By Obi Nwakanwa
When presidents make state visits, there’s always a fanfare of drums, iron clatters; a flourish of trumpets; a tumultuous crowd of flag-waving, and patriotic people eager to welcome them and show them some love.
I’m not sure what Muhammadu Buhari, president of Nigeria was looking for, when he visited Owerri recently, but that was not what he got.
He did not get some love. He got empty streets. There was not much of a crowd. The people all over the South East had stayed in their homes. President Buhari was free to come to the Igbo heartland, but the Igbo universe was indifferent.
Now, you cannot beat that for organized civic action. First of
all, the president arrived in very ill-fitting clothing.
That was the beginning of the public relations faux-pax. Buhari is normally a well-turned man. No one has ever accused him of a lack of sartorial sense. If anything, his clothes sit well on him. He likes them well-made. But not this one.
