Fani Kayode and Obasanjo’s Presidential Lounge of the Airport

By

Nuhu Shuaib

enshuaib@yahoo.com


 

It is only in a country like Nigeria that certain things do happen. What looks so absurd in other civilized societies appears to be normal in this part of the world. That is the truth of the matter. Therefore, it is not strange to seek solace in the dictum ‘doing it the Nigerian way’ when you do something wrong against all sense of purpose.
 
It is high time the president and his men knew that Nigeria belongs to all of us and no single Nigerian has more right to Nigeria than the others. The fact that one occupies an office does not make one more Nigerian than other people. Conversely, the fact that one does not occupy a political office does not make one inferior to other people. The Babangida of yester-years is an ordinary Nigerian today and so also will Obasanjo of today become an ordinary citizen tomorrow. This is the fact of the matter.
 
It is not an exaggeration that the coming of Atiku from the United States where he has gone to spend his annual vacation elicited wide attention. And as the number two man of this great country, Atiku is entitled to some rights and privileges.  That Fani Kayode will come on national television and say that president Obasanjo ‘gracefully’ granted Atiku the use of the presidential lounge on his arrival at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport is very nauseating and embarrassing. Atiku applying to the president does not mean that he is not entitled to its use but rather it’s just a procedure that has to be followed.
 
The president and his men should know that Obasanjo has not done anything extra ordinary by approving the request. He would have done more damage to his already battered image both locally and internationally if he had turned down the request and the whole world would have further seen the dictatorial tendencies in him. Atiku would have moved on with his life, after all he had suffered more humiliations and persecutions in the hands of the present administration.
 
It is worth mentioning too that sycophancy on the part of Fani Kayode will not do him any good. If he is out to impress his boss by being a sycophant, he shall regret every actions of his in time to come. We have seen other people in the life of this administration that had, at one time or the other, licked the president’s foot. They have not only being forgotten in the annals of history today, but totally disgraced by the same man they tried so hard to please.
 
The untold hardship meted out to travelers using the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport was totally uncalled for. The police was to provide protection to the number two citizen on his arrival but not to harass innocent citizens that were going about their normal businesses. It is on record that some foreigners were not allowed by the police to go to the airport even after displaying their air tickets. Atiku had traveled in the past using the same airport, why is this one being made to look different? If the intention is cause chaos and sufferings to Nigerians in order to solicit public resentment against the man Atiku, it has failed woefully. Rather, the love Nigerian people have for him is waxing stronger.
 
The impression given to Nigerians was that only twenty people were allowed to receive Atiku at the airport. Even at that, some of these people were eventually not allowed into the vicinity of the airport. A clear case was that of Laila Dogonyaro who was conspicuously listed but was prevented from going farther than the airport junction. Again, this is arrant nonsense. What trouble could ladies, more especially in the person of Laila Dogonyaro, cause at the airport that warranted her being refused entry?
 
Now that Atiku has returned against the expectation of his enemies, Nigerians are waiting to see the next move of the presidency to further malign him. If I were president Obasanjo I would forget about this man and concentrate all efforts at making my party sweep the polls at the next general election.  
 
 
Nuhu Shuaib
Jerrygold Estate
Zone 2, Wuse
Abuja