In the past few weeks, I have read and watched commentaries and observed the language deployed by some people to castigate President Bola Tinubu for declaring a State of Emergency (SOE) in the oil-rich state of Rivers, especially by politically exposed individuals, and I wondered why he is so viciously hated by his colleagues.
But while it is understandable that most of these politically exposed persons, led by former president Olusegun Obasanjo and vice president Atiku Abubakar, respectively, are still bitter about losing elections and appointments, what baffles most is the audacity to play the holier-than-thou script on the Nigerian people, claiming to be more democratic than Tinubu.
Also, retired practicing legal luminaries, including social media data experts, have freely shared their views and given different interpretations of the section of the Constitution from which the president supposedly derives his powers to declare a state of emergency.
Press commentators are having a field day, accusing both “the godfather (former governor Wike, “allegedly’ backed by the president) and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara of pettiness, lack of decorum, and suffering from an ’embarrassing disdain for intellectual rigor.”
Citing the breakdown of governance as a result of the war of attrition between Governor Fubara and the state lawmakers, as well as attacks on oil facilities in the state, Tinubu suspended Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly.
Some observed that Wike and Fubara are “united in greed and personal aggrandizement” and noted that both are living in “opulence.”
Others have made the point that poor leadership and bad governance, of which both Wike and Fubara are guilty, are a direct cause of Nigeria’s failure to develop.
The declaration is not unprecedented. This is for those who don’t have a thorough understanding of our political history, especially during the era of President Olusegun Obasanjo (The Holier than Thou) from 1999 to 2007.
Saint Obasanjo, as president, and Comrade Atiku Abubakar as vice president, led the federal government to remove five Senate presidents in five years, sack three governors (Plateau, Ekiti, and Oyo states), sack local government chairmen, oversee the kidnapping of a sitting governor in broad daylight (Chris Ngige), and withhold Lagos State allocations even when the court ruled otherwise.
It is on record that the same saint, OBJ, conducted the worst of all elections since 1999, built democracy.
At least, late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua admitted before the United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, that the process through which he became the president of Nigeria was faulty.
He said, “The April elections had flaws and shortcomings, but it is significant that for the first time in our history, we had a civilian-to-civilian transfer of power.
He knew the process that ushered him in was a fraud unprecedented in Nigeria’s history. Even the legislators themselves were not allowed to pick their leaders.
What can we ordinary people do? They have nothing really to complain about, as they are the beneficiaries of the sham (s)elections. But we, as ordinary disenfranchised citizens, are very much aggrieved, and we have a case to prosecute.
The shamelessness in Rivers remains the foundation laid by Saint Obasanjo, a man who has cultivated the habit of writing letters at critical epochs in our history, failed to do so but was quick to attack a junior colleague.
Those defending the rule of law or democratic principles in Rivers today did not intervene when the matter was accelerating dangerously toward a total breakdown of law and order.
When Fubara refused to pay the 27 legislators in the opposing camp their legitimate allowances, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Peter Obi, Abubakar Atiku, etc., probably saw that as a noble example of democratic practice.
When Fubara reportedly said he would tell the militants when to act, they did not see anything wrong with that.
They did not even bother to engage him and redirect him to the path of peace and reconciliation. When the militants came out in support of Fubara and threatened to disrupt the live wire of Nigeria’s economy, no one called them to order.
From childhood, individuals learn to manipulate the truth to navigate social interactions, avoid punishment, or gain an advantage. But why do people lie? The motivations behind deception are multifaceted, ranging from self-preservation to manipulation and protection of self-image. Yes, a liar will have to remember the lie forever.
The person that was lied to will not. They think the lie was the truth and will be able to recall it in detail, but the liar won’t. They will have to repeat the lie so many times that they will begin to believe it as truth.
Sounds kind of like what the government is doing to the people. Lie enough times, it becomes the truth, and the truth becomes the lie.
David Lieberman, Ph.D., a psychotherapist and an expert in the field of human behavior, helps us understand the signs of deceit and how to get a confession.
“I think a great way to see deception is to view it as a seed. It’s a seed that gets planted. Because it’s a seed, it eventually bears fruit, and that fruit is usually sin,” he said.
Some are more vulnerable to being deceived than others.
Our leaders think the citizens are dumb, and they, “politicians,” are smartly corrupt. A new study reveals the pessimistic view most politicians have of the people who put them in office.
The OBJs, Atikus, Elrufais, Ameachis, Jonathans, Tinubus, IBBs, Obis, Aregbesolas, Osibanjos, and a host of leaders believe that Nigerians are uninformed, unreasonable, and short-sighted.
These politicians want us to believe that their friend and brother, Tinubu, is entirely responsible for the current crisis our country is mired in, but it is a lie.
Where was Elrufai when former President Buhari destroyed our economy, drained our foreign reserves, and borrowed the next four generations into debt?
Why are El Rufai and some shameless northerners trying to play a regional agenda here?
Are the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governors like Bala Usman and Adeleke better than the APC governors like Dapo Abiodun and Abdulrahman?
The last thing politicians want is for us to analyze, synthesize, infer, and evaluate. Most times, it is easy to imagine we are thinking critically when we are merely leaping to conclusions.
Atiku specifically admitted that the coalition by political actors from the opposition is not about governance but a strategic move to unseat the APC-led administration in 2027.
What a missionless and visionless man. Nigerians should know that the coalition led by desperate Comrade Atiku Abubakar lacks the necessary political structure to challenge any sitting government in an election, not to talk of Tinubu as president.
They are being driven by individuals rather than established political structures, making it unlikely to pose a serious threat to the APC’s dominance. Just imagine that the coalition is not about Nigeria but about defeating Tinubu!
Who are these Deceivers? Obasanjo, Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, El Rufai, Kayode Fayemi, etc. All of them have held important positions, but what are their records of service?
How, for instance, were Kaduna and other states better on May 29, 2023, than they were four years before then? In Anambra, many local governments are just now having their first government-built hospitals since creation.
Atiku Abubakar presided over the privatization of government assets for almost eight years, and we all know the results. In their quest for power, these politicians are regrouping for themselves and their families.
They don’t care about you at all except for how your votes impact their power struggles. Some use power to make money. Some use money to grab power. They hate us for our freedom.
They are not Democrats. They are deceivers.
Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.
Bosun Awoniyi writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
