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By FEMI ADESINA
Let me begin by telling a story. On June 1, 2015, the day I resumed work
as adviser on media to President Muhammadu Buhari, he had admonished me:
“Adesina, always tell me the truth. That is what I want from you. In this
type of position I have found myself, it is very easy not to be told the
truth. People will just tell you what they think you want to hear. But
from you, I want the truth. As a General, I may argue, but please argue
with me. Tell me the truth always.”
Based on that blank cheque I’d been given, I went to the residence one
evening last year to see the President. That was the time there was
deafening talk of hunger from different parts of the country. I wanted to
be sure that the talk was not being filtered from the President. Of
course, I know him as somebody who reads newspapers religiously, and
wherever we are in the face of the world, he asks for media highlights
from Nigeria. So, he would not be unaware of what Nigerians were going
through. But I still wanted to raise it with him.
“Mr President, there is hunger in the land, and people are complaining. I
know government is doing its best, but I just want you to be aware,” I
said.
Mr President responded: “I know, I know. I am aware of what people are
going through. I have people in my own constituency back home, and I know
the messages they send to me. But it is a passing phase. Our country was
vandalized, and we found ourselves in this problem. But now that we are
here, we will do our best. We will bring change to this country, and we
are already seeing it in agriculture. This period of hunger will pass.”
It was prophetic. The season of hunger will pass, and is indeed passing.
Anyone that is honest will admit that things are looking up in Nigeria.
The ravening clouds shall no longer be victorious. They shall not long
possess the sky.
I went away with one conviction from that night’s meeting: the poor
matter very much to this President. He is not the type that people would
tell they had no bread to eat, and he would tell them to eat cake
instead. This is a friend of the talakawas, a man who loves ordinary
people, and who wants their station in life to be improved. And those
people know it. That is why they gravitate towards him, and repose so
much confidence in him. He is their hero. Our hero.
President Buhari turns 75 years today. But some six months back, how many
could confidently say this day would come for the ramrod straight man from
Daura? How many believed the President would come out of the severe
medical challenge that had confronted him? It all began as a routine
vacation cum medical check up in January, and few days after, the rumour
mill was on overdrive. The challenge lasted till August, before the
President returned home finally, and since then, he has been looking
better by the day. Each time you now see him, there is a fresher glow, and
you cannot but give glory to God on his behalf.
But why was President Buhari kept alive, so much so that he is turning 75
today? Why did he pass through the sea of infirmity, and he was not swept
away? Why did he pass through inferno, and the fire did not kindle against
him? Big question. I don’t have the answer, but I can hazard some guesses,
based on divine principles.
Rigobert Song. Remember him? Song was the Cameroonian defender who played
many years for the Indomitable Lions. He appeared at eight African Nations
Cup tournaments, five as captain, and stood between Nigeria and victory
many times. He became an idol, venerated by his countrymen and women. He
retired to become a coach.
Then late last year, Song was not on song again on the soccer pitch. He
had a near death experience on October 20. He went down with brain
aneurysm, and was in coma for two days. Doctors battled to save his life,
and he was eventually evacuated to France.
While the travails lasted, the social media was abuzz with news of Song’s
passage. As someone who had followed his career over the years, I felt
very sad. But this is the season of fake news. Song was not dead, he
miraculously rallied back. He narrated his experience, which I found
instructive, considering what our President also passed through:
“I did not know what was happening to me…I did not even know I was
fighting between life and death…All these people, they put God in
trouble. Because everyone in this situation, they were praying-this is
what I keep in my mind-God would have been in trouble. Everyone was
praying, asking, ‘God, please don’t do that, don’t take Rigobert.’ I say
thank you everybody for making me come back.”
What song was Song singing? One of thanksgiving. Cameroonians who loved
him bombarded God with prayers, ‘Please, don’t take Rigobert now.’ And God
heard. He showed mercy.
That is the same reason President Buhari is alive today. Nigerians
bombarded Heaven with prayers. With supplications, intercessions, pleas
for mercy. Muslims prayed in mosques. Christians prayed in churches.
President Alpha Conde of Guinea declared 24 hours prayer for his Nigerian
counterpart. Prayers were going on everywhere, both at home, and in the
Diaspora. I can imagine God telling Himself: ‘I must answer these prayers.
These petitions are too many. I must answer.’
And God had mercy, a fact attested to by President Buhari himself. He said
his return was a miracle, which only God could have done.
