On Friday the presidency has taunted those it described as bitter Nigerians who fight themselves over President Muhammadu Buhari and his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan.
In an article titled ‘GEJ meets PMB: A lesson for bitter-enders’, Femi Adesina said some citizens are knocking their heads against the wall, sitting on the complaint counter and wailing endlessly.
“But here are the two main men, treating each other like brothers. May the wailers stop wailing. May the Bitter-Enders be purged of bitterness”, he prayed.
Adesina recalled that in the build-up to the 2015 general elections, Nigerians were divided right down the middle over Buhari and Jonathan.
Adesina observed that till date, most of the Jonathanians, not able to live with the reality of defeat, turned themselves to people finding fault with the government of the day at the slightest drop of a hat.
“They became wailing wailers, and whenever they began to ululate, you would think raw pepper had been inserted into their tender and sensitive parts. Or that their lollipops had been taken away. They throw tantrums. But I have news for the Bitter-Enders.”
Adesina said on Tuesday that Jonathan was at State House, along with President of ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou.
Jonathan is ECOWAS Special Envoy to Mali on the crisis rocking the West African nation since disputed parliamentary elections.
“I was privileged to sit in at the meeting between our former President and the incumbent. And I took away some lessons, which should really be for everyone. President Buhari and his guest came into the diplomatic room of the Presidential Villa together. Our President ushered Dr Jonathan to the visitor’s seat.
“A while back, Jonathan was the host in that very same room, ushering visitors to their seat. Now, he is in that same seat. If President Buhari visits the seat of power after May, 2023, he too would be ushered by somebody else. Such is life. Are you holding tight to anything today? Vanity of vanity.
“We are all birds of passage. Nothing lasts forever. Not power. Not position. Not any office. Not even life. A vital lesson I’ve learnt from President Buhari is his constant realization that he would not be in State House forever. He would often tell in private conversations: “While we are here, we shall do our very best.
“Gen. Yakubu Gowon was in Dodan Barracks for nine years. He left. Olusegun Obasanjo was there, left the first time, came back again, left willy-nilly after eight years. Generals Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalami Abubakar, Chief Ernest Shonekan, and all former living leaders use the visitor’s seat, if they come a-visiting today. The only thing permanent in life is change.
“How was the atmosphere between President Buhari and Dr Jonathan? Calm, friendly, characterized by absolutely no tension. No animosity. While uncountable Jonathanians and Buharists were spitting in one another’s eyes round the country, abusing one another’s father and mother at the same time, here were the two men, the perfect picture of geniality. I say again, no tension, absolutely none. They were both perfect pictures of civility.
“Dr Jonathan gave a rundown of the situation in Mali. When he concluded, and made his recommendations, President Buhari was full of praises for him, saying he had elucidated clearly the Malian conundrum. “Thank you for updating me so effectively. I have a very good brief of events now”, President Buhari said. He promised to wade into the Malian situation, along with some other key Ecowas leaders.
“With the briefing concluded, Dr Jonathan went into other issues. He thanked the President for giving him an official jet to make his travels convenient, and equally expressed appreciation for the Itakpe-Warri railway complex named after him last weekend. “It’s a big present for me. Thank you so much,” he said.”
Adesina revealed that when it was time to go, the former President made a move for the visitor’s exit door.
“But President Buhari would have none of it. He led him through the exit exclusively meant for a sitting President. Very impressive”, he noted.
