If criticism is complaint, wailing, so be it . FEMI ADEOTI COLUMN, 

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It amazes and amuses. How queer elements push eerie narratives so hard. They want to force them down our throats. They care less whether we believe or not. That never matters to them.
Their ultimate: To perpetually have their awkward way. It’s their pastime. To push until they achieve their ulterior motives. Greed and deceit rule their waves and space.
In their usual weird character, they are on the prowl. They are ferocious and deadly. Doing best what they are paid to do.
They occupy every space, choking us. They want to snuff out whatever remains of our lives. Hawks, wolves alike looking for whom to devour.
They are twisting figures desperately. And walking fact on its head. They insist everything must favour them. They dwell richly on fallacies, hallucinations.
They are hurt we complain. And deeply pained we wail. Stranger than fiction! You beat an innocent child. But you expect him not to cry. The more you beat him, the louder he cries. That’s given. You dare not control that.
See them all over the spaces and places. They are complaining that we complain. They wail that we’re wailing. What absurd audacity!
They detest criticism like a pandemic. The same criticism they feasted on to grab power. They richly lagged on criticism when they were in trenches (opposition). It was their weapon of mass destruction. And they fully made maximum use of it.
The same weapon they now deride with passion. Because the weapon is being massed against them. They now feel comfortable to tag it complaint, not criticism. It is no longer pleasant. For they know its power of high potency. That’s how cowards behave.
The horsewhip with which they pleasurably beat others into shape. They dread it being applied on them when they derail. That’s the thought process of species with little minds. Very hollow and shallow in all ramifications.
Criticism, discourse and debate, complaints is it! They’re the ingredients that make democracy thick and tick. These put government on the hot spot. They keep caring leaders perpetually on their toes. Uneasy lies the head that wears that coveted crown.
You intentionally ask for it. And you must get it in good measure. That’s what criticism, complaint and wailing do. To those who genuinely offer to lead.
But these curious elements of ours want none of that. They want to rule and not lead. In the process, they may end up ruining us.
The very reason we wail and complain today. So that we can proudly hail them tomorrow. It’s not for any other motives. We mean well for both the led and the leaders. We don’t want to end up being ruined.
We’re afraid we’re heading towards being ruined. We have not seen any synergy between the President’s talk and his walk. Proofs of this are in legion. They stare us in faces everyday, everywhere.
You insist we must continue to tighten our crooked belts. But you don’t even have a belt to tighten. What contradiction, what deceit! You urge us on to endure, sacrifice and be patient. You’re not even ready to do any. No sacrifice, no endurance, no patience on your part. We don’t see what we can take away from you.
This exemplar will shock you. We cried hoarse over the Dubai jamboree. You responded, so we innocently thought. You cut your foreign trip entourage by 60 per cent. We saw it as a smart move. We hailed you. We clapped. We danced. We thought you had arrived. We jumped for exceeding joy.
But you collapsed that fantasy so soon. The list of your Qatar entourage erased that renewed hope completely. We were devastated. It was even worse than the Dubai waste. Two of your sons made that list. In what capacity; representing whose interest?
The reason the oddity that played itself out in Qatar was avoidable. The shenanigan was the result of a misplaced stubbornness. Running government business like a private empire! We’re scandalised.
We wailed, yet you insisted your sons must hang on with you to Qatar. Your absurd protocol even placed them before ministers. It was quite disgusting, appalling and nauseating.
After the Dubai jamboree. We thought sanity would return to governance. We goofed, erred greatly. We were scammed, swindled, fleeced. What you promised to do, you did none. Your entourage remains huge, bogus and cumbersome. You rather moved from Dubai jamboree to Qatar indulgence.
It was a show of shame in Doha. The Qatar indulgence was a blowout for the junior Tinubus. What a bash, a bizarre bazaar. An excessive recklessness. What messages are you arrogantly throwing at us? What precedent are you setting?
And your regiment of foot soldiers, hangers-on, bootlickers will not let us be. We are glad they are in excruciating pain. That we’re complaining. The pain will forever be everlasting. We wonder what they expect of us. Hail them? That what happens?
We’re not daft. Neither are we robots. And as if that was not bad enough insult. The President went and put salt on our festering wound.
He bickered with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). He literally protested against their protest. No restraint. That itself was a bitter complaint.
It was bellyaching and bleating. And he had the day to himself alone. That wasn’t in any way presidential. Never expected from a leader of our dream.
Tinubu practically drew NLC out for war that Thursday. And he was fully armed to the teeth. The terrain and atmosphere extremely friendly. He came down to commission Lagos Rail Redline. But he chose to shout at NLC:
“The labour has gone on strike four times within my nine months in government. That’s a record. Calling for strike in just nine months of an administration is unacceptable. NLC is not the only voice in Nigeria. It should wait till 2027 if it is interested in joining the electoral process.”
Come on, Mr. President, electioneering came to a close long time. Now is for purposeful leadership and governance. Time for the soapbox is long gone past. We need not trivialise the weighty issues on our hands. Neither should we be flippant.
You can’t keep on enjoying the bountiful spoils of office. And ignore its attendant responsibilities. It’s not done in saner climes. And we won’t oblige you here.
We will shout our hearts out. We will complain. We will wail unabated. It’s our chosen choice. Don’t risk crossing our path.
We opt to do all these and even more. Until we perceive some semblance of good governance. That the right things are being done. And done well. We won’t cease fire. No!
So? If you erroneously tag criticisms as complaints, so be it. We’re not bothered. It will only spur us to wail louder.
If you care to know, the hailers of yesterday are the loudest wailers of today. How times change! There are your “mandators” who stoutly stand on your mandate. They are wailing profusely now. Check it out.
A former governor, Ayodele Fayose, even brought another germane angle to the discourse. He had held sway in Ekiti State at two different times. His irritation is the seeming double-speak of the President. And he wants it addressed squarely and urgently. He was piqued. He refused to hide it:
“I watched a live television programme of the President telling Nigerians that former President (Muhammadu) Buhari did well.”
He showed his resentment and raised his voice: “That will cause confusion in the minds of Nigerians.” He was emphatic.
He cried with all the strength he could muster: “Buhari is not a blessing to Nigerians, with all due respect. President Buhari is not a blessing to Nigeria. He drew us back to 50 years of our history.”
A colleague friend recently threw this expensive joke. He made no particular reference to any party. Or personality. His exact words: “You can only rig elections, you can’t rig the economy. You can’t rig good governance
Another was more daring: “This is what happens when a leader comes in with huge baggage.” We candidly mean no harm; for we’re harmless. We don’t mean any hurt; for we’re no hunters.
Our genuine concern is good governance. For the benefit of us all. And we are unpretentious. We abhor George Orwell’s famed Animal Farm type of society. Never imagine yourself more equal than we, the others.
Let it sink! When we criticise, we’re not grumbling. We’re not doing it to merely lament. And cry foul where there’s none. Where there’s no need for one.
We are only being honest with you. That we’re grieved and pained at the same intensity. And above all, we sincerely want you to succeed and succeed well.
For there lies our collective happiness and joy. We will be proud to hail and urge you on ceaselessly. Without prompting or being paid to do so.
But if you choose otherwise. If you insist our criticisms are complaints. Then, we will continue to howl. Even if our criticisms are wailing and whining to your ears. We won’t stop roaring to high heavens.
This is no threat, be rest assured. But our mere words of assurance.