Our governors are spoiling to be game changers. And we pray it will be for our ultimate good. From their utterances and body language, we take them to be intentionally sincere this time around.
For once, and that is very germane, they are putting dirty politics aside. Strange? They are not sweeping it under the carpet, they are packing it into the dustbin.
They appear to be genuinely worried that our President, Muhammadu Buhari, is in this state of ill health. There is no party coloration in their sincerity. No party politics in sight either. It came right from their heart of hearts.
For over a month now, Buhari has ignored us. He simply waved us aside as if we did not matter. Since he got to London, he forgot us almost completely.
He opted to shun us despite our hue and cry. Our tears mean nothing to him. He has “talked” to all manner of people outside the country.
This is the longest medical vacation ever by any of our sitting Presidents or Heads of State. That makes us apprehensive, restive and restless. Still, Buhari remains silent. He keeps his distance from talking to us. He detests communicating with us. He is more at home with aliens.
We are seriously contemplating this: When he chooses to come back from his indefinite medical tourism, even if he shouts, we will not hear him. If he talks, we will not listen. We are getting to that stage, speedily and steadily.
We may take our own pound of flesh. He is having a field day now. He has decided to put us in the dark. We vow to retaliate in the same intensity and density. That may be our resolve. And we will be resolute, we mean every word of it.
Just imagine! He busies himself “receiving” big-time visitors. He “makes” generous phone calls to world leaders. But he ignores us, we the lesser mortals. He knows very well that we cannot barge in on him. For that reason he keeps us at a safe distance, far away in London.
Yes, we see his “pictures” exchanging banter with his august visitors. We cannot deny that. But, he has not thought it wise to send us a video clip, even for a minute, that would greatly douse the tension in the land.
We are tired of these suspicious still pictures. We want to see his movement. We need motion pictures. We want to see our President talk. We want him to crack jokes with us as Senate President Bukola Saraki claimed he did with him. We need an urgent repeat performance. We are thirsty to see Buhari in his witty form.
Please, those who have his ears should tell our President: We do not want go-betweens or intermediaries because we do not need any. They are unsolicited. They don’t represent our interest. They cannot convey our real feelings. We are not on the same page with them.
A go-between belongs to the old. Biblical Moses played that role faithfully for the ancient Israelites. He was effective then because he was sincere, honest and transparent. But not now!
None of the so-called intermediaries can do that for us. We have tested them several times over and they failed woefully. We tried them with General Sani Abacha and ex-President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. They were found abundantly wanting. What we despised in them is what is staring us in the face now.
We are convinced the present crop of intermediaries cannot make a difference. We find it extremely hard to believe them. All we desire is that Buhari must talk loud and clear to us, even now.
Surprisingly, we have willing allies in the governors. They are equally tired of the old, awkward songs. So it appears. The songs are no longer making sense. That is why they are brainstorming to re-draw and re-plan the template. This weird template can no longer stand the test of time.
So, for our sake, the governors met in Abuja last week for long hours. The meeting started on Wednesday and came to a close in the early hours of Thursday.
There and then they resolved: “We will visit the President, if he doesn’t come back in the next one week.”
And, guess what: “It was a decision supported by all of us, including members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is the main opposition party in the country.”
The arrowhead of opposition, Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, was more forthcoming. He is also Chairman, PDP Governors’ Forum. He was as dpwn-to-earth as ever.
He offered to visit Buhari in London: “As a person, and speaking for the PDP governors, we support the call to visit the President in the UK. The health of the President should not be politicised. Anybody can fall sick, whether old or young.
“We pray for the President to be strong so that he can return home on time to perform the functions Nigerians elected him to perform.
“It does not matter what party is in government, constructive criticism should not amount to wishing anybody dead. We wish our President well and our prayers are with him. And, as a party, the PDP wishes the President well.”
Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, readily bought into it. His spokesman, Christian Ita, confirmed that, “If the PDP governors are going to visit the President, Ayade will not be opposed to it. He is the President of all Nigerians, irrespective of political affiliation.”
A timely caution: The governors must not tread the jungle the National Assembly trod. Its leadership’s visit to Buhari was far from being representative. It was heavily politicised and selective.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) alone does not constitute the National Assembly. Saraki and Speaker Jacob Dogara, without a member of the opposition made the trip highly unrepresentative. Saraki’s Deputy, Ike Ekwuremadu, was eminently qualified to be on that team, even if he is PDP. The governors must not blindly fall into that same deep pit.
Our fears have been heightened one more time. We are anxious to see our President back on his feet, but we were told on Tuesday that won’t be so soon.
We are compelled to continue to patiently keep our fragile fingers crossed. Do we have a viable choice?