By Uche Amunike
The presidential election 2019 has just come and gone and a winner has been declared. He is General Muhammadu Buhari. Now, I am truly saddened by the fact that Buhari won this election and I owe no one any apologies for feeling this way. I have watched the killings in this country during his first four years and his nonchalant attitude all the times these killings took place. I have watched herdsmen wiping out communities and being brazen about it. I have watched our economy dwindle drastically. I have observed his lopsided appointments that excluded people from my geo-political zone from being appointed into even the smallest unit. Or is it his obvious bid to Islamize this country? Beyond all these, his massive rigging of the election after manipulating INEC, the Judiciary and Security was a big slap on the faces of Nigerians and indeed a threat to our much treasured democracy.
All I wanted was a free and fair election, God knows. I wanted Nigerians to decide whom they wanted. If the election was free and fair and Buhari came out the victor, I would happily join in the celebratory dance. However, if anyone tells me that the calculated disruption of voting in PDP strongholds in Lagos, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers was mere coincidence, or that there was nothing wrong with the fact that the security apparatus put on ground to stop such violence ended up being the attackers of the very people they were deployed to protect, then I would tell such people to their faces that they were indeed insulting my intelligence.
This is not about supporting AtikuObi. This is about protecting our votes and the right to choose our president. It’s about upholding democracy. It’s about having a voice, taking pride in our Igboness and standing up to what we believe in. I believe in the ideologies of AtikuObi. They have unfortunately been rigged out. Welcome to the seat, GMB. However, I hope you will make up for all the confidences Nigerians have lost in your person and in your government. You owe that much to posterity. Remember, they would be the ones to judge you in years to come!
Having spoken my mind, I came across some pretty interesting submissions by different people concerning the just concluded election. I want to share it with you all. The one that touched me most was that of my very good friend, Samuel Oramali Rapulu. He is an Albino and a smart, dynamic and successful young man who has done so well for himself. He is the MD/CEO, Samora Media Limited. I read his post and cried. Every word he said tugged at my heart strings. I can’t help but share it with you all for he truly captured the Nigerian situation.
Hear him:
Sometime in 2013, during the time for my industrial training, a female friend suggested we try out an agro industry here in Awka for placement. On the day of the interview, dressed in my very best, I joined about a dozen others in the reception, waiting for the interviewer to arrive. The man later arrived to address us and spotting me, he said ‘ Bia Albino, I hope you’re not among the people coming for the job. Please, this job is for able bodied human beings.
Please, our company doesn’t employ people like you.’ This was very hurtful. This job didn’t demand anything I lacked and I was pretty sure that I would have done a better job than most, if not all of them there. I’m very smart and articulate. This wasn’t the deepest hurt I had that day. I was hurt more because of my friend and the over ten other persons there who didn’t say anything to this man for obviously disgracing and disenfranchising me. They knew what he said was wrong. They knew what he said wasn’t factual. They knew what he said was hurtful, but they didn’t say anything because they were seeking for his favour. They were looking to be in his good book. Some of them even laughed about his statements. The sheer nerve! Why am I saying this? This election brought back that memory. It brought back the feeling of hurt and hopelessness. I saw friends who were supporting the current administration in their repeated rape of our institutions. I saw friends gloat about PDP losing. They weren’t doing so because they loved Buhari or think that his government is doing wonderfully well. They were doing it because it is the only way that they will be paid. They will rather eat and watch the public starve. They will rather be friends with their master and be enemies of their own people. I don’t blame them too, the same way that I didn’t blame my friend that interview day. They had to survive. It’s either you win them or you join them. History has no place for losers. After that interview, I vowed never to work for someone. I vowed never to work in a place where I’m not allowed to have my own opinion. I vowed to create a workable environment that encourages my staff and partners to argue with me, to feel free disagreeing with me based on personal principles. I believe I’ve been able to achieve this in Samora Media Ltd.
Someone else wrote:
Congratulations President Muhammadu Buhari on your reelection to pilot the affairs of our great country Nigeria for another four years. Though I was on the other side of the political divide prior to this general election for reasons of your poor performance in the past three years plus but now that majority of Nigerians have spoken through their votes I now call on Nigerians to accept the outcome in good faith hoping this NEXT LEVEL MANTRA won’t be like the outgoing CHANGE MANTRA. To those that assiduously worked for the reelection of this inefficient government especially my brothers from the core North of Borno of Chibok Girls, Zamfara, Kaduna North, Kastina, Kano, Yobe of Dapchi Girls, Gombe, Bauchi, Jigawa among others, I say a big thank you for adding another four years of hardship in your locality as I hope you won’t complain because we must accept our political choices good or bad. Yes I know it is your right to make whatever political choices you choose.
Atiku Abubakar, you are truly a good fighter and I must commend you for a good outing.
Bukola Saraki, God bless you for standing up for what you believe in even when all odds are against you. I must tell you that empires rise and fall. You have run a good race politically in Kwara politics and even risen to the position of 3rd citizen of the country. I understand your pain because you may feel you are too young to retire from politics but such is life. After all, you started very early in life.
