Buhari, beware of pitfalls

Morning shows the day, the English say, and this is more apt now as president-elect Muhammadu Buhari waits in the wings to assume the reins of power. Two major events last week were enough to raise the red flag for those of us who are not members of the ‘Buhari-can-do-no wrong’ group, which, by the way, is increasing daily. That is not a bad thing though, more on that later.

General Buhari must take good note of President Goodluck Jonathan’s words when he said that being in office is like a prisoner and that he felt freer on his way out. Buhari’s followers regale us with stories of his inner strength and ability to stay the course, and this is rightly so at least based on his past. He, however, must refuse to become hostage to aides who will only tell him those things he want to hear. Sociolinguists are not the only ones who can help us analyse the full import of what Jonathan meant when he referred to himself as a prisoner. Of course each president or leader is responsible for his actions in office, but our contemporary history shows that since 1999, successive presidents to a large extent, willingly allowed themselves to be held hostages by parasites who feed on their closeness and access to the leaders.

Former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua never lacked such vermin in the corridors of power. It was some of them who sold the idea of a third term presidency to Obasanjo and imbued him with a messianic complex that only him can lead us to the Promised Land. Just as some became ‘the cabal’ who dictated the pace of things under late Yar’Adua and also determining who get what. You wonder who built the brewery in Aso Rock where such only-you-but-no-one-else beers are brewed. They fawn over the occupants and manipulate them to do their bidding. Granted there would always be those who by their functions and relationships will be closer to leaders but what makes our situation interesting is that such members of an inner caucus usually abuse the privilege.

The two instances I referred to earlier were the furore that trailed the ban placed on a television station, AIT, from covering the activities of the president-elect. The release issued by Mallam Garba Shehu on behalf of the Buhari Campaign Organisation was clear and ambiguous as reported by this newspaper. “You can quote me that I said that we have asked them to step aside and we are resolving the issues of ethics and standards with them,” Shehu said. Fortunately, this decision was reversed and Buhari even claimed ignorance of the directive which was fine and indicative that it might not be business as usual. But what do we make of the defenders of such an atrocious action whose only preoccupation was defending the indefensible? They justified the obnoxious decision by citing the dishonourable action of AIT in running documentaries filled with lies on Buhari in the build-up towards the presidential election.

As a journalist, it was tough for me deciding which action was more painful: the apparent attempt at gagging a media outfit via the backdoor, or that some journalists blindly supported the decision. After all another top shot of APC is already in court asking for damages from the same station for running similar documentaries on him. They even went to the extent of citing a similar action by President Barrack Obama some years back conveniently forgetting that when Fox Television was barred from the White House, other major networks decided to boycott it until Fox was allowed to do its duties. And that’s why Buhari must be careful, not only has he been touted to possess a magic wand that would make our problems disappear in a twinkle of an eye, but that he can do no wrong. This is dangerous, indeed very dangerous. No leader is infallible and Nigerians know this perhaps more than any other set of people. We have been serially deceived and lied to that it is tough trusting our leaders again. But our new president must beware of such folks who can defend the indefensible and rationalize the most absurd.

Beyond the programme of action canvassed during the campaign, I’ve always believed that the composition of the team that will with Buhari will actually show whether the much-touted change is real or just a campaign mantra. That’s why the appointment of an octogenarian to lead the transition committee is a bit unsettling. Are we saying that only old people are persons of integrity? Buhari needs to learn how to navigate patronage that is politics and the need to effect crucial changes in our national affairs. Balancing such diverse interests holds the key to a successful four-year term.