SAHEED ANIMASHAUN : THE ARROGANCE OF THE CHANGE VANGUARDS

President Buhari needs to be constantly conscious of the fact that his true friends are his critics and not the sycophants and blind, die-hard followers who still “sai-baba” him despite the multiple shortcomings of his administration. His true friends are not those that hail his every action and inaction and accept his failings as unavoidable. His true friends would always keep him in check when he begins to sound arrogant.

It is understandable that the humongous task before him might lead to a lot of frustration, especially because of the inclination of humans to resist change. However, this is no excuse for the arrogant stance Mr. President and several members of his team have displayed on several occasions.

In the article I co-authored with Mr. Faruq Musodiq, @fatfam2012, titled “The eight months of change : the many sins of PMB” , published on February 16, 2015, on www.10taclesng.com, I posited as follows :

” Many times it comes across as if Buhari believes he is doing Nigerians a favour by presiding over their affairs! This is far from the truth. In fact the opposite is closer to being true. Nigerians did him a favour by entrusting their country, in need of huge scale revamping to an ex-dictactor; to a man who contributed to truncating its democracy in 1983! “

With the recent comical utterances by key players in the PMB administration, I feel vindicated on my above position. PMB and his team really think they’re doing Nigerians a favour by piloting the affairs of the country!
From the perennial insensitivities ceaselessly displayed in the utterances and writings of Mr. Femi Adeshina, to the now usual irregularities in the statements of Alhaji Lai Mohammed, it is safe to conclude that PMB and his team have given in to the hype of Praise singers termed as “Hailing Hailers” in some quarters.

It also seems Mr. President and his team do not have a good grasp of the challenges Nigerians are facing. Electricity is at an all-time low! The lingering fuel scarcity is at a near all-time high! The crazy exchange rate (though this cannot be blamed entirely on the current administration) is killing import-based industries. A portion of this cost is passed on to consumers in form of hike in prices.

Nigerians are suffering! Many people that supported PMB during the last elections are terribly angry at the current state of affairs in the country. However, the fear of mockery is keeping some of them from airing their grievances.

PMB and his team must remember the seismic efforts it took for the “Change” Vanguards to trump the “Transformation” advocates. They need to stop playing the “magician” card and get down to business.  They cannot afford to throw away this golden opportunity to revive Nigeria.

PMB also, as a matter of urgency needs to convince Nigerians that they didn’t make a wrong choice. He needs to sufficiently prove that he understands the innumerable challenges Nigerians are facing and that he has clear cut action plans to solve them. He has to employ and deploy optimally our abundant human capital in the quest to salvage the nation.

Dear PMB, what would you love to be remembered for :
The man that established Nigeria on a recovery path; Or God forbid, the man that set it back several miles? While many of us would gladly contribute to ensure the former is your portion, the choice is ultimately yours.

Mr. President, the clock is ticking!

Saheed Animashaun (@ani_gene) is a youth corp member and social commentator