Though all men seize breathing, not all men actually die. To die is to be forgotten, to leave upon the surface of the earth no mark, to be gone and never remembered, whether for good or for bad, another matter.
Children who know nothing and can’t differentiate their right from their left often can tell you the name of he or she who leads their country. They are questioned in current affairs classes and they are taught in subjects like Social Studies.
Abacha died ages ago, but his name until the end of time will never be eroded. It then becomes quite unfortunate when a leader climbs to this immortal echelon, only to be disinterested in leading, to be indolent so that the parasites under him become free to ravage their host.
Such is the memory of President Muhammadu Buhari. A story of indolence and parasites. A tooth picking President who wasted eight years of our collective lives. Nigerians in this period didn’t just suffer from the apathy of their leader, they suffered a double jeopardy because the players in his cabinet simply toiled the field only to harvest for themselves.
It is therefore intentional that I referred to the decision makers who worked under him as players. Players like the former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and players like Abdulrasheed Bawa, the suspended EFCC Chairman. Why? It was Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), the former Minister of Works and Housing, who compared Buhari to a coach who simply sits in the dugout after naming his team and allow them to play.
He then said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the opposite because he names his team and keeps coaching them while the match is being played. He made this comparison in the build up to the 2023 Presidential Elections on a Programme with Seun on Channels TV.
If memory does not fail me, and my Secondary school Biology will still suffice, a parasite is an organism that takes a detrimental advantage of its host, feeding and living off its nutrients, while contributing nothing to the host’s development. The opposite being, a symbiotic relationship where two organisms live off and benefit from each other.
What is clear from the songs that Emefiele has been singing while in DSS custody is that he was the captain of Buhari’s parasitic team. He played the role of a number 10. He was the play-maker. He passed and received the bad ideas as he wanted, he assisted his teammates generously and they obliged him by scoring the goals (helped in achieving their aim). All of these while the coach just sat down and watched, quite unfortunately.
Those bad ideas such as redesigning the Naira led to the parasitic ravaging of the collective patrimony of the people. The people as spectators then suffered from the negative economic football that Buhari’s team chose to play. Some are still yet to recover from the darkness of the naira scarcity at the time.
It is only the beginning of an inquest into their season, as we are now in the Season of Tinubu. Yet it seems to be a sure thing that as time goes on, more players who made up the squad of Buhari’s unfortunate parasitic team will be revealed. May Nigerians never suffer such a season of indolence and parasites again.
114% Salary Increment
No doubt fuel subsidy had to go. It was nothing but a Greek Gift to the Nigerian people. The decision to remove it however must come with some sacrifices from all and sundry, for the betterment of the Nigerian State. What will be unfair is when the people are ready to willingly sacrifice the luxurious effects of fuel subsidy, thereby going through hardship, while those in government continue to live flamboyant lifestyles at the expense of tax payers. It is important for our leaders to recognise this. A kite flew recently, announcing the 114% increment of salaries for political office holders and judges. It has been denied as mere propaganda and fake news. What is clear is that due to our new economic reality, salaries and wages need to be reviewed, for everyone. The minimum wage should however be the first port of call. It would serve the Tinubu administration way better if they put the masses first. Decisions should be made so that the poor can truly breathe, let the ordinary man be the priority and then we can take care of political office holders and judicial officers.
Muhammed Belgore, a legal practitioner, writes from Abuja. E-mail: [email protected]
