Re: Tambuwal’s defection

I never imagined how mainstream this skewed perception of reality is in Nigeria until I read Muhammad Haruna’s piece on Tambuwal’s defection to APC. Had it come from any of our run-of-the-mill columnists, I would dismiss it as just one of the oddities that Nigeria is so blessed with. But Muhammad Haruna has a large […]

I never imagined how mainstream this skewed perception of reality is in Nigeria until I read Muhammad Haruna’s piece on Tambuwal’s defection to APC. Had it come from any of our run-of-the-mill columnists, I would dismiss it as just one of the oddities that Nigeria is so blessed with. But Muhammad Haruna has a large number of readers and his words must carry much weight even among the political elite. Also I do not only share an ancestral town with him, he is a favourite columnist of mine, and I naturally find myself agreeing with most of his viewpoints. But I was quite taken aback, to put it mildly, when I went through the opening paragraphs of his article. Citing President Jonathan’s epistolary war with former President Obasanjo, the needless withdrawal of Governor Rotimi Amaechi and recently Aminu Tambuwal’s security details, the columnist deployed a figure of speech, as meek as a lamb; as tough as nails, to describe the personality of President Jonathan. I have no problem at this point in time with anybody likening the president to a lamb but I certainly have issues with anyone comparing the Jonathan’s strength to that of a nail.
It’s common for ordinary Nigerians to mistake strength for weakness and weakness for strength. For example, among Buhari’s opponents and even supporters, are Nigerians that think he is weak for the exact reasons that should reflect his strength. No Nigerian leader, military or civilian, has his deputy’s name trailing his, almost like a suffix whenever an administration is being discussed the way we naturally say Buhari/Idiagbon. How many Nigerians have the name of Agunyi-Ironsi’s deputy or Gowon’s second in command or Shehu Shagari and Babangida’s vice presidents at their fingertips? Some may remember Ubitu Ukiwe, but did he last? Didn’t Babangida replace him with a more malleable Aikhomu? But because Buhari is psychologically strong enough not to feel threatened by the high profile of the deputy he had encouraged, many Nigerians take this as a weakness.  Where is the toughness in trading epithets with a godfather when a weakness for a light-skinned, well-fleshed, hazel-eyed, automobile freak is so painfully obvious? Where is the strength in ordering the removal of security details of a democratically elected governor on account of a mere criticism when insurgents are taking over territories under the command of the commander-in-chief? Where is the toughness in the withdrawal of security details of a sitting speaker of a parliament, who simply has the audacity to vote for what has become a democratic trend in a democracy? I rummage my bag of registers to find a word to describe these now familiar acts and the only word I came up with is ‘crude’. What is more worrisome is that going by my assessment of Jonathan’s personality, he would actually see Mohammed Haruna’s description as a compliment and would therefore be encouraged to indulge in more dictatorial acts that will further wreak havoc on our stability and democracy, thereby taking the country further and further to the brink. I believe that writers, especially columnists, can shape public opinion and influence steps decision makers take in governance; therefore, they should be very conscious of every word they use in their writings.

Al-Mamun Mallam, Minna <[email protected]>;