise man once told me: “Nigerians are mules, everyone who can, kicks at them.” The thing is, the more things change, the more they feel the same. In 1984, Major-General Muhamadu Buhari as military tyrant diagnosed “indiscipline” as Nigeria’s national malaise.

The sexy power word in those days was “summarily.” Buhari promised that the military government of which he was head would “summarily” deal with any Nigerian who was found wanting in “discipline.” He quickly launched a “War Against Indiscipline.” It caught on fire.

Nigerians were pressed to “behave.” They began to queue for buses and other services in places like Lagos, notorious for jumping queues. That was the greatest achievement of WAI: Nigerians learnt to queue. Military governors sometimes arrived the gates of government secretariats very early, and waited for government workers who arrived late.

Late-coming civil servants were humiliated, made to kneel down irrespective of their office or positions, or age, and frog-jumped as punishment for coming late to work. In some cases, they were “summarily dismissed.” Buhari’s government authorized armed soldiers to raid warehouses, and seize the goods of traders accused of “hoarding essential commodities.” That was in a period, of course, when “ESSENCO”was very scarce. Buhari’s War Against Indiscipline, stemmed from his genuine convictions that Nigerians were an undisciplined lot, and had to be forced to obey the simple laws of the land, and of courtesy.

Recent evidence suggests that Buhari continues to believe this as a fundamental problem with the Nigerian character. Last week, our friends, Dr. Barry and Claire Mauer had us all over for a party for Claire’s birthday at their College Park, Orlando, home. We were all going at it, with a little wine and sherry, and that good stuff, when Shanti, another friend of ours said, “I hear your president say all you Nigerians are unruly, and you need to stop being unruly!” I too had heard that the previous day on the BBC.

It was big news for the BBC that president Buhari’s Independence Day message to Nigerians was that Nigerians were “unruly.” It triggered their fancy so much that they made such an event of it. They brought a Nigerian, whose name I do not now recall, and Ghana’s Elizabeth Ohene, to talk about the “unruliness” of Nigerians as claimed by a president who increasingly seems really disconnected from the Nigerian reality. In the symbolic moment of Nigeria’s 55th anniversary as an Independent nation, more sober considerations should have been made regarding the trajectory of Nigeria’s journey, the transitions that have been made, and the true reasons for the failures of Nigeria.

We should rather celebrate the hardiness and resilience of Nigerians in the face of a terribly confused administration as Buhari’s is turning out to be.Ordinary Nigerians must not be made to carry the can for failed political leadership this past fifty-five years, of which Buhari has been a distinct part. The President had not much to say to Nigerians except that Nigerians are unruly and discourteous, and must change, in order to achieve development. Actually, this is the worst Independence Day speech I have heard of any Nigerian president. It had no concrete facts. It simply was high on the weed of self-indulgence. On such a symbolic day, President Buhari should have celebrated Nigeria, and offered it hope.

There are ordinary Nigerians laboring heroically to turn the disadvantages of being Nigerian into something hopeful, and meaningful. Nigerians are not unruly. The Nigerian child I know is taught, right from the home, to be courteous, and respectful of people, especially, older people. Nigerians know to “throway salute” when they meet you. They say, “Afternoon, sir!” “Enlee ma!” “I boola chi e!” and so on. Nigerians are not, by their very nature, or even by acculturation, unruly or discourteous.

Our political leaders have been unruly and discourteous. Those are the real culprits and makers of our national malaise. They have very little regard or respect for the civil and economic rights of Nigerians. Anyone who suddenly arrives at political office, begins immediately to see the rest Nigerians as adversaries and enemies; people who must be contained and repressed, and garrisoned.

Nigerians are constantly infantilized in the minds of the men and women who arrive at power. That is the true meaning of unruliness: to ride rough-shod on your county men because you have the privilege of the protections of public office.

It is unruly of public office holders to capture the road on a hot, uncomfortable, tropical day, with sirens and a long convoy, and horse-whip people to the sideways, and travel freely while the rest must deal with congested traffic. It is unruly to shield political power holders behind the barricade of high walls inside government buildings, while the rest of Nigerians are left to the vagaries of crime. I think President Buhari must first, look inward.

As president, propriety demands that he be accompanied by no more than his police orderly in public, while the secret service organize his security with unseen and invisible agents, who mingle with the crowd, without harassing Nigerians with an overwhelming image of armed power. It is the image of overwhelming force, especially modeled by the military that has created the psychological crisis that has reduced Nigerians to its current social miasma. Nigerians, subjected to force rather than governance, since 1966, are suffering from the trauma of social violence, and are reproducing that violence. They know nothing else but the unruliness modeled by the makers of the public system: the government, and political leadership. It will not do merely to preach order, curtsey in society, when the conditions in which Nigerians live make it possible.

