“ The Devil takes a hand in what is done in a hurry’’ – Turkish Proverb
I had the privilege some few years back-around 2009 to be precise, to sit down for an exclusive interview with President Muhammadu Buhari in his office in Kaduna. As a Journalist and writer, I still believe it has been one of the most interesting interviews in my career.
Image courtesy AITonline
What comes out of a Man’s mind defines who he is and sitting close to four hours exclusively with the man who is now our current president afforded me an ample opportunity to make a personal judgement of the kind of person he is. Some significant facts I noted about him was his organised setting, his tall slim frame, his charisma and most importantly his simplicity and frankness.
His forthrightness throughout our close to four hours encounter is still embedded in my memory. I could still recall his unexpected answer when I asked when has been his happiest moment in life. A question that had took him some few seconds to answer after some reflection. ‘’ I think my most happiest moment in life so far was the day the Nigerian civil war ended.’’ His answer till date carved a personal respect for him and made me a fan of the most resilient Nigerian I have ever come across.
Though, all these are not the main reasons why I decided to pen this article. I just wanted the reader to have a feel of the on –the- spot experience I had with the current Nigerian president so that he or she might be able to make a personal choice about my request on behalf of Mr President, although unauthorised by neither the subject nor his media team.
I am soliciting for the generosity of patience from Nigerians irrespective of political, tribal or religious affiliation for our current president. I am doing this based on the fact that I consciously believe that one of the greatest things that have happened to this great country after our independence from the colonial forces is the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as the President of this famous Africa country.
As a Nigerian, I have also been aware of the tremendous influence the devil is trying to play in our current political change through some fifth elements among us. If not, what sensibility does it portray as these various selfish individuals and groups kept insisting that the president must hasten up to name his cabinet and also take us to the long awaited Promised Land. An intangible Promised Land the failed Peoples Democratic Government (PDP) could not ferried us to in sixteen years despite all the resources and goodwill at its disposal.
It is quite shameful that the same PDP through its elements are now the ones trying to grab the devil’s hands to propel our embryonic change into a dismay haste we don’t really need at the moment. I am amused at the unpatriotic call by a failed political party that betrayed our collective trust for sixteen years to imagine that Nigerians would fall suckers to their lopsided views.
It is actually unrealistic for those with open mind to see that the Buhari presidency cannot clean the stench left over by the PDP within the shortest possible time, unless if we are willing to keep covering our noses with their poisonous pong while we pretend that all is well.
And like the President rightly told them a few days back that the Nigerian corrupted and almost sunk stable was being clean of the filth left behind by the past PDP government; A herculean task that requires patience and not selfish haste. We should comprehend that Buhari like all of us is human and not a super angel that could strike a finger and make things happen in a swift.
I am appealing for more of our trademark tolerant nature to cross our fingers faithfully and kindly donate some patience to President Buhari so that our nation would rise up and stand boldly as the giant it was meant to be. I passionately believe that it will be to our good as a nation if we can be generous with some patriotic patience to the current capable captain navigating our almost sunk ship away from the deep hole hitherto headed blindly by our past confused captain and his greedy crew. We should be grateful to God for saving us from the hands of these few selfish men and women and dish out some sweet patience to the current government, headed by Ship-Captain Buhari.
I am confident to say that the Buhari I interacted with some few years ago given his forthrightness will cleanse our rich nation of the maladministration and corruption that has eaten deep into its fabric. If only we can be generous with some patience and understanding. I am confident that our railway would work again, and that our homes, offices and industries would come back to life with uninterrupted power supply. I am enthusiastic with a strong hope that our public schools would bounce back strongly and that we will enjoy the wind-fall of being an oil producing nation and the other goodies that has long eluded us.
This will only be possible if we can be considerate in our judgement and bestow some unquantifiable patience on Buhari and his administration. It is important to note like the Turkish proverb above rightly cautioned not to allow the devil and its supporters to take hand in doing the right thing for our country as cautiously being done by President Buhari in his few weeks in office.
It is only the devil that will have the audacity to say the president has not performed since assuming office. I guess the devil and his supporters must have been drunk with sleep when the president hit the ground few hours after his swearing in, and intelligently raced towards Niger, Chad, Benin republic and the G-7 summit in Germany all in his sincere efforts to rally round supports to defeat the forces of the devil masquerading as Boko Haram around our beloved country.
We must stand far ahead of the scheme of the devil and his self-centred devotees to plant their deceptive fangs into our collective reasoning and make us support their wasteful act of haste. For as rightly pointed out by Benjamin Franklin, the American Philosopher, inventor, author, diplomat and scientist: ‘’ Take time for all things great. Haste makes great waste.’’ We should be wise enough to understand that these selfish few among us are greedily trying to push us to their unfruitful ways of waste, long enmeshed in their haste to get things done.
Please a little patience for Mr President as we democratically saunter towards a new beginning that is gleaming with hope from afar, away from the wasteful haste lavishly embarked by the past government for sixteen years.
God bless Nigeria.
