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It was Theodore Roosevelt who said that “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by the dust and the sweet and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again… who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.”
It is becoming increasing difficult in today’s world to be different. But Charly Boy has never thought going the way of the herd was a particularly good strategy. He has always been an unprecedented and an uninhibited personality. His unique combination of intelligence, toughness and often startling humanity has always been a wonderful advertisement. He is audacious and adaptable and has earned reputation as a self assured man. The key to his success lies in his independence. The society should be elastic enough to accommodate people like Charly Boy.
Those who are attacking him for leading the ResumeorResign Campaign are either ignorant or mischief makers. To tell it like it is, Nigeria is pretty much an unmitigated disaster. This is a country with an immature economy and without rule of law. A country with a president that is simply incompetent and immature in thinking. A president who is not broad minded enough to rule a complex country like Nigeria. A man who claims to hate corruption but uses his position to pursue a nepotistic and narrow minded agenda is a joke at best. It is obvious even to the most retarded imbecile that the nation is moving down a slippery slope; that our economy is on the dizzying drop into the abyss. The situation calls for men of good will and courage to speak up.
The problem of Biafra and the threat of Arewa Youths to Igbos living in the Northern region compounded our woes. In the midst of all these, our president was in far away London receiving treatment for months on end. The vice- president was never really the acting president. Characters from the forest of a thousand demons were out to frustrate him and to make sure he does not take any meaningful decision. It is a patriotic act for anybody to call on the president to resume or resign. Charly Boy should be commended not condemned. It is a heroic act from a soul that is doggedness personified. According to Femi Falana, the police got it wrong in their treatment against Charly Boy. “ By providing adequate security for the pro, Buhari demonstrators, while harassing the anti-Buhari protesters, the Police engaged in the violation of Section 42 of the constitution, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of political opinion. To that extent, the authorities of the Nigeria Police Force should apologize to Mr. Charles Oputa and other members of#OurMumuDonDo. As the freedom of assembly and freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution can only be abridged or restricted by a procedure permitted by law, a police officer, who has information that any rally or demonstration may lead to a breakdown of law and order, is advised to apply for a injunctive relief in a competent court of law.”
This administration is full of many rhetorical exercises and too many loose pronouncements. The country is at a hinge of history and there is no clear strategic vision and a rock steady hand on the wheel. The attack on Charly Boy by the Buhari agent is an exercise in bad taste by an administration that has no ability to sell an argument. That singular art is one of the more stunning and inexplicable displays of presidential rascality that I have ever seen. The Buhari’s presidency has fallen into a bear trap of his own creation. Most of these guys working for Buhari have continued to display a very poor grasp of the democratic process.
Abimbola Adelakun of the punch has a pretty accurate understanding of the issue at stake. “The thought of Charly Boy being attacked because he is saying what these deplorable agents of government do not want to hear is frightening. The issue is not whether they are Buhari supporters or not; at the height of his ignominious rule, Buhari’s friend, Gen. Sani Abacha, had one million misguided people march in his support. The issue is the level of their zeal for Buhari, the extent they are willing to go to protect him against other citizens’ rights, and the democratic institutions that are perverted when dissent is silenced.
The action of the man who bet against the pack is yielding results. It has rattled the president and his handlers. Buhari is now aware that Nigerians are not a bunch of cowards. To the former Presidential media aide, Reno Omokri, the struggle is not over “Take a look at the highlights of All Progressives Congress manifesto. Not even one has been fulfilled after over two years in power. Now president Mohammadu Buhari must resume or resign. President Buhari did not come back because he wanted to. He came back because he had to. It was the pressure and spread of the Resume or Resign that made him return. The sole purpose of all those choreographed photo ops with influential Nigerians was to douse tension. When the tension refused to die down, he returned.”
By Ikechukwu Orji
Orji is a Journalist
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