If there was a well-organized public transport system, Nigerians would have no need to “rush.” But in a city like Lagos, with a population over fifteen million, to have only one means of moving that population is madness in itself. It is nightmarish, and the social pressure of moving about in Lagos which ought to, like cities even half its size, have an underground system, a surface metro system, a water transport system, as well as well-kept roads that do not clog up movement, makes courtesy difficult, and unruliness only a means of survival.

A man who has no access to clean public toilets, must defecate, and if he cannot find any will be forced to the indignity of relieving himself in public. To prevent that, it is incumbent on governments to provide clean public toilets in strategic places, to prevent such unruliness. The government itself must model the meaning of courtesy, by treating the public with the highest respect in public.

A government officer, like a policeman or soldier or tax collector, who harasses any member of the public is modeling unruliness; a government who keeps armed soldiers and police on the highways and streets where they harass Nigerians, is an unruly administration, and will reproduce an unruly nation.

A government that offers, not work, but whips to Nigerians, will create the kind of social pressure that will make civilized conduct impossible. So, President Buhari should for a moment, get off the back of Nigerians. Nigerians did not elect him merely to preach, they elected him to act. So, to make Nigerians more courteous, the government should begin a work program, strengthen internal regulations and enforcement codes in the public service, provide public infrastructure, enough to make an aggressive search for it redundant. That will reduce the kind of social pressures that make Nigerians unruly.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/buhari-my-people-are-useless-my-people-are-senseless-my-people-are-indiscipline/

CC: Lalasticlala

Okay

We all know Buhari is an illiterate that lacks common sense, he is not sensitive to the pains an average Nigerian goes through everyday......what baffles me is the fact that he has also surrounded himself with men of shallow minds.

This is a recipe for failure as we have witnessed so far.

""
Our political leaders have been unruly and discourteous. Those are the real culprits and makers of our national malaise. They have very little regard or respect for the civil and economic rights of Nigerians. Anyone who suddenly arrives at political office, begins immediately to see the rest Nigerians as adversaries and enemies; people who must be contained and repressed, and garrisoned.""


Word! The water soiled from d source...mr president inclusive. Nigerians voted Buhari believing he is incorruptible...that's not true!!
A president who I suppose to give his people hope on a day like 1st October.

What a statement....I pity this country- gradually becoming a mockery

Hmm history

Hope this people typing okay actually read the write up sha

You are correct baba
Your people are equally foolish
Sai baba, I believe you sir

It was latter capped with "...dogs and baboons will be soaked in blood..."

The man was just saying the place was and is still a zoo. The biggest zoo in Africa. Some people vex when it's called a zoo but here you have the trusted and Honest man saying it's a zoo.

OP, i understand your opinion, but those political leaders who are unruly and discourteous are Nigerians too.
Buhari is not even left out.

I still wonder who writes those speech for the president. I know my president just go out there to read.

Your people.....

Hope u know u b part sha....

Weyrey lo maa n da weyrey mo.....

Deep

Suddenly we have become "unruly" for a man whom we devotedly casted our votes for.

This summarily shows how our leaders regards us.

na wa

lyntiffany:
Suddenly we have become "unruly" for a man whom we devotedly casted our votes for.

This summarily shows how our leaders regards us.

sup curve3?

Am just tired with the way nigerians reason.....

Buhari can not fix all things in this nation I keep on telling my ppl here in the north that the rate at which they believe in this man that he will soon disappoint them...

Rubbish and senseless write up

How APC managed to package this guy and deceived millions of Nigerians into voting for him baffles me.

It was the same way the democrats was able to package obama and deceived americans into voting him.


The guy is bad news

pbs4real:
sup curve3?

curve what?

Booari is a f*ucking r*etard, his r*etarded mind/brain can't be rescued through surgery or any rehabilitation program.

Only death can rescue him and soon death will definitely do So!!

@Half mast flag loading!!!......

lyntiffany:
curve what?

tot u said they call u C3 the last time I checked that's wat ma guyz call curve 3 so sup curve3

It takes only Magic to attract iron. (Law of Attraction)

PMB, please check yourself well you will discover that you are worst than "your people" & equally know that it is your APC people that are "Useless, & Senseless"

Your new titles (Dullard, Baba go slow, 1 chance, Kwarruption, president of the norther, etc just add others


You still get mouth to talk.

APC need some sense from God because they are "senseless"

Epic writeup!

Kudos to the writer of this article. It baffles me how we descended so low to elect an illiterate as the President of this country.

Buhari has proven himself a failure from start.

Even my smart phone doesn't recognize the name "Buhari" . Type "Buhari" and it will change to "Bihari" until you make correction.