Why did God keep our President alive? The Holy Books answer:
“Blessed is he that considers the poor;
God will deliver him in the day of evil.
God will preserve him, and keep him alive,
And he will be blessed upon the earth;
And deliver him not unto the will of his enemies,
And raise him up from sickness.” (Psalm 41:1-3).
And this one in Surah At-Tawbah 9:128:
“There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves.
Grievous to him is what you suffer, for he is concerned over you and to
the believers he is kind and merciful.”
President Buhari is concerned about Nigerians, particularly the helpless,
the ordinary people, and he has dedicated his life to serving them. And
when he was near unto death, those ordinary people besieged Heaven with
prayers. That Christian hymn says “dearer to God are the prayers of the
poor.” And God truly answered.
There is power in goodwill, we have seen it work. It worked for Rigobert
Song, and it has worked for our President. Have a heart for men,
particularly for the poor, the lowly, and the downtrodden. And see God
rise on your behalf.
Consider Tabitha (Dorcas in Greek), who lived at Joppa. She was full of
good works, always doing good, and helping the poor. One day, she took
ill, and died. Peter, one of the apostles of Jesus, was invited. He came,
prayed, and said: “Tabitha, arise!” And the woman came back to life. That
is what is possible, when you have a heart for the poor.
In his New Year message last year, President Buhari told the country:
“Living in the State House has not alienated me from your daily
sufferings. These challenges are only temporary, we are working to make
things better.”
When news came a couple of months ago that Nigeria had exited from
recession, what did the President say? “Until coming out of recession
translates into meaningful improvement in peoples’ lives, our work cannot
be said to be done.”
In another broadcast, the President had stated: “All my adult life, I have
always earned a salary and I know what it is like when your salary is
simply not enough.”
That is the man we follow, and serve. Millions would today follow him into
battle blindfolded. Millions upon millions would vote him again and again,
if he throws his hat into the ring. Happy birthday, Mr President. You have
shown us how to care for the lowly and the poor, how to bear them in our
hearts at all times, and how such pleases God, and brings mercy our way.
Thank you for coming this way, thank you for offering yourself for
service.
.Adesina is Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu
Buhari
Let me begin by telling a story. On June 1, 2015, the day I resumed work
as adviser on media to President Muhammadu Buhari, he had admonished me:
“Adesina, always tell me the truth. That is what I want from you. In this
type of position I have found myself, it is very easy not to be told the
truth. People will just tell you what they think you want to hear. But
from you, I want the truth. As a General, I may argue, but please argue
with me. Tell me the truth always.”
Based on that blank cheque I’d been given, I went to the residence one
evening last year to see the President. That was the time there was
deafening talk of hunger from different parts of the country. I wanted to
be sure that the talk was not being filtered from the President. Of
course, I know him as somebody who reads newspapers religiously, and
wherever we are in the face of the world, he asks for media highlights
from Nigeria. So, he would not be unaware of what Nigerians were going
through. But I still wanted to raise it with him.
“Mr President, there is hunger in the land, and people are complaining. I
know government is doing its best, but I just want you to be aware,” I
said.
Mr President responded: “I know, I know. I am aware of what people are
going through. I have people in my own constituency back home, and I know
the messages they send to me. But it is a passing phase. Our country was
vandalized, and we found ourselves in this problem. But now that we are
here, we will do our best. We will bring change to this country, and we
are already seeing it in agriculture. This period of hunger will pass.”
It was prophetic. The season of hunger will pass, and is indeed passing.
Anyone that is honest will admit that things are looking up in Nigeria.
The ravening clouds shall no longer be victorious. They shall not long
possess the sky.
I went away with one conviction from that night’s meeting: the poor
matter very much to this President. He is not the type that people would
tell they had no bread to eat, and he would tell them to eat cake
instead. This is a friend of the talakawas, a man who loves ordinary
people, and who wants their station in life to be improved. And those
people know it. That is why they gravitate towards him, and repose so
much confidence in him. He is their hero. Our hero.
President Buhari turns 75 years today. But some six months back, how many
could confidently say this day would come for the ramrod straight man from
Daura? How many believed the President would come out of the severe
medical challenge that had confronted him? It all began as a routine
vacation cum medical check up in January, and few days after, the rumour
mill was on overdrive. The challenge lasted till August, before the
President returned home finally, and since then, he has been looking
better by the day. Each time you now see him, there is a fresher glow, and
you cannot but give glory to God on his behalf.
