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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Politics / President Buhari’s Supporters And Critics JULY 23, 2015 : NIRAN ADEDOKUN (897 Views)
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President Buhari’s Supporters And Critics JULY 23, 2015 : NIRAN ADEDOKUN by Ahmeduana(m): 1:44pm On Jul 23, 2015 |
Not at any time in the recent history of Nigeria have we
seen a more ferocious and unsparing following like those of
President Muhammadu Buhari.
Up north where he hails from, Buhari has the image of a cult
leader. Most natives, old and young, especially in his
North-West zone are stuck on his perception as a man of
integrity and truth hence the epithet “mai gaskiya”, a man of
truth with which he is known.
Buhari is so loved in this part of the country that we were
warned of a possible bloodshed if he failed to win the 2015
presidential election like he did three consecutive times
previously. And of course, the globe panicked at such a
prospect. The loss of close to one thousand mostly non-
indigene lives when Buhari lost the 2011 election was still
fresh in the minds.
Among this crowd of followers are numerous uneducated,
uncatered to youths who only identify the command “go”
but are unable to reverse themselves when you give the
command “come back” Thank goodness Buhari won the
election and no time bomb exploded on us.
However, in the run-up to the 2015 elections, another group
of supporters rose for Buhari. These were largely young,
upwardly mobile folk who were justifiably tired of the drift in
the nation and wanted the reversal of the grim fortunes
ahead.
Although as violent and uncompromising as the first group,
this new group brought a novel set of weaponry different
from the cudgels, knives, bows and arrows of the first set of
supporters. They were armed with their smartphones,
tablets and laptops, from which they not only supported
Buhari but harassed those who did not want him.
As is seen in every form of war, they employed all weapons
available to them, truths, half-truths, lies and manipulation
of minds. They exploited the laissez-faire nature of the new
media and fed not just Nigerians but the world with any
information that suited their minds without check. And
sometimes when clarifications came to debunk some of
their occasional misinformation, the spin would have gone
viral, far beyond recall!
One of such mindless distortions was a tweet that a
respected man of God proclaimed that the gates of hell were
going to be invoked against enemies of then President
Goodluck Jonathan. As it is with the New Media, hundreds
of thousands of people saw and believed this tweet within
hours such that a denial (including a press statement and a
video) by the worship place produced no remedy. Such was
the spleen with which this new group of soldiers warred.
They were organised, had ownership of all social media
platforms, took effective possession and always had the
edge in this spatial combat.
As alarming and unnecessary as these violent exchanges
were then, they were permissible. The group only tried to
sell its candidate and diminish the chances of the opponent
as much as possible. Then, came the election on March 28,
the announcement of a winner two days after and the
swearing-in of President Buhari two months later. That
would be 60 days next week.
Yet, there has been no let off in the tyranny of Buhari’s
supporters. Every day and on every available platform,
these men and women do not just sing the praise of
Buhari’s every step, (which is fine as far as I am concerned)
but shout down and attempt to shut up voices that are
contrary to what they believe. Name-calling, intimidation
and ridiculing of voices contrary to what those who are
trapped in the President’s stardom are the game. As a
result, one now queries the essence of democracy and the
importance of an alert citizenship to the democratic
sustainability.
I suggest that those who think President Buhari should not
be criticised should wake up in the interest of the country.
Now, I must make the point that they are totally entitled to
hold whatever positions they desire in support of the
President, but where their right to hold opinion stops is
where that of others to differ starts. I think Nigerians must
learn to allow the dignity of the other person’s right to
independent thought. This is indeed the beauty of any
democratic system.
Buhari and others are leaders because we voted for them to
do a job. They are in office to work for the people. That
means the electorate must communicate with them about
what to do and what we think about what they are doing.
Without this, they would run riot on us and this is one of the
reasons why countries are run down by politicians. And in
the case of Nigeria’s President, there are a number of
reasons why the citizens have to be a lot more vigilant.
