BY the time you’re reading this the planned anti- and pro-Buhari protests would (might?) have come and gone. While the anti-Buhari protesters were the first to announce their intention to protest against the rising cost of living and the generally dolorous atmosphere that has pervaded governance since the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as president, the pro-Buhari demonstrators were out to celebrate what they obviously consider the achievements of the Buhari administration. The protesters have not articulated their mission in such clear terms but it was clear towards what direction their protest was geared. Clearly, their plan is largely reactive and meant to counter the narrative of failure, ineptitude and insensitivity that is being levelled by an increasing number of Nigerians against the government.

IN describing the Muhammadu Buhari administration as dumb I do not wish now to be understood as referring to what many commentators increasingly call the administration’s or, in fact, the president’s cluelessness (Is it not amazing that this administration has so quickly frittered away its goodwill in less than two years, to the extent that it’s now being described in the same unflattering register as the Goodluck Jonathan administration?)

IN just 24 hours since he became president of the United States of America, Donald Trump has been bombarded with a series of protests in the US and around the world. Over one million women, it is estimated, in the US alone and tens of thousand in many European capitals from London, Melbourne, Paris and Madrid among others, have marched against what they called the anti-women stance of the new administration in America. Although not all Americans, they fear they would be negatively impacted by the ultra-nationalistic and anti-women poise of the US government under Trump.

HE was young and good-looking. He was also confident and his rousing rhetoric got everyone eager to be part of his train. Starry-eyed, his words would rekindle the dying embers of a nation at a moral crossroads. It set the youth alive and got them chorusing the song for the rebirth of their country.

IT’S indeed a pertinent thing to ask when a leader should respond to a crisis situation. Perhaps, a more pertinent question is why a leader should respond at all. The simple answer is that by responding a leader shows he/she care for and understands his/her duty by their people.