My opposition to the Buhari Government for the last five years has been as constant as the northern star and it remains as strong today as it ever was.
I warned Nigerians what would happen if he came to power in 2015 and I was proved right. I warned them again in 2019 and again I was proved right.
I have spoken and written more than anyone else in this country over the last 5 years about the atrocities of the Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram and the tyranny, wickedness, evil, corruption and incompetence of the Buhari regime.
I have also suffered more, lost more, been humiliated more, been persecuted more, been incarcerated more and been insulted more than most people in the country due to my unrelenting opposition to them.
They have literally taken everything from me and it is only by the grace of God that I am still alive and that I have not been killed. This is because my opposition is not just to Buhari but to the dark and sinister forces that he represents and what he stands for which is beyond the comprehension of the overwhelming majority of the Nigerian people.
They think they know how evil those extremist forces are but in reality, they still don’t have any idea.
I have risked all and I have exposed and done more damage to those forces than anyone else in this country in the last few years by their own admission.
I have also spoken up for the weak, the poor, the oppressed, the deprived, the voiceless and the persecuted across ethnic, religious and party lines. And I have done all this right under the noses of those in power and not from distant shores or foreign lands.
That does not, however, mean that I have lost my humanity. That does not mean that I will relish in anyone’s death. That does not mean that I will dance on the grave of others because death comes to us all and doing so diminishes us as human beings and makes us little better than beasts.
For the last 30 years, I have written and spoken out against the atrocities and the hegemony that the people of the south and the Middle Belt and the Christian community have suffered in the hands of our collective oppressors since 1914 and over the last 106 years.
I have also consistently argued that the people of the south-east were subjected to nothing less than genocide during the civil war and that if we really want peace we must make the necessary amends and atonement for this and they must be treated in an accommodating, reasonable and compassionate way and with far more decency and sensitivity.
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The Christian minorities of the north, who have suffered in the hands of the hegemonists immeasurably and have also been subjected to ethnic cleansing, mass murder, crimes against humanity and genocide over the last 60 years deserve no less and also need to be treated with more sensitivity and have their self-respect and dignity restored.
This, to some, now counts for nothing and that is to be expected. God alone vindicates and rewards and posterity and history will judge us all by what we did and said when evil darkened the land and the oppressors held away. Thankfully we cannot be defined by the words and reasoning of mere mortals and shallow men.
What lies ahead for our country is frightful and chilling because the extremists and hardliners in the Federal Government are now in full control with no-one to moderate, restrain or put them in check. This is a major challenge which needs to be taken very seriously.
What makes it worse is that the President has hidden in the Aso Rock bunker and has refused to step out and offer direction or provide strong and purposeful leadership.
What we have today is a dangerous power vacuum and, unless the President has the presence of mind to resign or to step up to the plate, rid us of the nepotism and the ethnic and religious divisions that plague the land, heal our wounds, change his ways and lead us fairly and boldly it will not end any time soon.
Sadly the next few months and years will be difficult, harsh, unpredictable, unstable, bloody, vicious, brutish, hard, retrogressive, divisive, nasty, horrendous and nightmarish for our dear country and there will be little respite for anyone because that is all our Government has to offer.
If you think it was bad before wait and see what will happen in the next few months and years. If something does not give then we are really in trouble as a nation and we may not survive it as one.
What is likely to happen in Nigeria will make the ugly events that unfolded in Zaire and the Congo DRC over the last few decades and the horrendous events that occurred in Rwanda in the early 90’s look like child’s play. That is the monumental challenge that we are facing and that is what we should be hoping, working and praying hard against.
For those that doubt this I say the proof of the pudding is in the eating and, as always, time will prove me right.
The only saving grace is that God, and not any man, shall eventually deliver us. That is my hope and my prayer.
Meanwhile, those that doubt my commitment to the struggle and to the resistance simply because of my tribute to an old friend of 40 years who passed on are entitled to their opinion and are free to stop reading my contributions and commentaries.
The last thing I need is validation from any man. Why would I crave for that when I have the love of God?
Regardless of their disposition towards me, I will continue to hold on to my views and express them.
I owe myself, my God and my nation that much if nothing else. I wish you well. Shalom.
Femi Fani-Kayode is a former minister of Aviation
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