PMB’s ‘Maradonic’ Steps -By Kunle Somorin

President Muhammadu Buhari

PMB is turning out to defy all calculations of political demagogues and the chicanery of dye-in-the-wool party men. His decisions are rarely politically correct in the Nigerian sense. His strategy for reinventing Nigeria amplifies his quest for truth. The drive towards Project Prosperity for Nigeria has also defied all logic.

With the deluge of visitations of influence peddlers, sponsored social media fabrications, PMB is following unusual formula to deliver his targets. Like them or hate them, PMB is fast becoming a ‘Maradona,’ not a mumu that political do-gooders primed him to be.

He has used his “hand of God” to score some salient but silent political goals to keep Nigeria on track. Like the iconic soccer hero Maradona, a Machievillian is being made out of PMB by the way he has dealt a deadly blow on assassins mouthing religious ideology, mortal impaired the psyche of pseudo-leaders and people with inflated sense of self-worth expecting to be as automatic candidates and kingmakers.

I laud his ‘skewed leadership recruitment’, because he has used his sense of truth to separate the wheat from the chaff by his choice of trusted old acolytes to help him revamp the economy and deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

I react this way because many are sulking and refuse to mouth the reasons for their bellicosity. Positions of public trust are not ego centres. They are for those who can deliver. No matter how they cloak their reactions, behind their ‘bad-belle’ is fragmentation of Nigeria, self-centred ambitions and anchored on corruption and access to public vault.

PMB has succeeded in outsmarting ‘deft politicians’ by standing for truth. Like the great Greek philosopher, Socrates, who was said to be as uninspiring in outlook but profound in knowledge as the Daura-born soldier statesman, he rattled the griots too.

One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher accosted him and said, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?”

“Hold on a minute,” Socrates replied.

“Before telling me anything I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test.”

“Triple filter?” Asked the other man.

“That’s right,” Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say. That’s why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth.

Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?”

“No,” the man said, “Actually I just heard about it and …”

“All right,” said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not.

Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness.

Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?” “No, on the contrary…”

“So,” Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true.

You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left: the filter of usefulness.

Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me or him?”

“No, not really …”

“Well,” concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither TRUE nor GOOD or even USEFUL, why tell it to me at all?”

LESSON:

PMB has made his choice of ministers and close aides because those who contrived rumour and listened to rumour, or believed in any rumour, peddled against those he had called to serve with him didn’t consider those three things mentioned by Socrates.

Instead of helping him to rebuild public confidence in our polity, they continue to sow hatred, wickedness, bitterness and vengeance premised on wrong information, propaganda and unhealthy rumours.