The Anointed One and His Diehards, The Region and Anagnorisis
By: Sani Abdulrazak
Five times he called on his region and presented himself, five times they answered and voted him
en masse. To them, he is the chosen one, the savior with followership at par with if not more than
the founding fathers of the region. one that may not have solutions to all their problems, but at
least will give them one thing they crave the most…Peace!
It will interest you to know that religious leaders also vigorously campaigned for him, saying he
is the solution to our enormous problems. Whenever he calls and whichever state of the region
he visited, people troop out in thousands to show their support, and in each of the first three
attempts he failed, the region stood by him. And when he cried, they cried also. He promised
them he will protect their lives and properties if given the chance, why would they doubt him
when he is their anointed.
At the fourth time of asking, he ascended the throne and expectedly, the Saturnalia in the region
was unprecedented. They basked in the la dolce vita and pheromones of his electoral victory. the
energy and hope in the region could power up Ajaokuta steel plant. People went wild so much
that there were casualties. they cared less because finally the anointed one has won.
And when he came to power, the same region gave him all the benefit of doubts. crude oil that
the economy depended on was selling at a record low, he needed time and resources to proffer
his much-awaited change. There was instability at the creeks thus crude oil output was low. Then
came recession, and with it rising inflation and fall of the Naira, the same region pleaded for trust
in his process, time and patience. Albeit the killings in the North East subsided, the murderous
bloodthirsty monster in the North West was peaking. the same region said they believe their own
is up to the task.
These hexed evil forces kept pillaging every nook and cranny of the villages in the region killing,
maiming, raping and abducting at will. Suddenly we began to cede major roads linking major
cities in the country to them, then our farmlands, schools and then our villages. the region cried
out and called on their own to do more. but this time, the anointed one and his handlers, mostly
sons and daughters of the region felt it's not worth coming down to the region to sympathize with
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them. he began to see it from the same side of the prism the fisherman from the creeks before
him viewed it: it's all meant to discredit the giant strides of your administration, forgetting that
the anointed one was at the forefront of criticism then. He relentlessly criticized every measure
taken then making us believe that if he wouldn't do anything. At least he'll solve our security
challenges.
Amidst all these, the region voted him again overwhelmingly at the fifth and last time. begging,
praying and hoping he'll solve the insecurities permeating almost all parts of the region.
Unfortunately, it was anything but. Banditry escalated, no one was safe, they attack relentlessly
day and night, from the remote villages of Zamfara, to as far as Ahmadu Bello University, the
iconic fortress of the region, the enigmatic citadel, bastion of knowledge and marketplace of
ideas. This time the cry became louder. but they have his diehards to deal with. When this band
of mostly epigonous followers were swarming over and defending him while in the opposition,
they were praised, unbeknownst to us they will someday silence our genuine cries and we'll have
to deal with what we created with our own hands.
These diehards chromatographically squeeze killings in the region through political tunnel
thereby promoting deep fissures. They believe everything he does is right; in fact, he is doing us
a great deal of favor leading us. they blame everyone and anything but him. He must not be
blamed. They will tell you he has given the region all the juicy appointments, what else do you
expect him to do? You have no right to even object his administration let alone criticize. And
when people are being killed, it is a consequence of our sins and not the failure of his
administration. But There's a Hausa saying 'You cannot beat a child and prevent him from
crying' as simple as that.
Who is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces? Who did the region voted for? Him or his
appointees? And who is saddled with the responsibility of firing them if they don't perform? Is
securing our lives and properties a responsibility of the government or a privilege? yet we must
not speak out rather we should perish in silence.
Then came the apogee: 42 people gruesomely burnt to death beyond recognition by these
bloodthirsty terrorists, among them were men, women and children. Sadly. nothing is happening
with all the heads of the country's security architecture retaining their jobs. why wouldn’t they
when the anointed one chose to attend a book launch rather than pay a visit to Sokoto to
commiserate with the victims of this dastardly act.
I thought the barbarism at Sokoto a few days ago will for once unite the region irrespective of
ethnicity, religion or political affiliation to pressure the president to do more. I thought the
religious leaders will lead special prayers or call on the anointed one as they did with past leaders
for relatively less security challenges in the past. I thought the northern groups will take the lead
in protesting these incessant killings in the region. But unfortunately, defying any logic known to
man, this band of supporters are still busy making excuses for him. Must we all perish before
they call on the anointed one to do more to secure lives and properties he swore an oath to
protect? How low must we sink into the abyss of despair and sorrow before we attain
anagnorisis? We may need to also remind the region's anointed one that aside the grappling lurid
miasma of insecurity we are currently faced with, the region is the poverty capital of the world
and has the highest number of out of school children. Add these to the astronomical rise in food
inflation and worsening economy of the region. Posterity awaits both the anointed one and his
band of diehards. as we can't erase sad events like the carnage of Auno and now Sokoto 42 from
history.
Sani Abdulrazak, author of "The Adventure of Ayya" is a Storyteller and can be reached via email
at [email protected]
