Adeyinka Grandson. Writer/Economist/Researcher
In the last two months, after which my Facebook's profile was reopened, I have had the cause to block 41 people on my friends list. Prior to this and in the last 7 years of using Facebook, I had simply expressed my personal opinions on Politics, Culture, Philosophy and Economics on my wall without interference on anyone's freedom of speech and or expression. And so, I endured every insult and did not block anyone.
But, some idiots created a group on Facebook, ganged up against my person and together they all reported my profile to Facebook as a sham. An obviously silly member of the Facebook staff immediately blocked my profile and for three months. The account was reopened just two months ago and on their own volition, but not after changing my name and wrongly spelled my last name incorrectly.
Since this experience, I have stopped tolerating any insults on my person or on friends making comments on my posts. Today, I have blocked 41 people in two months. This is how a simple and moderate individual turns extremist.
When Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States (1801-1809), made the statement below, he may have had a premonition of President Jonathan and Mr Buhari over a future event.
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."
Under President Jonathan, the government feared the people. We had liberty during his presidential term. We expressed our views publicly and nothing untoward happened to anyone.
Today, the reverse is the case under Mr Buhari, an immigrant Fulani, whose ancestors were originally Arabs, who emigrated to Futa Jallon and Futa Toro in the present day Guinea and Senegal respectively, from where they came to Hausaland in the late 17th century and in the early 18th century murdered all the Hausa Haba Kings and proclaimed themselves Sultans and Emirs over Hausaland and its people.
Since Mr Buhari became President on May 29, the people now fear the government. We have a tyrant as President. Already, Buhari's administration has picked up and threatened several people on social media. I have read various accounts of those arrested by the DSS, the Police and the Army.
Nothing in politics happens by accident. If it happened, you can bet it was planned that way. The arrest of Jonathan's CSO, which was the first act of tyranny under Buhari, may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day. But a series of oppressions, (arrest of people on social media and presumed PDP members), begun at a distinguished period, and pursued unalterably through every change of security agencies, too plainly proves a deliberate systematic plan of reducing us to slavery.
In due time, I see simple and moderate individuals, mostly Yoruba youths turn to extremists under this government.
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