Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Donald Trump
The Montevideo conference of 1933 has spelled out indices for
nations to be recognized, independent, free and stand in their own
rights as sovereign states. Hence, once a state meets the requirements
as postulated in the conference of 1933, it becomes a state to reckoned
with among the comity of states and enjoys privileges like respect and
honor from it counterparts.
Invariably, it is worthy to note that, no nation is independent of
others, that means, interdependence and symbiotic relationship between
climes make the world to progress.
Unfortunately, great powers like US look down on Afrikaans and
African nations. These neo-racist views on Africa leadership and leaders
must stop, if the pact of Montevideo conference must be respected and
followed respectively.
About the comment made by the US government, quoted in New York Timesand published by the same media house based in hub of the world greatest country USA as stated thus; “I will not want to meet a president as lifeless as president Buhari”
if this statement is true, and if the America government actually said
this crap words, then the United States has failed in its role as global
hegemonic power, or as police of the world.
As a concerned Nigerian, who doesn’t allow party affiliation and
leadership skills of leaders to becloud my sense of reasoning, and as an
academician, who believes in building the image of the nation through
writings that are relevant to our foreign image and national and
international views of the nation in the global table of analysis.
I am therefore left with no option than to describe the words
credited to US government to the nation as an absolute inverity,
involute, crass, irrelevant and irritating to say the least.
This can further be described as hegemonic incompetence from a
leader who ought to be leader to all the nations. The description of the
president Buhari as “lifeless ” is inconsistent with reality of respect
acceptable among leaders.
If he Buhari is lifeless, why did the US government entered into
agricultural relations with the Nigerian state? Why did he the president
of America choose to invite the lifeless president to the White House,
as the first leader from Sub-Saharan Africa to visit him since his
inception to power as the 45th POTUS of US? Why did he say all the good
things he said to president Buhari during their eventful discus at Rose
garden media chat with him?
There are so many rhetorical questions to be asked about this
lifeless statement saga. I see this statement as distraction from the
United States of America to Africa and Nigeria in order not to help
Afrikaans as promised or supposed as a world hegemon. The US government
must have a rethink over this unfortunate comment in New York Times.
To the youths celebrating this ill comment, either because of their
dislikes on the style of leadership of the president, I want them to
have a rethink; there are certain things that must unite us as a nation,
that’s our core national interest.
What is said is to the nation, not just directed to the image of
Buhari, the statement has a multiple effects to the image of the nation.
If you accept that statement because of the personality of the
president you don’t admire, that shows that we are all lifeless people
in Nigeria. That statement if true has dent and stained our image among
the comity of states.
The PDP is expected to write a rejoinder immediately, condemning
that statement made by the US government. The statement was directed to
the leader of nation who is also the image of the nation.
The 91 registered political parties must write to condemn this egregious statement directed to the nation in general.
While the APC should not take this issue personal, the president is
national image and represent all of us across the creeds and regions,
he belongs to everyone no matter the national divides as multi lingua
country and multi ethnic as well. It will be good for haters and lovers,
hailers and wailers, PDP and APC, stakeholders, clergies, academicians,
friends of the nation, members of the diplomatic Corp, corporate and
multi nationals to come out openly and kick against the potency of the
comments made.
The tag lifeless is not good at all, he was elected by people full
of of life, or is he telling us that the over 15 million Nigerians that
voted for the president in 2015 are also lifeless? This is a bad omen
and retrogression to us as people.
The US government must come out in good time to take responsibility
for this statement or condemned it as well, if it is false and
fallacy.
I will recommend that all Nigerians in diaspora and at home to come up with an anti-lifeless harsh tag #Buhariisnotlifeless
This is because, no one will build image of this nation for us, it
is our total responsibility and mandate to project the burgeoning image
of our nation.
Undoubtedly, we may have our numerous challenges as a people and
differences, but we must learn to have the spirit of togetherness and
oneness as an indivisible people to stop any forms of divisiveness such
as this “lifeless” quagmire.
This thought is shared out of patriotism to the country, I am
strong advocate of a better Nigeria, I look forward to seeing us uniting
to building our national images across the globe.
The ministry of foreign affairs, the Nigerian ambassador to the US
and all other diplomats representing the nation all over the globe must
preach this in all our embassies. “we are not a lifeless people and we
don’t have a lifeless president #PMBisnotlifeless”
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and make us a great country amen.
Rwang Patrick Stephen
Department of political science
Federal University of Kashere Gombe state
Northeast Nigeria.