As
President Muhammadu Buhari turns 74 today, December 17, Femi Adesina
the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, has penned a
birthday piece for his boss. It's a must read!
President Buhari
What a helluva week for a man who turns 74 today. In one day, in
his birthday week, he flew from Abuja to Monrovia, from there to
Freetown, and then to Banjul, in The Gambia. He held meetings lasting
many hours, then flew to Freetown, again to Monrovia, and then returned
to Abuja by 3.20 a.m.
In the afternoon of that same day, when most of those who travelled
with him would have given anything to be in slumberland, he presented
the 2017 budget proposals to the National Assembly. If I am lucky to
live to that age, I don't wish to run such punishing schedule.
But for that reason was Muhammadu Buhari born on December 17, 1942,
in Daura, present day Katsina State. For that reason he came to the
world. To serve humanity, serve his country, and make a huge difference.
He was sent here to show that it is possible to be squeaky clean, play
according to the rules, and live for others, not for primitive
accumulation.
The word came out on Monday, a public holiday. We were headed for
Gambia the next morning, and we must set forth at dawn. For we were
returning to Abuja the same day. By 6 a.m, we were on the way to the
airport. A few minutes past 7 a.m, the great bird lifted into the sky.
The peace shuttle had begun.
What took President Buhari out at short notice was the developing
situation in The Gambia. President, Professor, Dr, Alhaji Yahya Jammeh,
who had taken power from Sir Dauda Jawara 22 years earlier in a military
coup, and who had transmuted to a civilian ruler along the way, had
suddenly recanted on an election he lost, and over which he had
congratulated the winner. Jammeh said the scales had fallen from his
eyes, he had seen the light, and the defeat he had conceded was no
longer so. The election was flawed, and there must be a new exercise
under a "God-fearing electoral commission."
This was deja vu. Another Gbagbo scenario, as we had seen in Cote
D'Ivoire? A playback of 1998 Sierra Leone, in which ECOMOG troops, led
by Nigeria under Sani Abacha, had flushed out the military junta led by
Johnny Paul Koroma, which had ousted President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah from
power? Will the President, Professor, Dr, and Alhaji be given the Gbagbo
and Koroma treatment? It seemed inevitable. But blessed are the
peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Buhari of
Nigeria, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra
Leone, and John Mahama of Ghana, decided to wave the olive branch. It
was time to try and talk some sense into Jammeh's head. The presence of
Mahama in the team was significant, as he had also conceded defeat in
the presidential election held in Ghana only a few days earlier.
After a flight of two hours and forty minutes, we landed in
Monrovia. We took aboard Johnson-Sirleaf, and some of her aides. A few
days earlier, in her capacity as chair of ECOWAS, she had headed for The
Gambia. Jammeh did not give her plane permission to land. She had to
return home.
Liberia. Land of blood, caused by greed for power. Samuel Doe.
Yormie Johnson. Charles Taylor. Many others. They wanted power, and did
not mind turning their country to a killing field. Very sad.
After 47 minutes, we landed in Freetown. Some years back, the town
had not been free. The same lust for power. Foday Sankoh led what he
called the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), and his type of revolution
was to chop off the hands of innocent people. If he cut it at the wrist,
he called it long sleeve. If he butchered at the elbow, he called it
short sleeve. Sierra Leone was filled with thousands and thousands of
amputees. Sheer madness!
But the day of reckoning came, as it always does. Sankoh was
arrested, and put on trial. He fell ill, was wheelchair bound, and
eventually died. He escaped the justice of man, but not of God. I was
editor of Daily Sun when he died. I remember my headline: 'Foday Sankoh
goes to hell.' The Mirror of London went the same way. NEXT STOP:HELL.
That was the paper's headline. You can accuse us of being judgmental,
playing God. But as far as human beings knew, Foday Sankoh had no other
destination. Only hell, to keep a date with his master, Satan.
But I digress too much. We are talking of a peace shuttle in a birthday week.
Yes, we took on board President Bai Koroma and his aides, and we
were on the way. An hour later, we were overflying Banjul. Would we be
permitted to land, or given the Johnson-Sirleaf treatment? Happily, the
big bird swooped down, and we landed. I was back in Banjul, 12 years
after my last visit. Everything seemed the way I had left it. Only
Jammeh had changed. From conceding defeat, to calling for another
election.
The three presidents joined John Mahama of Ghana at the Coco Ocean
Hotel, a lovely resort by the sea. Would the waters be turned crimson
red soon? God forbid. That was why the peacemakers were around. For the
next seven hours, they met with Adama Barrow, the victor in the
election, the leadership of the electoral commission, a delegation of
the coalition that gave Barrow victory, Security Chiefs, and many
others.
Twice, they met with Jammeh at the State House. Before proceedings
began, and after. What were they asking for? Simple. Respect the
Constitution of your country. Honour your word, and uphold the results
of the election. Vacate power next January, as decency requires.
There was no positive commitment from Jammeh, and the parley
continues, as ECOWAS meets in Abuja today. On his 74th birthday,
President Buhari, instead of wining and dining, would be hosting leaders
of the West African sub-region. For that reason was he born. For that
purpose was he sent to Nigeria. To serve the country, serve humanity,
and show that things could be done differently.
By 10 p.m Nigerian time (9 p.m Gambian time) we boarded the
presidential jet. I remembered a primary school song:"Oh Nigeria, oh my
native land, Never again may I roam. I've been to Ghana, I've been to
Sierra Leone, I've been to Gambia, I'm going back to my native land,
never again may I roam."
It was a day of roaming, but for a good cause. We dropped off the
Sierra Leonean contingent first. Freetown, the land of my father. In
1955, my father had sailed from Nigeria to Sierra Leone, in search of
the Golden Fleece. He had gone to study at Fourah Bay College, from
where he took a degree in Economics, and returned home in 1959. He took
to teaching, and retired as a school principal in 1971. He had good
stories to tell us about Sierra Leone.
That was before the country lost its innocence, erupting in an orgy of killings.
We dropped off the Liberian contingent, and headed for Abuja. If we
had gone straight, we needed only two hours and forty minutes. We spent
five hours and five minutes. Double that, and we had spent more than 10
hours in the air, all in West Africa. Blessed are the peacemakers...
Yesterday, President Buhari gave out one of his daughters, Zahra,
in marriage. Today, he would be with ECOWAS leaders for most of the day.
How do you remind him it's his birthday? On Wednesday morning, we had
got back to Aso Villa at 4 a.m. By 2 p.m, the President was presenting
Budget 2017 to a joint session of the National Assembly. On Thursday, he
was in Lagos to commission a ship at the Naval Dockyard. What a helluva
birthday week! I repeat. If I am lucky to live till 74, I don't want to
run such punishing schedule.
Some people say they used to give them some injections in the
military that make them go on and on. True? False? I don't know. We saw
the same of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, also a retired General,
who worked endless hours. Could the injection theory be true? Somebody,
please confirm.
The man the people call Mai Gaskiya (honest man) turns 74 today. I wish him longer life, in good health.
The sailing may be rough and tempestuous on the economy front now,
and some people are shouting; carest thou not that we perish? We are
hungry and dying. But Nigeria will get to halcyon shores. This land will
prosper again. Our captain is at the helm. He is tested and trusted. We
can then sleep through the storm.
About the Author:
Femi Adesina is the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu.
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