By Alade Rotimi John
It is
perhaps appropriate to begin with the view echoed approvingly by narrators,
commentators and analysts with respect to the comments of Mrs. Aisha Buhari in
her a recent BBC interview to the effect that a new meaning (or, in fact, a
refreshing niche) is being carved regarding the role of the wife of the
President. The facile response of her husband rather than complement the deep
thoughts of his wife, sadly casts a dark pall on a subject matter that is at
once profound and vigorous.
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| *Aisha Buhari |
Aisha has bemoaned the absence or non-inclusion in her husband’s government, of “Change!” elements representing the matrix of APC distinctiveness. She has metaphorically contrasted the scenario with a situation in which “Monkey dey work, baboon dey chop”. In this case, the proverbial monkey has worked its arse out but the baboon is mindlessly reaping the fruits of its labour to the chagrin of the apostles of change and their hangers-on.
There may
dialectically be discerned in Aisha’s diatribe an almost incoherent
ideological ministration regarding conflicting but germane issues of
statecraft, intra-party relations, high-wired politics, cronyism, jobbery,
etc.’inter se’. All these are critical or significant factors in a
moral-ideological situation of a hotchpotch political arrangement which Aisha
misleadingly refers to as “a movement”. The idea of a party of all-comers is
in itself flawed ab initio. No unifying sense of purpose is discernible in
APC’s conception or execution of policies and programmes.
There is no
allegiance or commitment, among members, to a common ideal or goal. Groups
within the party are working at cross purposes for the achievement of their
respective group interests. In such a situation, as we unfortunately have on
our hands, governance suffers groaningly. Aisha’s worry, no matter how deep or
concerned, cannot take the place of the opportunism or crass selfishness that
has already been factored or ingrained into the party’s processes; it cannot
reverse or undo the damage which a desultory administration has wreaked on a
faithful or trustful people these one and half years. The social and
ideological framework for the change of our present unethical or amoral
situation lies in the cultivation of a deep-seated culture of a popular
democratic social order devoid of ethnic chauvinism, disrespect for hallowed
institutions of state and impunity regarding order and set rules, etc.
The response or reaction of President Buhari to his wife’s comment
in which he limits her roles to the kitchen, the living room and “the other
room” will appear to be anachronistic in this age of proven women super-sonic
performance of roles in rocket science, engineering, the professions of
medicine and law, the arts, diplomacy and, even, in governance. Buhari’s faux
pas is rendered even more repulsive or distasteful as it was made in a clime
that has long overcome the bogey of the presumed prowess of the male person in
all spheres of life, including in “the other room”. Our exhibit is no other
than the headship of affairs and events in such an advanced country as Germany by a
ruthlessly efficient Mrs. Angela Merkel. At a most distinguished level, there
is now an evolved distinction not glibly as between a man and a woman but
between the creative energies, cultivated gravity and gracefulness as may exist
between a particular man or a particular woman.
However, attempts to
find them were hindered by rising water levels within the cave system and no
contact was made with them for about 11 days. The rescue effort
expanded into a massive operation amid concerted global public interest.After great efforts
that involved delicate maneuvering through narrow cave passages and mucky
waters, British divers discovered the missing footballers and their coach to be
alive.
