This Government is on Edge, Yet in Dark

Hometruths By Adeola Akinremi, Email: adeola.akinremi@thisdaylive.com
I forewarned the Buhari government that it will come to this. Now, the ashtag #Febuhari has turned to #FedupwithBuhari.

In an Op-ed I penned on Friday November 26, titled: ‘Like Economy, Internal Security Slips out of Buhari’s Hands’, I advised the government to take proactive measure to stop the spark before it turns into a consuming fire, but it will appear that President Muhammadu Buhari, and his cabinet think a mere blip in social voltage will not harm this government.

Understandably, that is the government narrative in Nigeria.
Everyone in government circle will continue to say Sai Baba until the house comes crashing. Those in Goodluck Jonathan’s government even turned it to a song, “Goodluck to you, Goodluck to me, “Goodluck to everybody,” until the doomsday appeared.

The Tuface’s “one voice” revolution is the spark in the series of protests that will change the government that has repeatedly failed to change the way people live, despite the promises.
Unfortunately, Buhari allowed this to happen to his government. With no single priority to focus on, the government has been running around in circles and with it President Buhari is holidaying in the United Kingdom and having medical tourism.

Hey! When it comes to that, nobody needs to incite citizens to put their feet on the streets. We all did in January 2012 to show President Goodluck Jonathan his yellow card before the red card came in 2015. Only a small percentage of Nigerians did not participate. They are those from Otuoke and the cabals of Aso Rock or to put simply, those who have been blinded by the gods of Aso Rock.
Pleasingly, the professor who called Tuface an “illiterate” has capitulated with profound apology to our music icon.

But to ignore Tuface’s one voice march on Monday, February 6, is to ignore the voice of reason. Tuface has the resources, both human and financial; he has the gut and the will to galvanise this movement. I don’t think he needs any politician for a backup like some are insinuating. Only death can stop him.

Prof. Akindele Adetoye, the man who called Tuface an “illiterate,” probably didn’t watch the video that Innocent Idibia (Tuface) posted on his facebook page to deliver his message.
“Nigeria must work for all of us and all of us must work for Nigeria. The walk will be from National Stadium to National Theatre the two symbol of how Nigeria is fast declining,” Tuface said in the video.

For me, the connection that Tuface made with the suffering that Nigerians are facing with the declined national heritage like National Stadium and National Theatre is a major opprobrium that reflects poorly upon succeeding governments.
In history, there is always that immediate and remote cause of event. The most critical is the last straw. We are now witnessing remote causes and Mr. President and his party, the All Progressives Congress can still do something before immediate cause and the last straw comes to break the camel’s back.

To avoid more rumours of death and rushing to salvage the situation with photos that experts have analysed to show the figure of a truly sick president, the government should work on our healthcare system such that President Muhammadu Buhari will not be spending money to improve Theresa May’s economy while his own economy is sliding.

I believe any president needs vacation. The burden of leadership is a huge one and leaders do need a retreat where they can ponder on the future of the country they govern without the pressure of sitting behind the presidential table as commander-in-chief.
So like any president, Buhari deserves the vacation. But vacations are not hurriedly done by presidents like we have seen in Buhari’s case.

Vacation is a planned event on president’s calendar every year. There’s usually nothing sudden about it. More, it is curious why President Buhari chose to be holidaying abroad when he has the rare chance to make a change in encouraging Nigerians to invest money in our tourism sector.

When American presidents go on holiday, they go to places in their countries that magnet the citizens to visit. A presidential stay in Ikogosi Spring in Ekiti State or Yankari National Park in Bauchi State will definitely rev up tourism and wouldn’t have given birth to death rumour.
For those who still don’t know why Tuface will march, below is a pick from my column published last November. Prophesy is being fulfilled, because the government did nothing about it.

On November 26, 2016, I wrote: “I really don’t want to exacerbate an already bad situation with this justification. At the same time, I’m careful not be caught in the web of figures that will not make sense in the end, but I want this government to get the picture that Nigerians may be heading for another ‘enough-is-enough’ protests that will be birthed not by a particular organisation but by individuals who are truly tired.

“Anger and despair are two important ingredients for uprising. I know that the theory of grievance, greed and opportunity structure exist, but that is applicable to Niger Delta and Boko Haram insurgency, where militants take the opportunity of the swamp in the Delta area and the hills and caves in the North-east to fight the government. So the government may decide to ignore the warning.
“But without swamp and hills, we can’t forget too quickly that mutiny against President Goodluck Jonathan started with street protests over an “offence” as simple as subsidy removal, though his approval rating was still somewhere in the middle at the time.”
Follow me on twitter:@adeolaakinremi1