LATEST UPDATE: Toying with turmoil
There is frenzy in the air over the plan by President Goodluck Jonathan to stand election for a second term in office. Many untoward things are being done by those who are not comfortable with the idea of his possible return to harass him out of the race.
Apart from the festival of blood that Boko Haram has elevated to high drama in the land principally aimed at castrating the Jonathan presidency, there are some others who have resorted to all manner of subterfuge. Indeed, it would appear that writing open letters to the president or taking up spaces on the pages of newspapers to harangue him has become a pastime. It has become the cheapest instrument in the hands of those who want to make the Presidency under Jonathan an object of ridicule.
When the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, indulged in it recently, we had a good laugh because we understood his worries. We also know why a few others have made Jonathan-bashing a veritable instrument of blackmail.
Now, Sheik Ahmad Gumi, the well known Islamic cleric, has joined the fray. He has predicted doom should Jonathan dare to offer himself for another term in office. He said the country would be thrown into turmoil if Jonathan was reelected in 2015. This tactic borders on harassment and cheap blackmail. It is intimidation writ large. When such an unedifying tactic is employed by someone that we should respect, we cannot but conclude that the season of anomie is very much here with us.
Sheik Gumi, going by the level of his exposure in religious affairs, is not supposed to make frivolous statements. But he has chosen, against decent expectations, to throw caution to the winds. His declaration is not just vexatious, it is inciting. It could inflame tempers in a land where religious and ethnic tolerance has grown thin.
The issues raised by Gumi are hardly sustainable. He accuses Jonathan of pursuing anti-Islamic and anti-northern policies. But far from being a polarizing figure as Gumi would have us believe, Jonathan has, through his actions and policies, demonstrated that he is that bond of unity which this country has desperately been searching for over the years. He has achieved this through his humility and spirit of accommodation. Regrettably, Gumi has passed off this virtue in the president as if it is a vice. A case of giving the dog a bad name in order to hang it? Obviously.
It is reassuring that despite his misgivings about the president, the Sheik is convinced that he would win the next election if he presents himself to the people of Nigeria. What then is the problem? Gumi decrees that he should not step out lest the country goes up in flames. Here, we can safely say that Gumi is toying with turmoil. He is digging up trouble that is otherwise buried. Why should a people who have freely expressed their choice through their votes at the same time rise against their own choice? I do not see the sense in this. Perhaps, Gumi and others who have spoken like him are trying to blackmail the president. They are trying to cow him. By so doing, they do not just want to subvert the will of Nigerians, they are inciting the people into mob action. This is an unpatriotic thing to do.
What really beats the imagination is Gumi’s declaration that the segment of the country that rejects Jonathan will rise violently against him because they believe that he has negatively been involved in the Boko Haram saga. How? What is negative about the relentless effort of the president to rescue the nation from the stranglehold of terrorism? Should Mr President sit askance and watch terrorists devour the country so that he would be perceived positively in the eyes of the Gumis of this world?
The Sheik finally moved us to open laughter when he declared that Jonathan should step down for someone that all segments of the country will have confidence in. Who can this saint be? Who is this unblemished personality that will not stir apprehension? The Sheik is certainly not being realistic here. He is just engaging in mental flights. But we, the people of Nigeria need to face reality, especially at this critical stage of our national growth and development. And the reality is that Nigeria is a free country and that no cabal or group of persons, no matter how highly placed, will intimidate the people of this country or subvert their will. Fanning the embers of hatred and disaffection is an ill wind. It will not blow any one any good, including its purveyors.
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There is frenzy in the air over the plan by President Goodluck Jonathan to stand election for a second term in office. Many untoward things are being done by those who are not comfortable with the idea of his possible return to harass him out of the race.
Apart from the festival of blood that Boko Haram has elevated to high drama in the land principally aimed at castrating the Jonathan presidency, there are some others who have resorted to all manner of subterfuge. Indeed, it would appear that writing open letters to the president or taking up spaces on the pages of newspapers to harangue him has become a pastime. It has become the cheapest instrument in the hands of those who want to make the Presidency under Jonathan an object of ridicule.
When the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, indulged in it recently, we had a good laugh because we understood his worries. We also know why a few others have made Jonathan-bashing a veritable instrument of blackmail.
Now, Sheik Ahmad Gumi, the well known Islamic cleric, has joined the fray. He has predicted doom should Jonathan dare to offer himself for another term in office. He said the country would be thrown into turmoil if Jonathan was reelected in 2015. This tactic borders on harassment and cheap blackmail. It is intimidation writ large. When such an unedifying tactic is employed by someone that we should respect, we cannot but conclude that the season of anomie is very much here with us.
Sheik Gumi, going by the level of his exposure in religious affairs, is not supposed to make frivolous statements. But he has chosen, against decent expectations, to throw caution to the winds. His declaration is not just vexatious, it is inciting. It could inflame tempers in a land where religious and ethnic tolerance has grown thin.
The issues raised by Gumi are hardly sustainable. He accuses Jonathan of pursuing anti-Islamic and anti-northern policies. But far from being a polarizing figure as Gumi would have us believe, Jonathan has, through his actions and policies, demonstrated that he is that bond of unity which this country has desperately been searching for over the years. He has achieved this through his humility and spirit of accommodation. Regrettably, Gumi has passed off this virtue in the president as if it is a vice. A case of giving the dog a bad name in order to hang it? Obviously.
It is reassuring that despite his misgivings about the president, the Sheik is convinced that he would win the next election if he presents himself to the people of Nigeria. What then is the problem? Gumi decrees that he should not step out lest the country goes up in flames. Here, we can safely say that Gumi is toying with turmoil. He is digging up trouble that is otherwise buried. Why should a people who have freely expressed their choice through their votes at the same time rise against their own choice? I do not see the sense in this. Perhaps, Gumi and others who have spoken like him are trying to blackmail the president. They are trying to cow him. By so doing, they do not just want to subvert the will of Nigerians, they are inciting the people into mob action. This is an unpatriotic thing to do.
What really beats the imagination is Gumi’s declaration that the segment of the country that rejects Jonathan will rise violently against him because they believe that he has negatively been involved in the Boko Haram saga. How? What is negative about the relentless effort of the president to rescue the nation from the stranglehold of terrorism? Should Mr President sit askance and watch terrorists devour the country so that he would be perceived positively in the eyes of the Gumis of this world?
The Sheik finally moved us to open laughter when he declared that Jonathan should step down for someone that all segments of the country will have confidence in. Who can this saint be? Who is this unblemished personality that will not stir apprehension? The Sheik is certainly not being realistic here. He is just engaging in mental flights. But we, the people of Nigeria need to face reality, especially at this critical stage of our national growth and development. And the reality is that Nigeria is a free country and that no cabal or group of persons, no matter how highly placed, will intimidate the people of this country or subvert their will. Fanning the embers of hatred and disaffection is an ill wind. It will not blow any one any good, including its purveyors.
Thanks for Reading The LATEST UPDATE: Toying with turmoil
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