FEMI ADEOTI COLUMN, Daily Sun, Thursday, June 1, 2023.
No pretence. Even long before the kick-off: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, your road is rough. It’s tough, harsh and hard. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
It couldn’t have been otherwise. You are practically naked. Do not turn against us in anger. Don’t make it violent for us. You asked for it. You’ve got it in full measure.
The challenges are enormous. Yes! Overwhelming, tasking, daunting and Herculean. Muster all the strength in you. Discard all arrogance.
Confront them headlong!
You need not be told all this. We assume you know far more than we think you know. That’s why you are where you are today. So? Prove us right. Tell us we’re not wrong.
Tinubu, where is your dexterity? Where are those deftness, agility and
shrewdness attributed to you? Display them. Demonstrate them. Put them into good use even now.
We are eager to see you showcasing all these to our delight. You made us to wait this long for this time. You’re speedily running against time. And this time is precious to us all.
He spoke to us on Monday, May 29, 2023. It confirmed a sweet reality. That the odd old has passed away. Things are turning pleasant. A new dawn has dawned on us. That is what we naively thought.
Now that you have spoken from the throne, oblige us to speak back to your throne. And you will be exceedingly glad you did.
A walk through your abridged inaugural speech gave us some hints. You
encouraged us to believe in ourselves. Your confession: “My love for this nation is abiding. My confidence in its people, unwavering”
Then your unshaken faith in the Creator: “And my faith in God
Almighty, absolute. I know that His hand shall provide the needed moral strength and clarity of purpose in those instances when we seem
to have reached the limits of our human capacity.”
You speech was on a good note. Stay on this solid rock. All other grounds are sinking sands. You need to keep to this lane. It’s the wisest to do all the time.
He didn’t miss it at all: “We have endured hardships that would have
made other societies crumble.” Though fumble and stumble. We refuse to cave in. We opt not to be broken. We elect to firmly stand our ground. And it pays off handsomely. The reward is what we witnessed last Monday.
Our resilience uncanny; our resolve uncommon. You can’t easily find it
in other climes. We were resolute from start-to-finish. We braced all odds. We are happy for our actions.
Tinubu confirmed this much. He read appropriately. His corroboration
was on spot: “For many years, Nigeria’s critics have trafficked the rumour that our nation will break apart, even perish.”
True. We are hard survivalists of no small means: “Yet, here we are. We have stumbled at times, but our resilience and diversity have kept us going. Our burdens may make us bend at times, but they shall never
break us.”
He strived hard to rekindle our hope. And calm our frayed nerves. We do appreciate that very deeply. And we will pay him back in his own “coins.”
On our part, we will make him restless and restive. We will put him on his toes. We will continue to knock on his doors several times over.
We’re going to constantly remind him of his profound pronouncement:
“We shall reach out to all but never put down a single person for holding views contrary to our own.”
He did not feign ignorance. He knew we are more divided as a nation like never before. Not even did the 30-month civil war tear us apart as now: “We are here to further mend and heal this nation, not tear and injure it.”
He dared to touch a most vexed issue. And he did with a degree of
astuteness and acuteness: “May I offer a few comments regarding the election that brought us to this juncture. It was a hard-fought
contest.”
You may elect to agree or disagree with him going further: “And it was
also fairly won. Since the advent of the Fourth Republic, Nigeria has not held an election of better quality. The outcome reflected the will of the people.”
He spoke to the feeling.