According to Bob Marley, “most people think Great God will come from the
sky; Take away everything and make everybody feel high”.
Obviously, God is not going to physically come down from heaven and save
anybody. And perhaps, that was why He promised to send to the Israelites a
messiah that will restore things for them.
Unfortunately, the promise of a messiah was only made to the people that
the bible described as the children of God (Jews). And so, other countries
(Gentiles) have learnt how to restore things by themselves without waiting for
any messiah – by following the rule of law.
Unlike the rest of the world, Nigerians are still expecting a messiah
who will ‘take away everything and make everybody feel high’. And as the 2015
presidential election is approaching, they expect to elect a messiah.
Incidentally, this is not the first time that Nigerians are expecting to
elect a messiah. In 2011, they massively voted for Pres. Jonathan
believing that they were electing a messiah. With his educational background as
a PhD holder, the people thought that Jonathan will turn around Nigeria’s woes.
Moreover, as a man from a poor
background whose parents couldn’t afford a pair of shoes for him to wear to
school, they believe that Jonathan will, as a minimum requirement, look after
the poor.
Nigerians and their expectation: it is surreal expecting somebody
who hasn’t worn shoes before to know where the shoe pinches.
Anyway, going by some people’s
reactions, it appears that Jonathan is not the messiah after all. Well, some
people still insist that he is by showcasing his ‘achievements’ in office to
support their claim.
And hence, the search for the
Nigerian messiah continues.
As usual, some Nigerians have
identified another messiah that they will vote for in the rescheduled 2015
presidential election. That supposed messiah is General Muhammadu Buhari. They
believe this 73 year old retired Army General is adequately equipped to restore
the country for them and make everybody feel high.
His supporters argued that during
his first messianic mission in 1983 when he became Nigeria’s head of state
through a military coup, Buhari was tough on corruption. And so, if he becomes the
Nigerian President, he will fight corruption like he did before.
And so, if Buhari wins the
presidential election, it will be his second coming as the Nigerian messiah, assuming
the election holds as expected.
By the way, those Nigerian
Pharisees who cut short Buhari’s first messianic coming because they didn’t
trust his mission are still there. And I don’t know if they will allow him to
come back the second time.
Anyway, how did Buhari fight
corruption during his first mission? First of all, he jailed those politicians
that he judged ‘corrupt’. Thereafter, as a ‘disciplined man’, he realised that Nigerians
were and are still highly indiscipline. And it is indiscipline that leads to
corruption.
Buhari, therefore, created an
outfit he called ‘War Against Indiscipline’ (WAI). He deployed soldiers with
horsewhips to flog Nigerians who didn’t conform. At least it worked because
people stopped urinating and defecating in public places.
But, do Nigerians require
somebody to flog them before they become disciplined? I don’t think so unless
they are a bunch of 'animals in human skin' apologise to Fela Kuti. I believe every Nigerian including Buhari’s
supporters can be the messiah they see in Buhari by just being disciplined and
following the rule of law.
For instance, if a taxi/bus
driver is disciplined enough to ensure that his vehicle documents are up to
date and at the same time observe every traffic rule; he won’t have the need to bribe the police and the police won’t have a reason to take bribe from him.
If magistrates/judges are indiscipline
and accept bribe to set suspects free, corruption will continue in the country.
But Nigerians will follow the rule of law knowing that anybody can be jailed
because a judge will not compromise the justice system.
More so, a disciplined university
teacher who doesn’t demand to sleep with his female students before they pass
his subject will help to restore quality education in the country. At the same
time, if the lecturer insists that his students must buy his written tutorials
before they pass his subject; that is corruption.
The above instances are just
for illustration purposes; the indiscipline and corruption examples that exist
in Nigeria are inexhaustible.
However, the point that I want
to make is that government officials are corrupt because the general population
is equally corrupt. If the people demand their leaders to be incorruptible,
themselves must be clean because those that go to equity go with clean hands.
Thus, those Nigerians that
want Gen Buhari to change Nigeria for them should be that change they want to
see in Nigeria. They shouldn’t wait for Buhari to come and flog them in order to
become the change that he wants to see in Nigeria. Everybody should do the
right and corruption will disappear in Nigeria.
And for those Nigerians who
think that Buhari is coming back to introduce another WAI to flog them before
they change, unfortunately for you, the man says it is not going to be so in
his second coming.
In fact, Buhari has pledged
that if he wins the presidential election; he will rule in line with the
Nigerian constitution and in accordance with the rule of law. Hopefully, Buhari
understands the meaning of the rule of law. If he doesn’t know; it means one
law for all and nobody is above the law.
I asked because the Nigerian
constitution says that a presidential candidate must have a minimum educational
qualification up to secondary school certificate. And the electoral act says
that whatever qualification that a candidate claims to have must be attached to
the presidential form.
It is pertinent to know that
up till now, Buhari has not attached any qualification to his presidential
form. Moreover, his claim on oath that his educational documents are with the
military board, which has been refuted by the military, is a clear case of
perjury. He has not been arrested or questioned. This is a case of one law for
the elites another for the masses.
Meanwhile, Buhari and his
political party (APC) have left it to the courts to interpret the
constitutional meaning of minimum educational qualification. As it is, Buhari shouldn’t
be under any illusion that the PDP will not go to court to challenge his eligibility
if he wins the presidential election.
A country’s constitution
should be a simple legal document that even a layman should understand in order
to follow it. But a situation where the courts are left to continue
interpreting the constitution is a sign that the Nigerian constitution is
defective and in my opinion, it is the change that Nigerians want.
Finally, as Buhari and APC
have set the precedent of allowing the courts to interpret a basic constitutional
requirement, then, they should be rest assured that if they win the
presidential election, the courts will also be asked to interpret the
constitutionality of every law that they will enact.
By so doing, nothing will be
achieved in the country; and the search for the Nigerian Messiah continues...