Opinion…MR. PRESIDENT: CUTTING OFF THE NOSE TO SPITE THE FACE

By: Shehu Bashir Esq.

I remember a video I watched prior to the general elections where the then candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu openly lamented on the poor reward to APC loyalists. He said and I quote “APC rewarding system is very poor and unfair”. He was of the view that APC loyalists were not properly compensated in the last administration as the members of the opposition party then dominated both board and management membership of virtually all the agencies. He then went further to promise that if he was elected, he would make sure that APC loyalists who worked for the success of the party would be gratefully rewarded accordingly.

It is needless to remind all of us that the opposite of that promise is what we have been witnessing. Infact, the song in town now is, it is even a “burden” to be loyal to the APC party as those who castigated the party and cursed the President then, calling him unprintable names, casting aspersions on his integrity are the ones in the forefront of beneficiary of government rewards. Isn’t that an irony ?

The saying “monkey dey work, baboon dey chop” is the visible reality we now experience each day under this administration. The appointment of those who worked against the emergence of the President is now the most fashionable way to treat the “fuck up” of the loyalists who worked tirelessly to counter those evil wishes. How else do you explain these ceaseless insults on the sensibilities of our men and women who sacrificed everything to see to the APC victory. Those who went on the mountain to wish evil against the president are now the ones getting the reward while those who stood in Kiyamu-Laili for the president are getting relegated. Where is the conscience of those who received the mercy of the Lord against all odds?

Nobody is saying the president should not appoint anybody into his government, even if he has to bring onboard all the abusive members of the opposition but has he checked within the progressive fold and found nobody so qualified for the role he wants to give to the antagonists of his candidature? The loyalists who are even more competent have not even been rewarded enough, now, the opposition and disloyal antagonists and dancing “awilo logomba” on our yard. Oma se oh!

No doubt, the APC rewarding system is getting poorer and poorer each day. During President Buhari’s tenure, I thought it was so poor that the APC loyalty were virtually ignored, but now, under this dispensation, they have even been completely forsaken. Many enemies have been appointed into this administration while so many friends have been forgotten and made to be mocked and ridiculed by the enemies who now see themselves as the victor and we are the vanquished.

The recent reappointments of DG of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, for example, is one of those “go to hell” affront from the presidency to APC loyalists. In fairness to equity, conscience and justice, nothing should have made the president retain that woman. This was the woman who could not even publicly identify with candidate Tinubu during the campaigns. This was the woman whose husband made very terrible and despicable public remarks against candidate Tinubu (as he then was) calling Asiwaju all manners of names, including describing him as medically unfit, senile and suffering from dementia. Who in good conscience is President Tinubu trying to please and impress while throwing away the commitment, dedication and goodwill of every hardworking members of the APC who risked everything to see to the President’s victory?. Where is this arrogance of “I don’t need you again coming from”?

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So, Mr. President can displease the political allies to please the political adversaries? Where is the place of reward for loyalty in political governance? I am just curious! Is there another price that those other people have paid or paying that we “ordinarily” loyal party members have not paid? I don’t even understand anymore. We are yet to understand the real reason El-Rufai was so treated. Ofcourse, no genuine progressive is happy about how El-Rufai was treated and schemed out, we just let it pass with all the obvious undercurrent. That singular act brought tears to the eyes of many of us because it is not just about El-Rufai, it goes to say that even Mr. President may not be consistent with his words and anyone can be a victim of that inconsistency.

The antagonists to the aspiration of the president then are now being treated as hero and heroine while the protagonists and the core progressives are being treated like villains. So, it might just be a code now that you can only be considered for appointment if you turned the president into a punching bag during the campaigns. Bosun Tijani who was appointed the Minister for Communication, innovation and digital economy described the president is the worst possible way. Not even an enemy could say worst. Yet, he was graciously rewarded with a lofty ministerial position. The irony of all these excuses and justifications for these appointments is that we haven’t seen the magic they said they were going to bring to bear. It’s all overrated packaging.

This is now the trend and it is not improving at all. Where is the place of loyalty if the disloyal are getting rewarded?. This without equivocation is unfair and condescending, rubbing it on our faces as “used and dumped” elements. I have never been so shocked in disbelief. It is just too strange to believe that all these are coming from “almighty” BAT!

We who did the work we are not getting the deserved attention and respect, we are now “begging” to have the attention of those who did not do anything but are now enjoying the benefits of everything that we did. We have now been put at a disadvantaged position such that we will have to be seeking for consideration through those who got it without labouring for it. It is painful and disheartening. This is insensitivity. This is not a good tool to good governance. This is not justice. This is not fairness. This is not equity. This is oppression. This is suppression. This is impunity. This is carelessness. This is unconscionable. This is arrogance. This is bluff calling. Please, where is the conscience of those deciding on these appointments? How is Mr. President justifying all these? God indeed is the only just and fair Being, He shall judge everyone and every action at the appropriate time.

Let me state very categorically that we might not be measuring President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR by his actions or inactions in the present circumstance, strictly speaking, we are still measuring him by his intent which we thought to be good and patriotic prior to now. Nonetheless, we will not hesitate to speak up against any slightest infraction – commission or omission. When we criticize, it is because we are concerned and we want the best for the nation. It is not because we have become “a rebel” neither have we stopped being loyal to the mandate we stood on and still standing on. The success of his administration should ordinarily translate to the success of the nation and that is why we will continue to offer our own pieces of advice to help his administration. Therefore, we will not be covered by the leaf of selfishness, timidity, fear, sycophancy and hypocrisy to say less of the truth. We will remain truth to our conscience without any elements of bias. We are too Nigerian for us to be timid.

GOD IS HERE