Nyesom Wike, you are truly the Lion of Rivers Politics. I sincerely commend your political doggedness. You fought and delivered but a tree cannot make a forest.
Peter Obi, We call you Okwute Ndigbo. Yes, you are also a great fighter and your landslide victory in your home state of Anambra shows that we your people love you to the moon.
Ike Ekweremmadu, Odogwu Na Aninri, thanks so much for delivering 100 percent.
Godswill Akpabio, how market? I thought you said PDP is dead in Akwa Ibom? You now see you are the person dead politically because your almighty federal power could not even deliver you. Hahahahahahahah.
George Akume, your own weak me because it was even a political greenhorn that sent you packing politically. You now see you have no political worth in Benue politics.
Ifeanyi Uba, my namesake, you be lucky politician because even with an unknown political party you are able to retire the UBAH BROTHERS and able to dismantle the Almighty Chris Uba, the Godfather of Anambra South Politics. Ebubechukwu Uzo, CEO Capital Oil, I tap into your political blessings. PDP betrayed you. APGA betrayed you yet you never gave up. Please don’t betray YPP your political party.
Osho Baba, Monkey no fine but em mama like am. Abeg how market for Edo state? You couldn’t even deliver Edo to APC even as a national chairman?
Dino Melaye, the new Maradona of Kogi politics. Your victory at the poll is still like a miracle to me because I never saw it coming. Even from the police cell you were able to win your people’s vote. Abeg no disappoint your senatorial district because they believe in you to have given you another four year mandate to represent them at the senate. Dino Dino, you smart pass Smart Adeyemi.
Finally I must add that in every contest there must be a winner and a loser. Congrats to those that won.
President Muhammadu Buhari, Congratulations once again for your victory at the poll. I just hope you won’t fail Nigeria and Nigerians again. I must constantly keep you on your toes. After all you always remind us that four years is not enough to right the wrongs of PDP government. Now you have 8 years. Please and please, don’t blame PDP again. Long Live the Federal Republic. God Bless Nigeria and Nigerians!!
A certain Anayo Nwosu wrote too:
I know it is painful. I supported Atiku the much I could but the truth is that we have been beaten by Buhari. Three states results will demonstrate why the system should not be overheated. The states are Anambra where Atiku won by over 480,000 votes, Adamawa his own state where he won by merely less than 35,000 votes. Another one is Buhari’s Katsina where Atiku lost with over 900,000 votes. A quick lesson is that we cannot want Atiku more than his own Fulani people. It’s like a football game where we lost to a referee. Four years is not too far. By then, Buhari would have proven his capacity to do what he is presently doing beyond all reasonable doubt. His regime cannot hurt Igbos more than what we are feeling now. We are far better economically than even his own people except few political appointees who have been anointed to be corrupt without charge. Atiku and Buhari are brothers. Their kinsmen prefer Buhari to Atiku and we can see it in their choice and pattern of votes allocation. Igbos should note that there has not been any riot in the north since the results started being announced as compared to 2011 when a wrong person in the person of Goodluck Jonathan won. Even the insurgents in Kebbi and Borno had to take a recess to submit their election results or preference even if the results were compiled by their elders.
Why then must Igbos cry more than Fulani nation? Only a foolish Igbo man would accept that his head be used to appease the land. Who will now inhabit the cleansed land after he is gone? For those Igbo supporters of Buhari, I say congratulations to you. What next? I sincerely wish you more appointments in the military, police, DSS, NIA, NIS and customs. But you are not competent as Buhari will continue making his appointments on “merit”. Sadly enough, most of you are not appointable. Your tribesmen didn’t even do up to 5% voting for him.
Even as shortsighted as you are, we love you all. You are still our beloved brothers and sisters. People like you keep wine tappers in our land in business. It is noteworthy that we need a peaceful Nigeria to do our business, worship in our churches and mad our madness.
So, dabbling into Buhari and his brother’s fight should not be our priority. Many of us still remember that it was Atiku, Saraki, Galadima, etc who in 2015 gave the monkey the cup full of honey. How do they think that it would be easy to snatch it from him? Four years is here with us by which time, all the old brigade would have retired or died. Let our elected representatives work with MNK to push for a restructured country so as to realize our potentials since it is obvious that we cannot achieve greatness under the current structure. I have bought my laughing chair where I will sit to watch all those that rode on the back of the lion being used one after the other for supper once they start getting impatient with dividends of support of Oga. I would love to watch our southern neighbours when they are told, “you cannot have it in 2023, you want Igbos to secede?”
Let nobody exalt Fr. Mbaka beyond the congratulations given to a Lotto winner. I also reason with other men of God who saw a tall president in their vision and mistook him for Atiku. Some prophecies are fear or stomach directed. We sometimes fail in our predictions or prophecies as Men of God in other climes.
In all these, only God knows who and who would be alive to see May 29, 2019. These include all elected office holders. What is the difference between them and those who were killed during the election of blood they won? We only know today but tomorrow belongs to God.
Good luck to the Next Level Nigeria!!!