BUHARI: THE PANTAMIC ALBATROSS OF NIGERIA!

If anyone would tell the story of an Eagle, it would be that of brute strength, savagery, and domination, but, to tell that of an Albatross is to recount the tale of an angelic beauty, grace, and magnificence. The Albatross is a beautiful seabird in all ramifications; from its anatomical attributes, to its amazing flight characteristics, it stands unique. One remarkably peerless fact is that, this graceful bird lays only one egg per clutch in a year or two; simply amazing! Now, having reeled out such magnificence in the embodiment of a bird, to now discover that the same bird is associated with bad luck—or better still, a terrible burden—is utterly confounding, and one can’t help but ponder what correlates such a coruscating wonder of a bird with bad luck. However, to understand the nexus between the resplendent Albatross and its unfortunate attribution of bad luck, Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 18th century masterpiece, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, would be the perfect cue to follow. Man in his characteristic cruelty, has clothed innocence with darkness, and a graceful creature now stands forever accursed in mortal connotation. Here, one would remember the famous phrase: ‘to have an Albatross around one's neck.’ This unfortunate dark fate of the Albatross is the inspiration with which I chose to paint a clear picture of the man called Muhammadu Buhari, whom fate has put around Nigeria’s neck as an Albatross.

The recent revelations about the sympathetic views and moral alignments of a sitting Minister of the Federation—Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, towards the ideologies of the doyens of global terrorism and religious extremism—Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, & Boko Haram—have proliferated heated debates across various media in the country; and just like the veil of the Temple was torn into two from top to bottom when Christ gave up His spirit, the pantamic saga has torn the entire Nigerian space into two oppositions: the Pantamic Critics, and the Pantamic Apologists. And as each faction fervidly lends credence to why it thinks the culprit should go—or stay, as it were—both hashtags birthed by these factions—one for each, #PantamiMustGo and #PantamiMustStay continue to litter the social media timelines.

Similarly, as political analysts, social commentators, public servants, and even ordinary citizens continue to air their varying views on this crucial subject, which eventually became the overall litmus-test for the Buhari-led administration in the proving of its stance on the issues bothering on the brutal scourge of terrorism ravaging the country, rationality would have accurately predicted that the country's helmsman would lead his team to pass the litmus-test in flying colours, but alas, the frightening reality proved otherwise when the Nigerian Presidency threw its weight behind the embattled Minister; this is the disappointing position of Mr. President, a pantamic nod. This nod has since intensified the potency of the pantamic support as the discussion entrenches root across diverse media all over the country and beyond, such that, one would clearly notice as the Pantamic Apologists are gradually growing into an obsessively aggressive army. One pantamic-soldier worthy of note is Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, who—not surprisingly—has also promptly registered his allegiance to the pantamic culprit. His recent threatening pronouncement that Nigeria will regret it if Pantami is removed, is nothing but an insolent affront to the intelligence of every well-meaning Nigerian, but who would dare to cut the uncouth man to size when he has the full backing of Mr. President? Whether Gumi’s threat is a bluff or not, its aim is clear; to ensure Dr. Isa Pantami's position in Government is sustained at all cost irrespective of who or what is in jeopardy.

The blunt refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to align with the morality embedded in the people's yearnings—that he should relieve Dr. Isa Pantami of his exalted position as a Minister of the Federal Republic, and subsequently prosecute him—by denouncing his endorsement of Dr. Pantami, is tantamount to a clear-cut endorsement of terrorism by him. Also, it further absolves the Nigerian people of the thought complexities, and the incertitude about the true state of Mr. President's sincerity towards the fight against insurgency and terrorism in the country. Now, a question is birthed: Should Mr. President's initial deafening silence, and subsequent position on the foregoing come as a surprise to Nigerians? The palpable answer is NO! Mr. President himself has always shared similar pantamic views and alignments; and if truth isn't spared, he is as much as guilty as his pantamic subordinate.

Suffice it to recall that, in 2001 at an Islamic seminar in Kaduna, Mr. Muhammadu Buhari had the opportunity to prove his patriotism to the country he vehemently desired to lead again, albeit as a civilian—after his initial disastrous outing as a military general, but when the opportunity to choose between Nigeria’s secularism and fundamentalist Islam presented itself, this is what he said:

“I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria”, he added that: “God willing, we will not stop the agitation for the total implementation of the Sharia in the country.”

