Think Nigerians, think – by Frank Ofili

When the few who are benefiting from an existing order suddenly join the band wagon and begin to sing the song of change, then you had better look closely to see whether their own definition of change is the same as the popular definition.

A time was when the popular cry was power shift. The “shift” came on June 12 1993, but the power elites benefiting from the prevailing order then, unable to resist the popular movement for change, panicked and truncated it. They subsequently imposed their own kind of power shift. They imposed a lilly livered Chief Ernest Shonekan, merely to temporarily pacify the popular movement. Chief Shonekan himself was soon shoved aside by the crown prince of the oligarchy.

But the Power Shift movement soon came back more determined. And once again the reactionary elements could not stave it off. Thier resistance temporarily suffered a deadly blow when their crown prince, Abacha, died suddenly. But they soon regrouped and imposed their own kind of power shift once again. They gave power to one of their own from the opposite angle whom they said they could trust. The rest is, as they say, history.

In this whole process Buhari is twice a disrupter who turned against the corrupt power elites who brought him to power hoping he could be of some use – a sin for which he is not much liked.

The cry now is “Restructuring” and it is getting fiercier by the day. And once again the reactionary elements have smelt the coffee. They have cashed in on it. They have hijacked the Restructuring Movement. The grand design of course is to determine the direction the restructuring will take and impose their will once again.

Nigerians, I say look closely. This struggle is not about tribe or religion. It is a class struggle. Tribe and religion are mere weapons in the struggle.

Think Nigerians; think.