I remain one of those in this country who would like to see President Buhari live more for the happiness of his family members. He has done his best for the country. There is nothing more to expect from him with his kind of mindset. It will be good for him and for the country if he retires to Daura to enjoy whatever number of years providence has left in store for him.

 

Those who think now is the time to gloat and deride those who wished President Muhammadu Buhari dead are wrong. They waste time doing so. There is no need to mock those fellows. They expressed themselves as they thought fit. Where there is no information, rumours thrive. And in politics your enemies can be very graceless. Since nature abhors a vacuum, those guys simply filled the space with what aligned with the level of their thinking and grace. Besides, base minds gung-ho to betide are never known to be any better than lower animals. Without any doubt, only puny minds and irredeemably inhumane beings would have wished for a second that the president should die. Such people might not have read John Donne’s memorable poem, “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. Had they known that a person’s death diminishes them, they would not have thought of death as the right solution to Mr. Buhari’s disappointing performances in the areas of the economy and the political issue of providing such leadership that appreciates the plurality of the country.

Between the electioneering of 2015 and now, no one can rebut the fact that President Buhari has enjoyed the abundance of goodwill and positive support from Nigerians in spite of how insignificantly little he has improved their human condition. To be sure, this is not unique to him – some of his predecessors had equally basked in euphoria despite their undeserved support from suffering Nigerians. It is in this context that the view becomes apposite that the tragedy of Nigeria is that it is often led by people who enjoy fabulous generosity and support but lack the grace to appreciate them via memorable, benefitting and good performance.

While I welcome President Buhari back to the land he has treated with disdain for more than 100 days by not availing it of the nature of the illness he grappled with, I wish to note that the issue before Nigerians is not that their president recovered from that undisclosed ailment. As a matter of fact, a garish celebration should not be the lot of citizens who wish to see the country get better. The issue conscious and discerning Nigerians should be concerned about is President Buhari’s capacity to function efficiently as the grundnorm enjoins. This becomes important in view of the fact that before he was hobbled by that unknown illness, his efficiency was austerely low. Evidence of that still abounds everywhere as a stern rebuke.

In fact, when the Nigerian community in South Africa encouraged him to ensure he fulfilled his electoral promises at the time he visited the country after he was sworn in, President Buhari responded by saying he wished he were younger! So what was his campaign about if he had then recognised that the office does not only require sense and vision, but also robust physical strength? Granted, he did not will the nameless health challenge on himself, but his response to it with respect to his country was horrendously poor. Do not even add that we are talking of a man who spoke toughly against government officials seeking healthcare abroad. If you as the number one citizen of your country do not have confidence in the national healthcare system, what is the guarantee that you will initiate ideals that will comprehensively revamp that system?

So, the issue really is the mental and physical fitness of President Buhari after the gruelling battle against a yet-to-be-disclosed illness. The problem, again, is not even the old age of the Daura man; it is his mind. This is stubbornly stuck in the past. His mind is stranded in the backwaters of the 80s. Whether such a person can provide a sterling leadership after a near-death experience is the miracle thinking minds do not expect.

Will the president in his Monday broadcast go beyond appreciating Nigerians, talking tough, and making more promises to disclosing what ailed him and announcing his resignation? Will he or will he not?

Those who say his recovery is symbolic and prefigures the positive change that Nigeria will witness, should not be taken seriously. Why? They were the same stringent voices who quarrelled with those who said the illness of the president was coterminous with that of the country! When Governor Samuel Ortom said the president’s illness made Nigeria equally ill, a couple of the president’s foot soldiers knocked him real hard. But now, all of a sudden, the same president’s recovery is a sign that the country will recover from the avoidable troubles pummelling it. Touché!

I remain one of those in this country who would like to see President Buhari live more for the happiness of his family members. He has done his best for the country. There is nothing more to expect from him with his kind of mindset. It will be good for him and for the country if he retires to Daura to enjoy whatever number of years providence has left in store for him. To cheer that he recovers from that unnameable condition is humane. To encourage him to resign and have his rest is not only benevolent, but equally good sense. I still think my argument in the essay, “Buhari and the Imperative of the Unattractive Road”, published in February, retains its forcefulness.

Ademola Adesola writes from Ibadan, Oyo State.