But why was President Buhari kept alive, so much so that he is turning 75
today? Why did he pass through the sea of infirmity, and he was not swept
away? Why did he pass through inferno, and the fire did not kindle against
him? Big question. I don’t have the answer, but I can hazard some guesses,
based on divine principles.
Rigobert Song. Remember him? Song was the Cameroonian defender who played
many years for the Indomitable Lions. He appeared at eight African Nations
Cup tournaments, five as captain, and stood between Nigeria and victory
many times. He became an idol, venerated by his countrymen and women. He
retired to become a coach.
Then late last year, Song was not on song again on the soccer pitch. He
had a near death experience on October 20. He went down with brain
aneurysm, and was in coma for two days. Doctors battled to save his life,
and he was eventually evacuated to France.
While the travails lasted, the social media was abuzz with news of Song’s
passage. As someone who had followed his career over the years, I felt
very sad. But this is the season of fake news. Song was not dead, he
miraculously rallied back. He narrated his experience, which I found
instructive, considering what our President also passed through:
“I did not know what was happening to me…I did not even know I was
fighting between life and death…All these people, they put God in
trouble. Because everyone in this situation, they were praying-this is
what I keep in my mind-God would have been in trouble. Everyone was
praying, asking, ‘God, please don’t do that, don’t take Rigobert.’ I say
thank you everybody for making me come back.”
What song was Song singing? One of thanksgiving. Cameroonians who loved
him bombarded God with prayers, ‘Please, don’t take Rigobert now.’ And God
heard. He showed mercy.
That is the same reason President Buhari is alive today. Nigerians
bombarded Heaven with prayers. With supplications, intercessions, pleas
for mercy. Muslims prayed in mosques. Christians prayed in churches.
President Alpha Conde of Guinea declared 24 hours prayer for his Nigerian
counterpart. Prayers were going on everywhere, both at home, and in the
Diaspora. I can imagine God telling Himself: ‘I must answer these prayers.
These petitions are too many. I must answer.’
And God had mercy, a fact attested to by President Buhari himself. He said
his return was a miracle, which only God could have done.
Why did God keep our President alive? The Holy Books answer:
“Blessed is he that considers the poor;
God will deliver him in the day of evil.
God will preserve him, and keep him alive,
And he will be blessed upon the earth;
And deliver him not unto the will of his enemies,
And raise him up from sickness.” (Psalm 41:1-3).
And this one in Surah At-Tawbah 9:128:
“There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves.
Grievous to him is what you suffer, for he is concerned over you and to
the believers he is kind and merciful.”
President Buhari is concerned about Nigerians, particularly the helpless,
the ordinary people, and he has dedicated his life to serving them. And
when he was near unto death, those ordinary people besieged Heaven with
prayers. That Christian hymn says “dearer to God are the prayers of the
poor.” And God truly answered.
There is power in goodwill, we have seen it work. It worked for Rigobert
Song, and it has worked for our President. Have a heart for men,
particularly for the poor, the lowly, and the downtrodden. And see God
rise on your behalf.
Consider Tabitha (Dorcas in Greek), who lived at Joppa. She was full of
good works, always doing good, and helping the poor. One day, she took
ill, and died. Peter, one of the apostles of Jesus, was invited. He came,
prayed, and said: “Tabitha, arise!” And the woman came back to life. That
is what is possible, when you have a heart for the poor.
In his New Year message last year, President Buhari told the country:
“Living in the State House has not alienated me from your daily
sufferings. These challenges are only temporary, we are working to make
things better.”
When news came a couple of months ago that Nigeria had exited from
recession, what did the President say? “Until coming out of recession
translates into meaningful improvement in peoples’ lives, our work cannot
be said to be done.”
In another broadcast, the President had stated: “All my adult life, I have
always earned a salary and I know what it is like when your salary is
simply not enough.”
That is the man we follow, and serve. Millions would today follow him into
battle blindfolded. Millions upon millions would vote him again and again,
if he throws his hat into the ring. Happy birthday, Mr President. You have
shown us how to care for the lowly and the poor, how to bear them in our
hearts at all times, and how such pleases God, and brings mercy our way.
Thank you for coming this way, thank you for offering yourself for
service.
.Adesina is Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu
Buhari