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It began with the 44 minutes Arise TV interview which aired on June 10. Several questions which bordered largely on the security situation of the country were directed at the president and he equally used the opportunity to reiterate some of the policy directions since 2015. One interesting outcome of the interview was how some Nigerians were marvelled at the boldness with which the president repeated divisive statements which led to Twitter’s censorship. A few days after the Arise TV interview, another chat the President had with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) surfaced. Two major interviews and media appearances within a week. Not long after these was the umpteenth launching of the Lagos-Ibadan rail line which had the president, ministers and some South-West governors in attendance. And just this past week, President Buhari left for Borno state to also commission some of the 556 projects embarked upon by the state governor, Professor Babagana Zulum. There was such a huge fanfare at the major stadium in Maiduguri that it began to feel like the president was campaigning for a 3rd term in office.
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More egregious in the Borno visit was the fact some of the troops who have been wounded in the fight against terrorism had to go pay the president a visit in his choice residence away from their hospital beds. Meanwhile, it is the president who should rather be visiting these wounded soldiers in the hospitals where they are being treated medically. To cap off the tough talk, a word about reclaiming the cattle grazing routes is also beginning to spring up again. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Presidency determined to reinvigorate cattle grazing routes despite the pending ban placed on open grazing by the Southern Governors Forum. From a place of totally ignoring duties expected of the president and disappearing from official capacity roles, it appears that the president has regained better health and boldness to do as he wishes and not according to the wishes of the people. After all, his political strategists may propose that he has nothing to lose. This is why whispers of a 3rd term Agenda for 2023 is being mustered by some pundits who believe that with the rubber-stamp National Assembly, doing as he wishes will not carry any repercussions so to say. And one of the strategies being devised by the president’s managers is to bully any opposition out of the way by talking tough. Featured Image Source: Virtual School Victoria
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