I read through the whole article and couldn't find anywhere Buhari was quoted to have said the words as captioned in the title of the article, and this is coming from one Obinna and VANGUARD. People make statements that are capable of generating very bad blood without sparring a thought to the implications of those statements. Should the legal hammer come down on this guy, these people that are cursing the president and praising the writer, instead of criticising him for this blatant lie, would be the ones to scream "the president is INTOLLERANT of the press" and turn it into another "President Buhari's war on Igbos".

Smh.

Buhari made a speech lasting 15mins and all OP heard was when the president asked Nigerians to support the "Change" philosophy by changing their themselves and one of the examples he gave was unruliness.

OP, you have concluded that your president must be an illiterate, hypocritical dullard, that would be a disaster for Nigeria.

What's done has been done he has been elected and we are stuck with him together with his shortcomings for at least the next 4years.

It is better that we give him all the support and assistance we could so that he could succeed despite all his weaknesses that you have pointed out.

After 4 years if he has failed woefully, you would get an opportunity to vote for a candidate that may be better.

Please watch the speech from 10mins 20sec below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6vBuUDycOk

Buhari's actual word was:
" To achieve change we must play our part, by changing our attitudes to public office , changing our unruly behaviour and becoming law abiding citizens."

He made no distinction between himself and any other Nigerian, and he even referred to public office holders.

OP watch it again from 10:20s

GenBuhari:
Buhari made a speech lasting 15mins and all OP heard was when the president asked Nigerians to support the "Change" philosophy by changing their themselves and one of the examples he gave was unruliness.

OP, you have concluded that your president must be an illiterate, hypocritical dullard, that would be a disaster for Nigeria.

What's done has been done he has been elected and we are stuck with him together with his shortcomings for at least the next 4years.

It is better that we give him all the support and assistance we could so that he could succeed despite all his weaknesses that you have pointed out.

After 4 years if he has failed woefully, you would get an opportunity to vote for a candidate that may be better.

Please watch the speech from 10mins 20sec below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6vBuUDycOk

Buhari's actual word was:
" To achieve change we must play our part, by changing our attitudes to public office , changing our unruly behaviour and becoming law abiding citizens."

He made no distinction between himself and any other Nigerian, and he even referred to public office holders.

OP watch it again from 10:20s

to u buhari has to call u by name for u to get the Drift abi? Well, so far buhari has continual say and does things to show that nigerians are useless,indiscipline and unruly. Typical example is the difficulty of selecting 36 people from about 200m nigerians while always talking to us from foreign countries instead of here in naija! Buhari u are an emotional error of 2015.

omenka:
I read through the whole article and couldn't find anywhere Buhari was quoted to have said the words as captioned in the title of the article, and this is coming from one Obinna and VANGUARD. People make statements that are capable of generating very bad blood without sparring a thought to the ramifications of those statements. Should the legal hammer come down on this guy, these people that are cursing the president and praising the writer, instead of criticising him for this blatant lie, would be the ones to scream "the president is INTOLLERANT of the press" and turn it into another "President Buhari's war on Igbos".

Smh.

lie nsi ebea

Buhari included himself when talking about need to change "our" unruly behaviour.

During the speech he gave an explanation for delay in appointing ministers.

Regarding interviews in foreign countries, I was baffled by this, but Buhari has since explain that because he has been extremely busy, he scheduled the interviews when he had the foreign trips because it was more or less unavoidable during the trips.
This makes sense but was a mistake as it did not give a good impression.

tuniski:
to u buhari has to call u by name for u to get the Drift abi? Well, so far buhari has continual say and does things to show that nigerians are useless,indiscipline and unruly. Typical example is the difficulty of selecting 36 people from about 200m nigerians while always talking to us from foreign countries instead of here in naija! Buhari u are an emotional error of 2015.

And your a dullard @mbuhari

Please tell us a country that has more unruly people than Nigerians? The solution to a problem begins when you know there's a problem. Only in Nigeria do we lie to ourselves this way
And let the bigoted writer listen to the speech again, Buhari never called anyone senseless or useless. He simply reminded all of us, both leaders and followers that the change we seek starts with us. Several generation of world leaders have delivered the same message without it been misconstrued but here, parochial sentiments just have to to be displayed.

I dont believe in this. Buhari cannot be so foolish to call his people all sort of names

omenka:
I read through the whole article and couldn't find anywhere Buhari was quoted to have said the words as captioned in the title of the article, and this is coming from one Obinna and VANGUARD. People make statements that are capable of generating very bad blood without sparring a thought to the ramifications of those statements. Should the legal hammer come down on this guy, these people that are cursing the president and praising the writer, instead of criticising him for this blatant lie, would be the ones to scream "the president is INTOLLERANT of the press" and turn it into another "President Buhari's war on Igbos".

Smh.

my brother you never see ibo reasoning, its normally upside down and there is no difference between an educated or uneducated ibo, if you ever hear that an educated person came from abroad to marry a village girl and is able to conveniently relate with her afterwards it is ibo. its a few that grow up outside their land that can reason well