“Ask not what your country can do for you, rather ask what you can do for your country.” That was John F. Kennedy, president of the United States of America, shortly before he was slain by a crazy fellow, Oswald Lee, in 1963.
Twenty years later, December 31, 1983, Lagos, Nigeria. Muhammadu Buhari, a gangling General of the Nigerian Army, says: “This generation of Nigerians and, indeed, future generations, have no other country but Nigeria. We must stay here and salvage it together.”
Separated in time and space, and different backgrounds, both men had different reasons for calling on their peoples to show love to their nations. But the above exhortations had the same cadence. They were words that stirred the soul, moving men to action in defence of national pride and ethos. The exhortations have also become anthems, in the call to patriotism in both countries. In the case of Kennedy, it’s become a global anthem of patriotism.
Were Americans lacking in patriotism at the time Kennedy made that iconic statement or was he simply calling for more sacrifices and patriotism from his fellow Americans? It could have been the latter, as Americans have always loved, almost fanatically, their country. Warts and all, Americans proudly declare to foreigners: “ I am an American.”
But you couldn’t say the same of Nigerians at the time Buhari made that historic broadcast. It was the days of the “Andrews”, who were checking out in droves from our shores in search of greener pastures and the golden fleece. It was the period when things had become almost grounded as a result of the profligacy and prodigality of the Second Republic politicians. It was the time when everything that could go wrong had gone wrong in our polity, and the military led by Buhari and his unsmiling partner, Babatunde Idiagbon, had to come in, to restore discipline and reasonableness. It is a different story how the successive military regimes after Buhari’s became not much different from the men they kicked out. The tale of the ruination of Nigeria’s economy and polity, which we haven’t quite recovered from, is well too known to Nigerians. But that is not the subject of this piece.
Thirty-one years later, 2014, Buhari tells his country men and women to unite, as one to flush out the criminal gang, calling itself Boko Haram. He says it’s time to save our country from predators, irrespective of party, religion, ethnic or regional affiliations. He tells the group: “You are not of God,” even as they claim to be carrying out their nefarious activities in the name of God. Surely, those who kill and maim innocent citizens can’t be doing God’s bidding. Those who have abducted defenceless young schoolgirls, defiling them and threatening to sell them into slavery could only be on a satanic mission. Certainly, those who have caused their fellow citizens sleepless nights, heartache and insufferable agony cannot be doing God’s work. When you behold the national and global outrage against the kidnap of the Chibok 234 and the concerted efforts to free the abducted girls, you begin to see the heinous crime of this fiendish group. A small group of people for whatever reasons, certainly evil, is causing humanity uncommon grief. And to think that they once lived or actually still live amongst us, is quite frightening to imagine or contemplate. But that is the sad reality. That is the truth we must confront.
So, where does Buhari come in, in all these? He is a national leader, a Northerner and a leading opposition figure in the country. Thrice, he had attempted to rule the country and thrice he had failed. There is the possibility of his trying a fourth time. Since the Boko Haram virus broke and began to spread in the country, the man had maintained almost a deafening silence. He had not spoken openly in condemnation of the atrocities of the group. This had fuelled speculations that the deadly sect enjoyed support from prominent Northerners, including Buhari. Even the national government had through its functionaries, tacitly accused the opposition leaders of being in cahoots with the group since they had not denounced its activities, other than merely knocking President Jonathan for not decisively tackling the insurgency. In the case of the General, he had been accused of being behind the bloodletting that has ravaged the North since the 2011 presidential poll. Evidence? He had spoken about the monkey and baboon being soaked in blood, if elections were rigged. And when blood began to flow as a result of ethno-religious crises in the North, Buhari faced accusations despite his several denials to the contrary.
Then the Boko Haram began to bomb everywhere, including churches, schools, public and private places. Not a strongly worded condemnation from easily one of the most respected Northerners, albeit Nigerian, on the issue. Some of us were clearly disappointed at his muteness. Could it be because of politics, not wanting to identify with the Jonathan government, which he accuses of rigging the 2011 election? Then, he sprang a surprise. In a short piece, dripping with emotion, he called on the BH goons to stop the senseless killings because those they had killed were someone’s father, mother, brother, sister or child. The murdered persons had family and dreams, which were brutally aborted. And they had to die in gruesome circumstances due to the rascality of Boko Haram. Some of us thought that was a fluke or playing to the gallery by the General. I refused to comment on Buhari’s statement because I wasn’t sure if he actually meant what he wrote or he was merely ‘fulfilling all righteousness.’ When in under two weeks (of the first piece), he again descended on the insurgents, I had no choice but to comment on the significance of Buhari’s condemnation of Boko Haram.
And these are my views: A courageous, patriotic intervention and the hallmark of statesmanship. A moral and psychological fillip to ongoing efforts to wipe out the insurgents. By his statements, Buhari rises above politics to confront a national malaise. He proves his love for nation above politics. Politicians are concerned about the next election, while statesmen think of their nation and the next generation. Buhari has shown he is more of a patriot than the run- of- the- mill politician, who bothers more about being politically correct than what becomes of his country.
Some people think he is only just condemning Boko Haram because 2015 is by the corner and he would be needing votes. Even at that, it takes guts to do what he has done, at a time many prominent Northerners are either too lily-livered to speak up or are hiding out of fear or whatever political gains they hope to reap for not identifying with efforts to rout the sect.
Is it about 2015? My position on Buhari’s 2015 presidential ambition has been articulated in an earlier piece in this column entitled: IF BUHARI RUNS and does not need further flogging. But my stand in a nutshell remains this: I like Buhari the statesman, not Buhari the politician. I like Buhari as conscience of the nation. But we must, all the same, respect his right to contest the highest office in the land and the right of Nigerians to accept him or otherwise at the poll. We have no right to deny him his inalienable constitutional right for whatever reasons. That is what Americans call ‘the majesty of democracy.’
Back to the subject of this column: We need more Nigerians like Buhari, whose hearts drip with love for nation. Not the army of opportunistic politicians, crowding the political space and not giving a damn if the nation is destroyed or not as long as they grab their heart’s desires.
In 1983, Buhari said, ‘we have no other country other than Nigeria’; 2014, 31 years later, he warns Boko Haram not to destroy our nation, at a time opposition parties and leaders are playing petty politics and refusing to strongly denounce the insurgency, ravaging our land.
If all Nigerians speak up and rise as one against Boko Haram, it will disappear in the shortest possible time. But when politics, tribalism and all kinds of chicanery have entered the mix, Boko Haram becomes larger than life. That is the truth we can’t run from. That is the truth Buhari has confronted. That is the truth we all must confront. For love of nation and our common humanity.
Postscript: The news of foreign assistance in the rescue of Chibok girls is welcome, even if some Nigerians are feeling embarrassed that we had to ask foreign military to help us search for our abducted girls. Let us get our girls out first, before feeling embarrassed or ashamed of our military and security forces. Life first any day!