By: Femi Fani-Kayode<\/p>\n
“Nigerian herdsmen don’t carry AK 47’s. They only use sticks”- President
\nBuhari to President Donald Trump, The White House, 30th April 2018.<\/p>\n
“We’ve had serious problems with Christians who have been murdered, killed
\nin Nigeria. We’re going to work on that problem and work on that problem
\nvery, very hard, because we can’t allow that to happen.”- President Donald
\nTrump to President Muhammadu Buhari, The White House, 30th April 2018.<\/p>\n
Despite all the smiles, banter, pretensions, diplomatic niceties,
\ndoublespeak and pleasing words these two assertions, from the bully and
\nthe big man respectively, remain the most relevant in yesterday’s historic
\nmeeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and President Donald Trump at
\nthe White House.<\/p>\n
The fact that Buhari, like a naughty little schoolboy standing before his
\nintimidating headmaster, had to tell a pernicious and specious lie about
\nthe weaponry (or lack of it) of the Fulani herdsmen and attempt to absolve
\nthem of any blame for the horrendous genocide that is being perpetrated
\nagainst Christians in our nation in order to escape being spanked speaks
\nvolumes.<\/p>\n
And the fact that Trump, not fooled by the lie, like a wise old
\nheadmaster, had to issue a stern warning to the schoolyard bully about the
\nkilling of Christians says even more.<\/p>\n
That, to me, was the meat of the historic meeting. All the rest that was
\nsaid was nothing but diplomatic doublespeak, fake smiles, meaningless
\nplatitudes and dross.<\/p>\n
Particularly nauseating were the servile and downright embarrasing
\nquestions that the Nigerian journalists that accompanied Buhari asked
\nPresident Trump.<\/p>\n
In my entire life I have never seen a journalist ask a President when he
\nintends to visit his or her country at a major world press conference
\nwhere the questions and the number of questioners are limited or ask
\nwhether he can release “just two helicopters” to help Nigeria out. This is
\nshameless and unprofessional. It is for the Nigerian President to ask his
\nAmerican counterpart such questions, albeit privately, and not a member of
\nthe Villa press corps.<\/p>\n
I see Shehu Garba, Buhari’s media assistant’s magic hand in all this. He
\nsat directly behind the Nigerian correspondents like a bulldog, breathing
\ndown their necks and quietly warning them not to ask any difficult
\nquestions about their own country at the White House and in a foreign
\nland.<\/p>\n
The whole scenario was sickening. The Nigerian journalists were completely
\ncowered. One of them called me afterwards and said it was hell and that
\nthey had been well-schooled and warned to behave themselves and mind their
\nmanners and words.<\/p>\n
I bet the seasoned, hard-nosed and experienced American White House
\ncorrespondents who also covered the event and members of the White House
\nPress Corps shook their heads in pity and whispered to themselves, “what a
\ncountry, what a people!”<\/p>\n
Yet for the sake of posterity more needs to be said about the meeting
\nitself. Permit me to add the following.<\/p>\n
The truth is that the progressive forces, the official opposition and
\nleaders of the resistance in Nigeria failed to put out the correct
\nnarrative about Buhari to the international community and international
\nmedia over the last 3 years.<\/p>\n
Consequently Buhari escaped thorough international scrutiny. Apart from
\nthat Trump failed us. He chose economic gain and the juicy prospect of a
\nmassive Nigerian market for American goods, products and commodities over
\nhuman rights and decency.<\/p>\n
Yet who can blame him for that given his “America first” mantra and the
\nfact that the Nigerian people themselves appear to be very comfortable
\nwith their hazardous plight and murderous leader and do not appear ready
\nto resist his corruption, tyranny, evil, ethnic cleansing, mass murder and
\ngenocide.<\/p>\n
The good news is that Trump may be the biblical Cyrus (and I really do
\nbelieve that he is)\u00a0 but he is not God. We never looked to him. We look to
\nGod. And God will deliver us despite our inherent weaknesses, accursed
\nfears, petty divisions and monumental cowardice.<\/p>\n
Finally hear this. If the opposition does not roll out its best guns, get
\nits act togther, unite, stop playing childish games, stop the petty
\nbickering and present one credible and acceptable candidate in 2019,
\nBuhari will be back for another four years. The choice is ours.<\/p>\n
Permit me to end this contribution with a final word about the meeting
\nbetween the bully and the headmaster at the White House.<\/p>\n
My younger brother, Babatunde Gbadamosi, wrote<\/p>\n
“Buhari went and got NOTHING. We must now buy two helicopters and
\nagricultural produce from them. This is beyond incompetent”.<\/p>\n
Tunde, as always, is absolutely right.<\/p>\n
Finally as Pastor Bayo Oladeji pointed out,<\/p>\n
“Mr Buhari was asked during\u00a0Monday’s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0joint press conference about a report This was a golden opportunity to tell the world, in the prescence of its Yet sadly Buhari, the quintessential erring, self-hating and Instead he dodged the question, crawled into his hole, kept his mouth So much for him being a strong, no-nonsense leader. At the end of the day Clearly he is only strong when he is ordering his troops or his Fulani By: Femi Fani-Kayode “Nigerian herdsmen don’t carry AK 47’s. They only use sticks”- President Buhari to President Donald Trump, The White House, 30th April 2018. “We’ve had serious problems with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions","category-femi-fani-kayode"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nin January that Mr Trump had complained about immigrants coming to the US
\nfrom “shithole countries”, specifically referring to Haiti, El Salvador
\nand some African nations. His diplomatic resoonse was: “I’m not sure
\nabout, you know, the validity of whether that allegation against the
\npresident is true or not. So the best thing for me is to keep quiet.”<\/p>\n
\nmost powerful man, that, whether Trump had said so or not, Nigeria is not
\na “shithole country”.<\/p>\n
\nself-denigrating African leader with very low self-esteem, refused to take
\nup the challenge and defend the honor of his people.<\/p>\n
\nshut, put his tail between his legs and whimpered like a little puppy in
\nthe prescence of his master.<\/p>\n
\nand when it mattered the most he proved to be weak, uncaring and
\ninsensitive in the prescence of a man who rightly or wrongly dishonored
\nhis country and denigrated his people.<\/p>\n
\nherdsmen to slaughter innocent men, women and children. Such is the way of
\nall schoolyard bullies.<\/p>\n