Pro Buhari rally: a counter good governance protest?

The plan by a pro-Buhari organization under the aegis of Citizens Support for Good Governance in Nigeria to mobilize and hold rallies tagged, “I Support President Buhari” across four Nigerian cities this week has once again showed strategic efforts by persons benefiting from government to create unnecessary tension in the polity and aggravate an already charged atmosphere.

The organizer of the rally Mr. Moses Abdullahi, while speaking in Abuja on Sunday said the rally will hold in Abuja on Tuesday and Thursday, Kaduna and Kano on Wednesday while a grand rally will hold in Lagos on Thursday. Explaining further, Mr. Abdullahi argued that the event is necessary to show support for President Muhammadu Buhari whom he says, is setting Nigeria on the path of growth.

It is obvious that this planned rally is carefully crafted strategy to counter series of rallies held last week across the country. First it was foremost Nigerian musical legend, 2face Idibia, irked by the level of poor administration exhibited by the government manifested in the level of suffering currently experienced by the vulnerable in the country decided to hold rallies across the country to demand for better welfare for citizens.

Another was a rally organized by the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC in Lagos and Abuja demanding good governance from our leaders. While the NLC rally was successfully, that of 2face recorded partial success because the police threatened to stop the rally, which made 2face to back out. His cold feet on the project however did not discourage other youths who were ready to show their dissatisfaction with the way things are going in the country. Charley Boy and a few other celebrities later championed the course.

Another issue that gave rise to the protest is the way and manner in which the presidency is handling the current President’s absence in the country. The so called image managers of the president are accused of not being straight forward in telling the people what the real issues are with Buhari, instead they are busy turning out propagandas aimed at making sure that the president’s health issue is shrouded in secrecy against the backdrop of Nigerian’s right to know. A situation that is already putting the federal government in bad light.

Commentators says Nigeria is here once again taken aback by the planned action of this group that can pass off as political profiteers who wants to throw money into the dust converging able body men and women to stage anti good governance protest when there is practically no cogent and justifiable reason to do so.

Across the country there have been reactions on this planned protest, while some see it as not only disgraceful and shameful , others says such rally offends the sensibility of Nigerians as the constitution guarantees every citizen freedom of expression, and to make demands from government without prejudice.

What is not clear now is, which in particular of the issues raised by the earlier protesters are Mr Abdullahi and his group trying to counter? Is it that the masses are suffering or that the citizens deserves good governance or that the government is not doing enough to bring the country out economic mess among other issues? Or is this another bleating of the sheep in praise of Napoleon of the legendry Animal Farm.

If the underlining motive behind the rally is to defend the president and show him solidarity because they feel this person and government is under attack, then it now clear who the real enemies of this country are. Because what they are doing is tantamount to questioning the right of citizens to demand better education, health care and social services from a government it voted into power

Public affairs analysts still believe that the planned rally is really uncalled for. Even if the organizers believes that the earlier protesters carried out their action in abysmal ignorance of the effort being put in place by the Buhari administration to make the country better, using a another protest to counter them paints a picture of war declaration

Again, here lies the big questions. Have they got police permit? Will Nigerian hoodlums be on break and will there not be any security report by the police about people who may want to use the rally to perpetrate violence? If the answer to the following questions are in the affirmative. Then there cannot be any better way to explain the action of the Nigerian police than playing double standards.

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