Now our watch begins. But to know where we are going, we have to know where we are coming from.
General Muhammadu Buhari was believed to be a true Nigerian anti-corruption hero. He was one of the participants in the coup led by Lt-Col Mutarla Muhammed that overthrew and assassinated Nigeria’s first self-appointed military Head of state General Aguiyi Ironsi. He was also among a group of officers who oust the Head of state, General Yakubu Gowon. In 1983, Buhari used the forces under his command to chase out the Chadian forces that invaded the country. He later that same year 1983 co-led the military coup that ejected the democratically elected government of President Shehu Shagari. Buhari justified the seizure of power by castigating the civilian government as hopelessly corrupt. Although all the military coups that ever took place were justified by the perpetrators as a fight against corruption, Buhari to everyone, seem to embody the essence of the struggle.
In the year 1999, the military reign in Nigeria finally came to a halt with a transition to democracy. People were initially skeptical of the new development. We all doubted the possibility of its advancement but after a while, we were all convinced democracy have come to stay. Subsequent to the first successful democratic government, top guns began to throw their hat in for the next Presidential election. Amongst the aspirants was General Muhammadu Buhari. He had three consecutive unsuccessful presidential elections (2003, 2007 and 2011), he then retired to his village in Daura, lived a simple life, reared his cattle, staying away from the corruptions of the government. Unlike almost every other influential politician of the time that had attended good schools, relished European finery, he made people believed he had always lived a humble live. We saw an uneducated lowly and modest man, a man of the earth.
This, at any rate was what Nigerians read in their newspapers and was aired on television stations in the months before the controversial 2015 election. Spurred by these stories, vulnerable citizens of the nation began talking of how the anti-corruption hero had been wronged; how insidious corrupt aristocratic elites were conspiring to keep the country under their rule. So when Buhari was calculatedly chosen to run against GEJ in the 2015 presidential election- but this time as a candidate of a new party, All Progressive Congress (APC) - the public was thrilled. That was the first time the cliché/motto of a political party in the nation so much capture the heart of the people, -CHANGE was on the tongue of everyone. The word to the people represents a spiritual, economic, moral, educational and infrastructural revival. It becomes more like a magical seed. There were campaigns all around the country towards the election. Issues of national importance pertaining to the common man were discussed (healthcare, food, clothing, shelter, and above all, corruption), and people felt certain, Buhari was on their side. It was hard to know for sure- he seldom talk at the time (his promoters did all the talking) - but his election was about something larger than talking: it was about restoring democracy; fighting against corruption; and restoring basic black nation values.
Soon the All Progressive Congress was sponsoring events around the nation. They organize lavish public feast, inviting popular and reigning artists to entertain the crowd, and these were stirring events. The events often took place in a spacious environment mostly stadia with the party supporters carrying large colourful banners with portraits of Buhari or caricature of GEJ ridiculing his decadent way. And everywhere, there were brooms, brooms and more brooms.
The All Progressive Congress took over the media, conducted opinion polls, finding out what the common man thought about the two leading candidates – Goodluck and Buhari. The results, though mostly doctored, were published in the papers and the overwhelming conclusion was that Buhari was ahead. It came to our apprehension: a new party is taking over the country. It all came to the head when Buhari was interviewed by Christian Ammanpour on CNN. Though he said nothing meaningful, he became the world endorsed leader for the most populous black nation. One man said- “he is a man of impeccable character to lead the country. It is on record that no one has successfully maligned the integrity of Gen. Buhari. He has a rich pedigree”.
This time the will of the people prevailed. Buhari was elected president. It was not one region or tribe that brought him to victory: North-east, North-west, North-central and even the South-west were all infected with the Buhari/Change fever.
After the debacle that has eroded the nation till 2015, President Buhari and his cabinet were looked upon by Nigerians to do things differently. Unfortunately enough, the population of the country keeps increasing, power generation keeps decreasing, rate of unemployment proliferates, inflation at its peak, and basic human needs become an enormous concern amongst other issues. The sad news is we’ve been coned.
When the opposition parties realized it will be very difficult to take the federal power away from the ruling party, they took the decision of merging their forces. Two heads are often better than one. One of the first and most important steps they took was to found newspapers and television stations around the country. After which they put forward a figure they believed the nation will felt they have wronged and deserves their sympathy in votes. They even likened Buhari story to that of Abraham Lincoln, only the wise and informed could take time to note these two individuals are totally contrasting in all ways and manners except that they both became the president of their different countries. While Buhari seems to have retired from public life, these papers promulgated an image of him as the wronged corruption fighter, the victimized man of the people. In truth, Buhari was wealthy, as were all of his major backers(As a matter of fact, most of his promoters were from the acclaimed corrupt party (PDP), which during their term in office had embezzled all the resources that is meant for the masses. They gave their support to Buhari to service their greed the more and save them of impending prosecution). Buhari owned a large farm, probably a large empire we all don’t know about, and many servants were at his beck and call. He ate like a king, lived in a mansion and had the best of all things. And while he might have been perceived as uneducated by the populace, he was schooled in the United States.
The image of the man of the earth disguised all these, and once it was established, it could be contrasted with the aristocratic image of the ruling party flag bearer. In this way Buhari’s strategists covered up all his political inexperience and made the election turn on questions of character and values. Instead of political issues, they raised trivial matters like the blunders in the first lady’s grammar; the voyage of the President to the Holy land to pray for the country instead of staying back to fix things among others. The greatest opportunity to crucify the ruling party was the abduction of the Chibok girls. Nobody take time to notice today that the #Bringbackourgirls is almost forgotten. They sponsored a lot of campaign to build every single mistake of the ruling party out of proportion and it worked. They even duped the innocence citizens of the nation of their hard earned money in the name of contributing for Buhari’s presidential form acquisition since he’s too poor to get one. To keep the enthusiasm of the people, they staged spectacles that seem to be spontaneous but unknowingly to the people, were carefully choreographed. We all can remember the primary school student that claims to donate her saved pocket money to the Buhari/change movement. It was broadcast on Channels television. The support for Buhari seemed to be a movement. This strategy infuriated the ruling party, who tried to unmask it, reveal the truth behind the myth; but that only made them seem smug, defensive, and snobbish. All these qualities became part of the ruling party’s image and helped sank them.
The question remains: “what would be the state of the nation this time tomorrow?”

Good morning!
That broom spell go finish soon soon on zombies...

Eiyaa Op eye don finally clear

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