By now, it should be clear to those Nigerians who were taken in by the change mantra of the then opposition party that the instinct that guided them was that of mass hysteria. Like unthinking proles, they sent reason on holiday and luxuriated instead in the make belief of the moment.

Six months after they were led stray by vile propaganda and ghost words, the scales appear to be falling off their eyes. Some of them are beginning to see clearly now.

For the Nigerian who was obsessed by the Buharimania of the time, the reality of today’s situation is still too shocking for him. He is yet to come to terms with it. He is still battling with internal contradictions which, when resolved, could lead to open confession and possible apology to those who told him then to look well before making the death dash.

But we cannot say the same thing of the foreign collaborators and howlers. Here, we refer to those members of the international community whose uncritical endorsement of Buhari gave more verve and impetus to the local Buharimaniacs. The international press, which once celebrated Buhari, is already singing a new song. A few days ago, for instance, Bloomberg, an international financial news outlet, held that Buhari had no capacity to run the affairs of Nigeria. After taking a hard look at Buhari’s handling of Nigeria in the six months gone by, the Bloomberg group is constrained to conclude that Nigeria, under Buhari, is on a dangerous slide.

The quick volte-face of the international press is of particular interest to me. I have had occasion to mention in this Column that I had an interface with the western press at the Frontline Club in London in March this year, some two weeks before the presidential election that ushered in Buhari. At an international seminar on Nigeria attended by virtually every notable media outfit in Europe and America, Nigeria was put on the frontline. Bloomberg, the news medium that has just written off Buhari, was present on the occasion. Many of the foreign media outfits like The Economist of London, which had earlier endorsed Buhari, believed then that Buhari was the answer to whatever problem Nigeria was having, including the Boko Haram menace. But six months down the line, they are taken aback by what Buhari has to offer. They cannot believe the level of disappointment that Buhari has foisted on them. They are already looking beyond Buhari.

Back home in Nigeria, the feeling of disappointment is just the same. The difference only lies in the courage or lack of it to renounce what you once passed off as the only road to salvation. Those caught in this lurch are further incapacitated by the fact that those who once goaded them on are the main beneficiaries of the present order. Those who used to shout from the rooftops can no longer talk because to do so would amount to self-indictment.

Because the situation we have on our hands is one of studied silence, Nigerians do not know if they are in a trance. Nigerians do not, for instance, understand what is going on in Kogi State. The situation in the confluence state is too well-known to elicit any elaboration here. But what is bemusing is the brazen illegality that is sweeping through the state. Under the All Progressives Congress (APC) regime, constitutionality and rule of law do not matter any more. It is astonishing that this brazen assault on the constitution and rule of law is coming from a party and a group that once behaved as if the reason for its existence was the defence of these basic instruments of democratic governance.

Before our very eyes, we are told that a certain Yahaya Bello who was not part of the election that produced about 90 per cent of the results will be the beneficiary of a supplementary election that will be used to determine the winner. This is because a James Faleke, who ran the election on the same ticket as Abubakar Audu is not favoured to take over from Audu because Faleke hails from a part of the state that is not favoured to produce the governor.

But even at that, the retention of the results of the election that was set to produce a governor is not an option. The man who was set to win the election did not live to reap the fruits of his labour. And now, the ruling party and the electoral commission want Audu’s votes warehoused for someone who did not participate in that election. It is, indeed, astonishing that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which ought to have acted independently and impartially in this matter chose to approach the Attorney General and Minister of Justice for a legal interpretation of an issue that it can resolve on its own. As a politician, who was appointed to do the bidding of the man that appointed him, the Attorney General has chosen to do that which will favour his party, the APC. If we have a government that is interested in constitutionality and the rule of law, we will not be talking about supplementary election in Kogi State. Instead, we would have done the right thing by going back to the drawing board. A brand new election would have been put in place and a winner would have emerged in a proper way from it. But now, what the government at the centre wants to foist on Kogi is anarchy.

I get amused when I hear some people say that Idris Wada and Fakeke, who are already in court will get justice from the courts. Neither Wada nor Faleke, whatever their prayers may be, will get justice from the courts. They will enjoy the benefit of the academic exercises that their cases will elicit. But that will be as far as it can go. The owners of Nigeria have decided who the next governor of Kogi State will be. We can only exercise our right to talk and protest. But we cannot stop them. They already have their way. That is the new face of impunity under the new regime.

In all of this, I pity only those who feel a sense of disappointment. They are disappointed because they did not listen to Buhari when he spoke. A few weeks after assuming the reins of governance, Buhari told the world that he had only one regret, to wit, that he did not grab power at a younger age. He said there was a limit to what he could do at his age.

The president spoke from the bottom of his heart even though his media aides tried then to feed us with the opposite of what he meant. The fact of the matter, from what we all can see, is that President Buhari is not bothered about the issues that are giving us sleepless nights. The ugly scenario in which his party, the APC, is snatching victory, by hook and crook, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), does not worry the man. It would have amounted to sacrilege if PDP did that when it was in charge. Now, it really means nothing if APC imposes itself on every state or constituency of Nigeria. Yet, the APC is peopled by elements that once posed as political purists.

It does not matter to the president who is also the Petroleum Minister whether we have petroleum products or not. That is why he is junketing all over the world while Nigerians moan and groan. Buhari is ruled by a different disposition. He wants to have as much fun as he can get in his old age. His mission is not to change anything.

•This piece column originally appeared in today’s edition of Daily Sun. Amanze Obi can be reached via amaobi@yahoo.co.uk

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