NewsRescue
Nigeria’s President, just returning to duty from a vacation, while supposedly on official visit to Saudi Arabia, has taken time off the past couple of days to observe the lesser hajj.
While devotion to one’s Lord is a commendable action by all means, the official government’s broadcast of the images from the services raise many questions.
Photos Released By Femi Adesina
Pictures of President Buhari on “official prayers,” as it seems, in the Holy land, have been released by Femi Adesina, the official spokesperson of President Muhamamdu Buhari. What this means is that the Presidency wishes to put the President’s acts in public view.
Prayers are personal, however when a President touts images of his prayers then it becomes political and a national matter. It would appear to mean that the President is trying to pass a message and increase his favorability ratings among fanatic adherents of his faith.
A Page From Jonathan’s Book
What President Muhammadu Buhari is doing by officially releasing images through Garba Shehu, of his private worship with God on Nigeria’s time, is reminiscent of the behavior of former President Goodluck Jonathan who devoted much of his tenure to pandering to Christian extremists.
In the same vein, president Muhammadu Buhari can be measured to be pandering to extremist Muslims, Salafists and other such groups in Nigeria in whom he is trying to maintain support and love for his campaigns and administration.
President Jonathan’s various publicity stunts to pander to extremist Christians ended up alienating him from the more reasonable and moderate majority; it is left to see if adopting pages form the same book by President Muhammadu Buhari will have a similar effect.
Coincidentally, just like Buhari, it was just after Jonathan had killed his own three of Sheikh Zakzay’s sons that Jonathan went and took his photos at the holy wall.
It is just one more way the Buhari government is increasingly replicating its predecessor.
