16 October, 2016

Buhari in German press

POSTED AS RECEIVED
My cousin in Germany wrote this:
In a press conference with the German leader in Berlin, President Buhari in what might be perhaps his most stupid political blunder yesterday in Germany, in answering a reporters question on the role of his wife in his government, has this to say..." my wife belongs in my Kitchen and in my living room and other rooms" what a statement!  That was politically incorrect.
The ill adviced President totally forgot that he is standing next to  a woman who is a world leader.
Here in Germany as in the rest of Europe, the issue of  women's right is a delicate one as women have come a long way fighting inequality in both society and at work place. Without warning, a visibly angry Mrs Merkel  (the German Chancellor) quickly ended the press conference to save the President further embarrassment.
The emancipation of women in Europe is a civil rights issue, that is why feminist groups in Germany immediately reacted to his outing as a hate speech and demanded his exit from their territory. A German opposition leader called for his immediate expulsion from Germany, while a renowned German newspaper in its editorial, has this to say about our President.
He is simply a dumb leader, hailed as the Messiah of Africa's most populous democracy  after winning election in 2015. His agenda of fighting corruption which was given a blessing by the West, especially former colonial master, England is very unpopular in his country as citizens are more concerned about the economic hardship and joblessness to his fight for financial recovery. It went ahead to say, when it comes to world issues, the former general has little knowledge of events of the moment and hardly articulates.The more you listen to him, the dumber you become -; Hard words, but written with some elements of sincerity.
Germany has a woman as head of state. Germany has mother with eight children as defence minister, (comnander of a powerful millitary force) something unthinkable in most parts of the world especially, Africa. The notion here is that, girls can be everything including being President
As a Nigerian living here in Germany, it's a mixture of anger and frustration. Anger that my president would be viewed in this manner, frustrated because I know we Nigerians could do better. I know that there are better Nigerians from the North and South of our country that could have taken advantage of our ranking as the most populous and powerful black nation in the world, the largest economy in Africa (according to the world Bank), the country of the Wole Soyinkas, the Chinua Achebes and their likes in dealing with the rest of the world.
A Swedish journalist once described Nigeria as a crumbling giant. That was in 1999. The question is, was Nigeria once a giant? The answer will certainly not be given by these wounded generation.

*Copied*