By Ibrahim Babangida Lawal
At this solemn moment, when millions of Nigerians across every faith, tongue, and region bow their heads in prayer for the soul of our late President Muhammadu Buhari, it pains me deeply to see Omoyele Sowore choose this time to spew such callous words and unguarded bitterness.
No matter our differences or political leanings, we Nigerians know that when death visits, we pause our quarrels to show respect not only for the departed but for the living who mourn them. Yet Mr. Omoyele Sowore in his unrelenting quest for attention, could not resist turning a moment of quiet reflection into another stage for his usual outbursts.
It truly defies belief that anyone who claims to stand for freedom and democracy would reduce a man’s life decades of sacrifice and service, however imperfect to a cheap headline and half-baked insults. To announce Buhari’s passing with gleeful details of illness, unverified and graphic, shows not only a lack of compassion but a disregard for our shared values as a people.
None among us pretends that President Buhari was flawless. He was human, like every leader before him and every one to come. His years in service brought triumphs and shortcomings, but he gave his best to a nation that demanded much of him. Whether as a soldier or a civilian president, he stood as a symbol of discipline to many who longed for honest leadership in a time of deep national challenges.
Whatever judgment history may pass on his tenure, it is not the reckless job of one man, brimming with resentment, to spit on that memory at the very moment of burial. It is for history to record and for Nigerians to debate but with respect for the dead and dignity for the living.
Sowore’s latest rant, dripping with mockery at a man’s grave, is more revealing of him than of the man he attacks. It shows that beneath all the slogans lies a hollow need for applause not real change, not sincere compassion for Nigeria, but noise for its own sake.
Let it be clear: while Sowore thrives on cheap controversy, our country’s soul is stronger than any cynic’s venom. We know how to mourn our dead. We know how to forgive our leaders for their failings. We know how to remember their service, even if we disagree with parts of it. We do not dance on graves we pray over them.
May Almighty Allah forgive President Muhammadu Buhari his shortcomings, accept his service, and grant him peaceful rest. And may those who mock the dead learn that true patriotism begins with basic decency especially when death reminds us all that no man lives forever.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
