Ata Ikiddeh
Bull fighting is a cruel sport. A man called a “Matador” stands in front of an enraged bull with a red cloth. Each time the angry bull rushes to pin the Matador between its big horns – his horns end up scraping an empty cloth. The Matador fools him and moves inches away from its horns. This goes on for hours. The Matador all the time stands in the same spot and hardly moves, saving his energy while the angry bull keeps rushing back and forth wearing himself out, getting weaker at every fruitless attempt.
When the Matador finally senses that the bull is weak enough he brings out his spears, this time around, each time the bull attempts to gore him he drives the spears deep into its thick skin. He repeats this until the severely weakened bull is covered in spears and standing in a mass of its own blood. Too weakened to run or even walk, the bull sinks to its knees – then the Matador brings out his ultimate weapon, a sword. And standing over the now bloodied beast, with his hands raised to the blood curdling cheers of the crowd , with one deft blow he cuts off the head of the bull and raises up his prize.
This is what I see in this ongoing political imbroglio. Saraki has cleverly played the role of the Matador in this game of death with the APC. Since 2015 he has successfully fooled and tricked the party. And he has won in every round. APC have turned into an enraged and tragic bull trying its utmost best to gore a clever Matador. But each time they try – they suffer more damage and in blind rage they try even harder to injure the elusive Matador. The bull has no idea its being manipulated.
At this stage Saraki is now using his spears, he has defected with his entire State party structure, defected with a handful of senators, has become the National Leader of the PDP and has caused the sack of the former DG of the DSS, Lawal Daura.
Meanwhile the APC have turned Saraki into a hapless victim, they have turned themselves in the eyes of the world into Persecutors and Tormentors. While Saraki the “victim” has gathered the Nigerian masses behind him.
Six months to a major general election, Saraki has successfully distracted the ruling party. The APC government is no longer talking about roads, power, agriculture and education, all it sees like the tragic raging bull is this red cloth called Saraki and each time they try to pin him down , the man has become more elusive and even stronger.
In 2014 this was exactly what happened to Jonathan. Jonathan’s government went after Tambuwal like a blind enraged bull and also went after perceived political enemies. It completely lost the plot and did not realise the opposition had become the Matador. Two months to the 2015 elections the APC opposition party was in effective control of the nation, Jonathan government had been truly fooled and weakened, chasing after an elusive and clever enemy.
History is repeating itself.
Even if the APC government succeed in impeaching Saraki – they will turn the man into a VICTIM CHAMPION. APC will be seen as the aggressor – PDP will win the sympathy of the undecided intelligentsia, the hundreds of thousands out there who use their money, hire buses without party support but out of conviction, transport hundreds to polling booths to vote for the candidate of the sponsor’s choice. If APC go on this way the International community will see the them as a totalitarian and oppressive government. Already the barricading of the National Assembly has raised an International red flag. During Jonathan’s time, his government lost the sympathy of the West because of its political witch hunt, a few months before the general elections.
My candid opinion – leave this man called Saraki alone, it’s only six months before his Presidency will come to an end. Withdraw all weapons. Keep him guessing. Don’t expend anymore energy. Focus on the masses.
At it is today Saraki has become the Matador, he is in a win win situation. You see, if the bull loses the fight – the Matador will claim the ultimate prize and become a true champion in the eyes of the masses. But even if the bull succeeds in killing the Matador at this stage, it will turn the Matador into a political Martyr. He might become a movement before the 2019 elections.
This Matador is not worth all the attention, the bull is being fooled and is walking into its death. The Federal Government has lost its way and has abandoned the masses and gone into a fight it can never win.
Lesson: The only bulls that win are ones that leave the arena alive, they are the ones that ignore the Matador.
