Re: A Royal Ruse

 A Rejoinder!

By Na'Allah Mohammed Zagga

The Nation's columnist Mr. Sam Omatseye appears unsettled by THISDAY report that claimed Buhari's loyalists are rooting for former President Jonathan to succeed the President in 2023. The columnist seems to reduce our politics to "our moral choices vs their immoral choices." Such pontification churns my stomach. 


In his today's column entitled "Royal Ruse" Omatseye described the move to recruit Jonathan as "a machination of a hegemon." Personally, stories like this don't bother me. We are in a democracy; so people are free to support whoever they like.


But who are these "hegemons?" If hegemons means the Hausa/Fulani support base of President Buhari, then Omatseye seems to forget our recent history. These so-called hegemons went into a political alliance with the southwest in 2015 to unseat Jonathan. Hegemons cannot only be good when they are tools for power grab in 2015 and be evil today when their advocacy seems to offend Omatseye.


The columnist warned Jonathan that the hegemons are not rooting for him because they love him; they are merely doing so because they want to use him. Well, in our politics, someone is always using somebody to grab power. Buhari used Tinubu to realise his presidential ambition in 2015, and Tinubu wants to use Buhari to attain his own presidential ambition in 2023 with the help of the very hegemons that Omatseye despises. 


Is Omatseye doing this because he loves Jonathan better than the hegemons? Certainly not. When you are a columnist with a political agenda, you should do a full disclosure of your veiled interest instead of pretending neutrality. Readers are more discerning than any columnist can acknowledge. 


Omatseye fights for Tinubu's political cause with Taliban zeal. So, he can't tolerate any Buhari supporter rooting for former President Jonathan to succeed the incumbent. He is not warning Jonathan against the hegemons because he loves him; he is merely doing so because the  hegemons are throwing a spanner into Tinubu's works through their advocacy for the former President. 


Had these so-called hegemons addressed a press conference to condemn Jonathan and formally endorse Tinubu as Buhari's  successor in 2023, Omatseye would have reacted differently to the story. He would have labelled the hegemons as progressive Nigerians and lovers of democracy. 


The columnist is entitled to his opinion, but he is not entitled to insult others for holding different political opinions. He has his own political interests; so do they. We mouth democracy, but we don't believe in democratic values. Omatseye is politically intolerant; he pours scorn on anybody that seems to oppose or go against his own political interests. 


Former Speaker Sokoto State House of Assembly the late Abdullahi Bayero was treated like a heretic because he defected from NPN to UPN. Awolowo was a progressive politician who was adequately prepared for leadership. But northern political leaders like Bayero were treated like "sinners" for supporting Awolowo. This kind of political intolerance holds us back. There is no reason to insult anyone for supporting a particular politician. Your own rights are not superior to other people's rights.

Na'Allah Mohammed Zagga is a Public Affairs Commentator

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