Presidential spokesman, Femi Adeshina, could not hide his
joy as he announced with unrivalled glee the phone call of Mr President to him
all the way from London. Certainly, this is not the first time President Buhari
and Femi Adeshina would be discussing over the phone since the two tenants of
Aso Rock moved to the seat of power in 2015.
However, this particular phone
conversation elicited an excitement, the type usually associated with primary
school pupils who have found the last of a set of bottle crowns needed to claim
some insignificant prizes in a soft drink promo.
The presidential spokesperson went ahead to give vivid
details of the conversation including how the president had asked after his
family and thanked him (Femi) for “holding out against mischief makers”.
For a man who had been mischievous about the true state of
health of Mr President, one would have thought that his excitement about the
phone conversation which he needlessly shared with Nigerians would be that Mr
President asked after Nigeria and Nigerians and how they are coping in his
absence beyond just asking after Adeshina’s family. In the absence of this,
publicizing of the conversation is an exercise in mischief. That was at best a
private conversation that should have been left private except that Femi is
happy to show to Nigerians how lowly his boss holds his countrymen by referring
to them as mischief makers.
However, Femi’s excitement is understandable considering the
fact that Nigerians have seen the drama playing out in Aso Rock over the
president’s health as the chief of mischief. He probably thinks those who have
been asking after the president’s health status are mischievous but did not
know how to say it until Mr President came to his rescue.
If Femi wanted to be fair to himself, his boss and
Nigerians, he would have reminded the president that the citizens are not the
ones who are mischief makers for asking after him, but that the mischief makers
are those who are churning out confusing stories about the president’s London
vacation.
For while some government officials have told Nigerians that
the president is “hale and healthy”, others have told us that we should “pray
for him”. Some others have told us that “there is no cause for
alarm” while at the same time some have told us that the reason the
president would not be returning as earlier scheduled was because he needed to
run some more tests concerning his health, with others saying he merely needs
to “rest”.
These contradictions are typical of our presidency whose record
of Buhari’s recent telephone conversation with Mr Trump is reported to be at
distant variance with what was released by the White House. That is an issue
for another day.
The cacophonous of excuses for the president’s unexpected
elongated stay in London would naturally get citizens worried, hence, the
agitation to know his correct health status. This is why the mischief makers
are those government officials who have kept spinning stories around the
president’s health for their own selfish reasons.
The simple thing Nigerians have asked all these days that
the president has been in London is for him to speak to them. They just want to
hear his voice and probably get excited just like the presidential spokesman
did.
But like a man holding irreconcilable malice against his own
citizens, he would rather speak with Osinbajo, Saraki, Dogara, Tinubu, Ganduje,
Femi and even Donald Trump of the US to the exclusion of his employers the
citizens. For a president who had once described Nigerians as criminals and corrupt
people from foreign lands, calling them mischief makers, also from a foreign
land, is actually nothing new. It is only a proof that his London experience
has had little or no learning impact on him.
The fact of the matter is that Adeshina’s juvenile reaction
at hearing the president’s voice is a confirmation that, just like many
Nigerians, he himself was not sure of the president’s health status; that he
was so full of apprehension until that call came across.
It is therefore most unfortunate that the same people the
presidency has been asking to pray for the president are the same people the
president called mischief makers, a ridiculous term Femi Adeshina ill-advisedly
celebrated on his Facebook page. Even if they pray for Buhari as they are being
urged to do on a daily basis, how will God answer the prayers of mischief
makers especially when the one they are praying for is the one who has said to
God’s hearing that those praying for him are mischief makers?
In conclusion, Mr President can continue to rest in London
for as long as he wants. We do not mind paying his entitlements continuously
even while he rests. We are very happy to do that. What Femi Adeshina forgot to
tell him is that Nigeria is actually getting better without him. That is
another mischief from Femi
It is the height of another mischief for anyone to think
that Buhari’s call to Femi and the gang would improve the abysmal performance
of the naira, put food on citizens’ tables, stop the oppression of citizens by
government and the continued deliberate defiance of court orders, and other
undemocratic and unconstitutional actions of this administration.
The lack of
answers, expertise and capacity to improve the rapidly dwindling fortunes of
Nigeria under Buhari is the reason the president would not speak to Nigerians
but would only speak with his Mischief-Makers-in-Chief who would tell him only
what his ears are itching to hear.
With what has been happening in the country, the whole world
certainly knows who our mischief makers are. They are definitely not the
citizens; they are those who live and work in Aso Villa!
*Courtesy: Jude Ndukwe,
he can be reached via: jrndukwe@yahoo.co.uk
or @Stjudendukwe
Burlington Survey is well known on the web name as a Burlingtonfeedback which is specially designed by the Burlington Company for their loyal customers.
ReplyDeleteclik here
Food Basics Feedback Survey: Food Basics is offering an extraordinary chance to win $1,000 FREE GROCERIES
ReplyDeleteFoodBasics Survey
https://www.itrealms.com.ng/2017/02/telephone-prayers-by-mischief-makers.html
ReplyDeleteBurger King Feedback Survey is all about customer experience at the restaurant and takes only honest customer feedback which helps them to improve.BurgerKing
ReplyDelete