The Punch Newspaper is beginning live up to its name, the editorial in question is the real punch expected in a real boxing bout, which is expected of the media to put every government on their toes, this should be taking Nigeria’s newspaper readership away from the usual novelty, comical, fundraising, self-serving, I never-chop, Stomach- infrastructure journalism we’ve been used to, which most Nigerians are not comfortable with, it’s such a good recipe and direction for the real change….
President Major General Muhammadu Buhari needs be told the truth and called his real names in appropriate characters.
I still don’t understand why someone who was enlisted in the Nigerian Army and toiled from the lower cadre and rose to the enviable rank of a Major General will be ashamed to be addressed a Major General, irrespective of his current political office.
I’ve often time since 2015 addressed Chief Dr Olusegun Obasanjo as General Mathew in my write ups published on several online media, although General Mathew hardly came out openly to register his displeasure with being addressed a General, but his acts and body language depicts one who wants to shed and bury his military khaki at all cost but he’s always been very civil and diplomatic about it. It is imperative at this juncture to emphatically state that I’m not a fan of General Mathew, as he has a very large share of blames in what Nigeria has become since 1976 till today, in fact, I still find it difficult to rate both General Mathew and Major General Bubu when it comes to abuse of power and brutality when they were in the military Khaki they don’t want to hear anything about again, I mean, how can we forget the invasion of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s compound by “Unknown Soldiers” who threw such a woman from a storey building which led to the death of that fearless amazon ?
The way Major General Buhari and his supporters are going about this Major General of a thing still remains archaic and brash according to my own assessment, he needs to be told that Nigerians are not his subjects, neither are we his children or employees, it is only in his compound that whatever he says remains the law and goes unchallenged. He could’ve stayed back in his farm after his retirement if he so much detest public criticism.
Why can’t he try the civil way of dissuading the mind of Nigerians if he’s no more proud of his “glorious” past as a military dictator?
Why can’t he act like a true democrat he wants to be seen as, someone in his inner chamber should be confident and truthful enough to tell him that he have act it to have it.
What about taking up part time job as a lecturer or going back to school to pursue his PhD like his Oga?
Most Nigerians knew him as a Major General and nothing else, he can never be a president forever, but he will forever be a Major General, whether he likes being addressed as such is another thing entirely….
It clearly shows that these military heads of government, especially in Nigeria, are very conscious and admitting their crimes against humanity whenever and wherever they’re in the saddle of governance, even the so called “born again” armed robbers who are now clergies, who ought to be ashamed of their reckless and deadly pasts, are still proud of their pasts medals and still parades themselves as former armed robber whenever and wherever they’re on evangelism, why should President Buhari or any former military head of government not proud of their pasts?
This is simply an admittance by the military that military dictatorship is more deadlier and inhuman than armed robbery, kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, human trafficking, cattle rustling, drug syndicacy and all other crimes put together.
So ,as a man distances himself from his faeces, so are heads of military juntas in this country want to be distanced from their past misdeeds, that can only happen in their heads and not in the minds of the people they led by the nose …..
In President Muhammadu Buhari’s case, his selective compliance with the Rule of Law and continued disobedience of court orders does not portray him as a repentant democrat he wants to be seen as.
Could it be that the President is in a state of confusion or just being hypocritical?
Deji Ogundimu is as concerned as many concerned Nigerians.