This alone should have buried whatever rights Mr. Buhari exercised in the pursuit of the highest office in the land. His pantamic utterances should have been a clear indication to Nigerians that he lacked the patriotic vehemence and moral sincerity to uphold anything that was in the collective interest of Nigerians, especially without the superfluities of ethnoreligious prejudices.

Mr. Muhammadu Buhari was very keen in the conveyance of his beliefs to Nigerians; this he did in explicit terms devoid of any ambiguity. He told us bluntly that he would brazenly sacrifice Nigeria's secularism on the altar of his own pursuits to give life to his ethnoreligious sentiments, yet Nigerians were hoodwinked by his crocodile tears masked with feigned patriotism into voting him as the President of the Republic. It is therefore not a coincidence that, in the midst of all the havoc wrecked by his kinsmen—the killer herdsmen and their many faced cronies—Mr. President has said more with his deafening silence and unpatriotic body language. President Muhammadu Buhari has always been a devoted advocate of the Sharia movement, he demonstrated this before his ascension into office, and today, his demonstration of this only heightens through his actions and inaction. For more explicit, Buhari’s alignment with his faith is considered upright in the face of spirituality, but his instigation of its proliferation in a supposed secular State as Nigeria is outright evil and further emboldens the veracity of the much talked about hidden agenda.

Character they say is like smoke, it can never be covered up; it was designed to exist within the liberty of space. Though the Presidential cloak, and the obligatory duty of patriotism—as required of the President by the occupation of office—is still used as a cover to shield the realities of the true agenda of Mr. President, both have proven incapable of successfully concealing the ideological leanings of Mr. President and his famous commitment towards religious extremism in the guise of Sharia and its related matters. Despite the failures of all the efforts made at concealing Mr. President’s hidden agenda, the man has wielded so much impudence in his display of bigotry and nepotistic tendencies. This has smothered National cohesion, and drenched the constituent units of the Nigerian State in deep relationship turmoil. It has further heightened the primordial existential animosities, which now threatens to obliterate the entirety of the Nigerian State. Never has the country had it this bad. Using the analogy of the Temple's veil, which denoted a departure of God's presence from Israel, the national reality of today is an indication that God's presence has departed from Nigeria, and Hell seems to be just next door. The man called Muhammadu Buhari—in his second coming than ever—has therefore proven to be the pantamic Albatross of the Nigerian State. To capture it more explicitly in relation to the Isa Pantami saga; he is the problem that brought the problem, and now, he’s with the problem as his hand, and as himself.

On life's balance scale, morality, patriotism & the rule of law far outweighs ethnoreligious nepotism, quota system & political correctness. Sin is sin, no matter who commits it and no level of office—whether public or private—should be used as a basis for influencing the colouration given to any sin; for this reason, the guilty should all be subjected to the same consequence. Suffice it to say that, the clamour for Dr. Isa Pantami's sack must be accompanied with immediate prosecution for imminent security reasons. Likewise, in the spirit of fairness, moral inference, and the general knowledge we all possess of the prevailing discourse, Mr. President does not deserve a continued stay in office. For this and other various precarious reasons, the #BuhariMustGo hashtag has duly earned the rights of aggressive propagation. The Wisdom of Solomon is definitely not required to decipher the ongoing pantamization of the Nigerian State. In many pretexts, it is real and in full effect, but must be hotly resisted at all cost. Like I earlier posited:

"Whatever reparative strategies that have been deployed so far by the Pantamists, is merely an attempt to clad reality in a facade, in pursuit of office sustainability. Ingrained ideologies don't fizzle-out easily; the man is the man, he'll emerge after office."

The dangers imminent in allowing the pantamic saga be swept under the carpet is too grave to be overlooked; already, from North to South, East to West, the country boils like volcanic lava about to erupt. In line with my quote, every well-meaning Nigerian should view this in perspective, and remember that, both Buhari and Pantami­—including every of their kind in the corridors of power—will someday leave office, after using same to plant the seedling of their hidden-agenda, through the propagation of various spurious policies that readily hold no clear benefit to the Nigerian people. After their time in office, they will be lost to their own confinements, away from public reach and general scrutiny. They'll become solely dedicated to the nurturing of the seedling that had been planted hitherto, with the overall objective of growing it into a Dark-Willow that will shade the entire Nation. This is a subtle orchestration and a grand execution of the ingrained ideologies they have been committed to for ages; with time, the man will emerge. This is not a conspiracy theory!

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