Buhari has finally buried the ghost
It was none other than General Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the Congress of Progressive Change (CPC), followed by his running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare. While the audience which was made up of over 99 per cent of Christians were busy singing, clapping and dancing to sonorous Christian songs, a man with a towering […]
It was none other than General Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the Congress of Progressive Change (CPC), followed by his running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare. While the audience which was made up of over 99 per cent of Christians were busy singing, clapping and dancing to sonorous Christian songs, a man with a towering figure, clad in a white agbada and a cap to match, who was easily identified as General Buhari, walked silently in with members of his entourage. Even before he had a chance to be formally introduced to the assembled guests as soon as he was sighted, a loud ovation greeted Buhari and followed him to his seat. And when the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, had the opportunity to acknowledge the presence of Buhari at the event, the General received a most rapturous ovation.
Whether General Buhari was persuaded to honour the invitation by his running mate or he decided that in view of the erroneous image some Nigerians, especially Christians, have been made to have of him, it was important for him to identify with Christians by honouring that event with his presence, his move that day is very significant. It was an act in realpolitik and a signal of the political maturity of General Buhari. It was a move that will help to dispel the impression that has been created in the minds of many Christians that Buhari is an Islamic zealot whose presidency will be injurious to Christians.
And throughout the General’s stay at the event, I kept shooting some glances at him to see whether he was feeling some kind of discomfort at finding himself at such a high profile Christian gathering. He betrayed nothing of the sort. Some may wonder why I seem to betray some surprise at the General’s attendance and conduct at that event and why I was curious to obtain some intelligence about what his feelings were in the company of mainly Christians. The reason is, as I have said earlier, the image that has been painted of General Buhari which many of us are aware of.
If there is anything that can be regarded as the ghost that has haunted the CPC presidential candidate almost all his political career and which has contributed in no small measure to his poor support base in the southern part of the country, it is mainly this perception of him as a Muslim fundamentalist who hates Christians. His political rivals who have sought to paint him with a tar brush have also portrayed him as a bigot whose secret agenda is to Islamise Nigeria if he succeeds to the presidency of the country.
No one has ever questioned the integrity or competence of Buhari to lead Nigeria to prosperity and greatness. No one has ever said that Buhari is corrupt or incompetent. All you hear is that the man is a religious bigot and this is the excuse that has been relied upon to repeatedly deny ourselves and our country of the services of one of the greatest modern patriots we have in the country. It is truly amazing.
Despite his valiant and sincere efforts to rid himself of such a negative and false portraiture, the man has not quite succeeded in convincing some of his countrymen. Most people in Nigeria are aware that the image that has been painted of Buhari is incorrect yet since it is part of human nature to believe the worst about our fellow humans, some have found it convenient to continue to peddle the view that Buhari not only dislikes Christians but that he is also out to Islamise Nigeria as alleged if he is given a chance to preside over the affairs of Nigeria.
But this step under discussion and another one which the General has taken in recent times, will help to a large extent in permanently burying the ghost of Buhari’s alleged intolerance and bigotry. The second one is his selection of Pastor Tunde Bakare as his running mate. Unknown to many Nigerians, Buhari was faced with a great political temptation in choosing a presidential running mate for himself. In terms of electoral weight, it certainly would have been more profitable to Buhari if he had settled for Bola Tinubu who is the single most powerful politician in the land today. A political marriage between Buhari and Tinubu would have given PDP sleepless nights. But Buhari realised that choosing Tinubu and ending up with a Muslim-Muslim ticket would have given ammunition to his enemies to say he truly hates Christians and cannot possibly work with a Christian that is why he has chosen Tinubu a fellow Muslim as running mate. He quickly elected not to fall to that temptation.
It is not in the interest of our nation that some of us Nigerians keep rejecting Buhari at the polls when we know very well that it is those who are mortally afraid of the regime of integrity that Buhari stands to institute in our country should he win that keep beating the drums of his Islamisation agenda. The truth of the matter is that as it is today, none can convert Nigerians to one belief system no matter how hard such an individual tries. What is more, that is not even the agenda of General Buhari.
What I think is that once again, we have a golden opportunity to decide whether we can have a break with our corrupt and directionless past and present by electing Buhari in 2011 or we choose to live with bribery, corruption, filth, indiscipline and ineptitude by voting for any other person.
Makama, a public affairs analyst, lives in Kawo, Kaduna