I feel that it is totally out of order in the wake of our
civilisation to speak or associate our revered seat of power with
demonism and diabolism as being peddled about now. Having spent six
years working as Presidential Adviser to two former great presidents,
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and the late President Musa Umar Yar’adua, I
feel I should use this medium to fault this erroneous impression being
created even though, my opinion here is a product of personal
experience.
It is very unfortunate that the seat of power of the
most populous African nation like the Aso Villa would be so denigrated,
thereby elevating non-existing spiritual forces as responsible for
selective and few cases of illnesses and deaths that is not in any way
related to witchcrafts or demons.
As far as I am concerned, the
supernatural exists in people’s minds depending on their strength and
state of mind, it is so easy to think that their presence is evidentiary
but in reality, it is a matter of perspective or someone’s spiritual
leaning.
Most supernatural events as far as I am concerned can be
dismissed as hoaxes, fabrications or mysterious events or even malaria
induced hallucination. Otherwise how will anybody at that level link a
common fire outbreak in a flat, which at worse may have been as a result
of an electrical fault or negligence to the manipulation of spiritual
forces?
Due to the nature of my functions as a Presidential
Adviser on National Assembly matters, which was most demanding and
challenging because at that time, there was strict adherence to the
doctrine of the separation of powers so there was need for very long
meetings to convince legislative leaders at the embryonic stage of any
policy.
As a result, there were many instances when I would have
to leave the villa sometimes at 2am and even 3am, and I never
experienced any confrontation or feelings of ghosts or negative forces
as I walked through the quiet corridors of the villa to the car park
during those hours.
Also, despite being hypertensive, there was
never a single day within those six years that my blood pressure became
unmanageable or put me in bed. On the contrary, I had a feeling of
wellbeing which could be attributed to the fact that I loved my job and
appreciated the opportunity to contribute my quota to the development of
democracy and the nation.
This was also a period of time when
everybody worked 24/7 round the clock as exemplified by former President
Obasanjo, who enjoyed good health and over the period of that four
years, there was never a day that I heard him complain of being unwell
neither did I hear that any of the men that worked 24/7 lost any organ
of their body.
I also did not hear that people like Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, Oby Ezekwesili, Andy Uba, El Rufai, Professor Chukwuma
Soludo, Hajiya Mariam Ibrahim and others experienced any strange
encounter or illness either personal or within their families because
these are people that worked round the clock with the president.
The
few deaths recorded in Aso Villa were medically traceable and not as a
result of some mystical powers. Cancers and other life threatening
ailments are more often than not genetic.
With due respect, I am
however in shock that the writer whom I have tremendous respect for as a
frontline Journalist with sound mind can find a space in his mind for
such thoughts in today’s contemporary world, where every human being is
convinced that the only supernatural power in heaven and on earth is God
and that presence of God that we all worship – both Christians and
Muslims – had always prevailed in that villa.
That is not to say
that people cannot momentarily feel unwell with the common stress
induced symptoms and we all know that extreme stress and pressure can
cause momentary loss of libido. So, would that mean that such person had
been struck by juju? However, I find it entertaining that despite
losing the whole essence of a man’s being those men did not resign and
run out of Aso villa.
To
be candid, I am very shocked that this matter is even being mentioned.
But for the umpteenth time, I think that these claims are figments of
the writer’s imagination. Aso Rock does not need any redemption and such
should not be said of a sacred place that hosts world leaders.
Nigerians have gone past such superstitions. We have passed that stage.
It doesn’t portray us positively as a nation that is interested in
making obvious advancements either in technology or any other strata of
national growth.
In fact, there is remarkable religious tolerance
in Aso Rock. The Muslims have their mosque where they pray and
Christians have their chapel. Former President Obasanjo introduced early
morning devotions before the start of each day perhaps as a way of
showing gratitude to God and seeking God’s guidance in the enormous task
at the time considering the fact that he miraculously came back to
power after a long period of incarceration, although some individuals
attended the prayer sessions so as to have some access to the president.
If
there are witchcrafts or demons in Aso Rock, are we now attributing
same to affecting Mrs. Buhari? I don’t think so. This brings me to the
issue of the first lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari. I do admire her from a
distance. Her love and concern for her husband probably pushed her to
grant that interview. But our dear first lady, in my opinion, once your
husband has emerged as a presidential candidate of a serious political
party that is likely to win election, you have lost him to that
political party.
The moment your husband is announced winner of
that election and now becomes president of the nation, you have lost him
to the nation that he is now obliged to serve. At this point, despite
all your contributions through campaigns, prayers and goodwill, etc, to
that victory, your husband has been hijacked. The gladiators will now
spring into action. In short, you don’t want to know what first ladies
go through. Typical examples include loneliness and frustration due to
non-inclusion in political issues and decision making.
Generally,
first ladies are accepted as politicians during elections to campaign,
which of course, she is obliged to, but after the elections, she is no
longer seen as a politician and it might even be difficult to make
inputs in political issues and as a woman. I feel her pains as this can
be very frustrating. But first ladies do manage to bear these pains and
sacrifices involved and ensure that the public is not aware. The public
only see the glamour of being a first lady.
Also, on the issue of
cabal, it is important in my opinion for us to note that presidents,
through interactions and maybe long term relationships, identify those
he can trust, those that share his visions and those he feels are
totally committed to his success and these are the people we call
‘cabal’. There is no ‘cabal’. Every president comes with his ‘personal
persons’ that represent his comfort zone.
In politics, there can
be characters within the system that deliberately carry out actions that
are counterproductive to the president’s success, which may be of
concern to the first lady. Even within political parties, there are
individuals who work very hard to ensure that their party does not win
elections. There is no first lady that has not gone through what Mrs.
Buhari is complaining about.
My advice is that first ladies should
identify laudable charity projects that can impact on peoples’ lives or
can reduce mortality rates, reduce sufferings and hunger. So she should
please concentrate and take her charity project to the highest global
level as she is doing now as this will leave an indelible mark and she
will forever be loved and respected. She should not allow her family to
be used for entertainment.
Finally, First Ladies should
concentrate on their charity works, play that needed supportive roles to
their husbands. We women should pray to God to give us the strength and
courage of Hillary Clinton, who is bold enough to come out and aspire
to be what her husband was (President of America). Probably, she quietly
understudied him.
May God bless Nigeria and give us the strength and courage to survive these difficult times for it will all pass.
–
Ita-Giwa is a former Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters
and political leader of the Bakassi people of Cross River State
