by Kennedy Emetulu
I’m beginning to worry about some kind of public activism going on at the moment. I’m talking about some people who campaigned and voted for President Goodluck Jonathan in the last election going out now to attack people who did not support or vote Jonathan, but who today are expressing their displeasure with certain aspects of the Buhari administration, including criticising Buhari himself.
I mean, what’s all this noise of ‘I told you so’ when we are actually discussing our nation and our future? Does the fact that someone supported Buhari against Jonathan now mean they cannot say anything if they feel Buhari is wrong or is not representing them properly?
Some of us keep accusing some of those who voted Buhari of not appreciating that the campaign is over and that this is the time of governance. We do this when they accuse us of criticising Buhari because our candidate lost, yet this is exactly the attitude being exhibited by the ‘I told you so; brigade! When will you realise that the campaign is over?
This is governance period and all voters are the same at this point! Or don’t you realise that a case of permanent division on the partisan level is not in the interest of the ordinary Nigerian? Don’t you realise that it is only the strong solidarity of the common people from all sides that can save Nigeria from these new sets of vicious locust in place now? It’s about permanent interest, not permanent opponents or enemies. People who truly love Nigeria were on both sides of the electoral divide; this is the time for them to show who they really are. You see what is not right, say it! Don’t be blackmailed by the side you voted for!
Please, fellow Nigerians, be sensible. Deal with governance issue from the position of conviction, rather than partisanship. Partisanship will not pay your children’s school fees or put bread on their table. It will not provide you medication when ill or good roads to drive your car to go about your daily business. Partisanship will not aid your small or medium-scale business or open up the economy for you to advance and improve your material wellbeing or your station in life. Nigerian politicians have perfected the art of divide and rule and that’s what they do during elections. It’s the same predators milking us dry since the day of our flag Independence that are still milking us dry today either on their own or through their children and minions. If you want to fight fellow citizens for who they voted for in some sham election while your nation is buried in quicksand as others welcome a new prosperous future, kontinu! But when it’s all over, when it’s time to pick up the ballot papers again, don’t blame anyone if you’re still back at square one with no solution in sight.
It is not the government that will save Nigeria; it’s the people. If you refuse to understand the dynamics of power and how they affect you and fellow citizens, you will remain holding the short end of the stick while the criminal politicians guffaw all the way to the bank. So, please, stop the finger-pointing and this ‘I told you so’ noise. Deal with issues and let others express themselves as they feel. You can take up people for what they say now, not for how they voted or who they supported during the election.
Kennedy Emetulu is a social critic.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
