Over a decade back, while I was having a stroll in the school compound as a primary school pupil, I stumbled upon a severed part of a national daily. The state I found the already grey paper and its fading content denied me the ability to read the pregnant content of its caption. However, I managed to read the caption-It is dangerous to be right in Nigeria when the government is wrong. Until recently, I deemed the caption a mystery that circumstance may not get to unravel.
The Nigerian political theatre and the brand of drama the world is made to see calls for a great concern. Any man who can kiss a lady and have a smooth sail on the sea at a time should not be hastily judged as a great sailor. Chances are that he is not kissing the right lady. That is the attitude of most Nigerians- the chemistry between us and politics is not there. We would rather be seen acting a political animal than being one. To an average Nigerian, having a say in how he is governed ends at his choice at the poll. No, the issues arising before, during and after election will guide every objective man at the poll.
The last three weeks has seen General Buhari bearing the cross his choice to contest fetched him. Suddenly, his biggest rivals have thought it worthwhile that the certificate he purportedly had many years back is no longer there. That he is qualified on that ground or not is a question of law which I have the least interest to address. I have decided to consider the motive behind the sudden penchant of the PDP to ensure we have an educated leader. Here, I have made myself a minister in the moral court, so keep your copies of the Constitution and the Electoral Act because you won’t need to lecture me.
That General Buhari poses a threat to the PDP’s big dream is no longer news. Not because I concede that he is our saviour from the national mess, but because by commission, the PDP has admitted it. They have suddenly remember that General Buhari does not have the requisite academic credential to rule Nigeria like Dr. Jonathan. They have taken more time making a mountain out of the mole hill. As a matter of fact Mr. Fani Kayode has devoted the time he used to spend with his children to the course. He is a wise man, but maybe not a good father. On a closer look, he is both a wise man and a good father. What good will it do to devote time to your children between January and February and then risk going to jail?
Truth be told, General Buhari has sinned! He has committed an abomination! He is the proverbial lad that insulted the “iroko” tree and he must dance to the tune. His sin is terrible and his party must be aware that it is hard to live with it. It will haunt them, even to the neighbouring countries. A true Nigerian knows his sin just as PDP does, but others do not. He committed the sacrilege just recently. Not in 2003, 2007 and 2011. The terrible sin of General Buhari is that he is now credible! Who is he to be credible without giving dollars out? What gut has he to make fighting corruption his motto? It is an abomination in the Nigerian political settings. He will be led to the political shrine to appease the dreaded god of corruption. He has invited war with the children of corruption and members of its extended family. They await General Buhari with their deadly clubs.
When General Buhari decided to contest during the last four general elections, he has not committed the terrible sin. The priests at the shrine of corruption are in good terms. These Nigerians were not tired of power failure, unemployment, poverty, insecurity and the host of other anomalies any nation that naturalized corruption is bound to face. When General Buhari contested in 2003, his certificate was no issue. Not even a first class in law at Harvard would have saved him from being floored, but now he must produce it. When he picked himself up and contested again in 2007 no one cares about his ability to memorize his phone number as the law “requires.” Einstein’s memory would not have helped either, but now it is a sin that he does not know it.
Those in charge of admission into the military should cover their heads in shame. That someone without the confirmed required certificate could rise to the possible peak of his career in the Nigerian military speaks volume. Whether the military decided to sell out their own in the name of politics or General Buhari did not actually have the certificate before joining the military, the Nigerian Army has celebrated shame.
Still, the General has the blame! Why would he garner such amount of fame and popularity when he knew from the start that he can’t be right when the government is wrong? The moment he is right, it becomes dangerous. Now, he is seriously dancing to the tune of the danger his sudden credibility fetched him. There are two things involved- It is either this trying time passes for the General and we realize political credibility in Nigeria is no sin, or he returns to his Kaduna home battered and tired. Only one factor has the power to decide which-the objective electorates.
Before I forget, I owe General Buhari the appreciation for making his political life a litmus test for me to understand why it is dangerous to be right in Nigeria when the government is wrong.
David Oluwasegun Ogundipe is a Nigerian