Again, for the next four years, Buhari would be leading
Nigeria as a politician. I agree that he is a man of integrity
but democracy does not run on integrity alone. He will be
hobnobbing with thousands of men and women who are deft
in the art of politics and would give him advice that could
muddle up his clarity. For instance, how do we explain the
current position of a President who said he was ready to
work with anyone who emerged as leader of the legislature
but has refused to interact with any of the two elected to
lead the National Assembly almost 50 days ago, even when
the constitution gives him no role in the matter?
The President, like every mortal, is susceptible to mistakes
and Nigerians, whether they voted for him or not have the
right to point out these errors and demand better
performance. President Barack Obama of the United States
has for the past few years faced caustic sometimes
deprecating criticisms but in all, his administration is better
for it. Feedback from citizens is the tonic for democratic
growth. Those who attempt to stop people from ventilating
do not love the President.
On a final note, every Nigerian must support and pray for
the President. No matter what your political leanings are,
the success of this man is tied to the prosperity and peace
of every citizens and the earlier we all realised this, the
better for us all. But that, I submit, does not mean we
cannot demand criticise and demand better performance
from the President right from this moment. |
Re: President Buhari’s Supporters And Critics JULY 23, 2015 : NIRAN ADEDOKUN by nicerichard05: 1:46pm On Jul 23, 2015 |
Ok o.. Anyway today is my Birthday can i get 1000like 1 Like |
Re: President Buhari’s Supporters And Critics JULY 23, 2015 : NIRAN ADEDOKUN by boboLIL(m): 1:49pm On Jul 23, 2015 |
Too long to my liking |
Re: President Buhari’s Supporters And Critics JULY 23, 2015 : NIRAN ADEDOKUN by boboLIL(m): 1:49pm On Jul 23, 2015 |
nicerichard05:wich party u de? |
Re: President Buhari’s Supporters And Critics JULY 23, 2015 : NIRAN ADEDOKUN by Abugab(m): 1:57pm On Jul 23, 2015 |
There is a common sense revolution going on and PMB is the leader. Opposition surely exists as leadership is no tea party but those for sincere change that will affect the lives of Nigerians positively are more than those on the flip side of opposition. The opposition will definitely cry foul in every move made by PMB particularly when we all know the level of decay and decadence in our political, social, economic and religious lives. Its a clear case of the guilty always being afraid and doing anything to subdue the truth with whatever means available including the new media. PMB is a firm man and will surely step one toes as we envisage but as humans we all have our deficiencies which PMB is not above. I am sure those for him do so genuinely and for the interest of a nation that has gone rotten |
Re: President Buhari’s Supporters And Critics JULY 23, 2015 : NIRAN ADEDOKUN by Ahmeduana(m): 2:00pm On Jul 23, 2015 |
boboLIL:YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM THE SAME SICKNESS AM TRYING TO SET MYSELF FREE FROM! |
Re: President Buhari’s Supporters And Critics JULY 23, 2015 : NIRAN ADEDOKUN by Tclassic(m): 2:01pm On Jul 23, 2015 |
Fact |
Re: President Buhari’s Supporters And Critics JULY 23, 2015 : NIRAN ADEDOKUN by bababuff(m): 2:06pm On Jul 23, 2015 |
Sir, your contribution is noted. How is this going to affect the price of garri in the market? 1 Like |
Re: President Buhari’s Supporters And Critics JULY 23, 2015 : NIRAN ADEDOKUN by Filmewell(f): 2:17pm On Jul 23, 2015 |
what happened to paragraphing. sowi cudnt read it. |
Re: President Buhari’s Supporters And Critics JULY 23, 2015 : NIRAN ADEDOKUN by importexpert(m): 2:37pm On Jul 23, 2015 |
Ahmeduana: if you have succeeded with the cure, kindly summarize everything for me in a brief summary of not less than 500000 sentences |
Re: President Buhari’s Supporters And Critics JULY 23, 2015 : NIRAN ADEDOKUN by Ahmeduana(m): 2:42pm On Jul 23, 2015 |
importexpert:haba! 500, 000 sentence? even the whole article no reach 10,000. |
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