She called me last night. The beautiful lady with her unique dimples which light up wherever she is, was beaming. The happiness in her voice on the phone was worth far more than all those dollars Andrew Yakubu is reported to have stashed in cash at home. Mrs Lucy Ajayi, my friend of almost two decades, was probably the happiest person in Nigeria yesterday.
‘Chiefo! Yes, he may have lost some weight but at 74, he was standing straight, chest out! There was no one holding his hands, no crutches, not even a walking stick! He is laughing. PMB is back!’ she said on the phone.
To say that Lucy Ajayi believes in Muhammadu Buhari is to put it mildly. She has 100% confidence in the man she calls ‘General’. Yes o! This staunch Christian woman from the South has complete faith in this Northerner who some have described as an Islamist fundamentalist.
I know that she quietly suffered while those crazy stories of the death of Muhammadu Buhari in London were circulating on social media. A few weeks ago, she called me one evening with relief in her voice. She whispered that she spoke to him on the phone and that he is ok.
Lucy Ajayi’s admiration of ‘General’ did not start yesterday. When it was almost suicidal to associate oneself with Buhari’s CPC in the Lagos area, Lucy Ajayi abandoned her striving business to become a Buhari foot soldier.
As he lost election after election, her faith in him grew stronger and stronger. There was no money to be made in CPC. You spent what you had and she almost went bankrupt working day and night to convince people that the Nigerian nation needs a man with the sterling values and strong moral compass of a Muhammadu Buhari.
When it became clear that a new vehicle was needed to wrestle power from the PDP behemoth, Muhammadu Buhari personally picked Lucy Ajayi as one of the representatives of the CPC in the merger talks with the ACN that resulted in the birth of the APC that brought Buhari to power.
I have been told of some of the interesting drama on the eve of the 2014 APC primaries in Lagos. One of the politicians battling against General Buhari for the APC nomination was said to have flooded Lagos with money in every currency. The money was being dished out to the delegates from the different states so that they may ‘perform’.
The Buhari foot soldiers were in panic because they had no money to give to anyone. In their panic, they tried to reach the General. They were told that the General was sleeping and had asked not to be disturbed.
While some of the supporters were openly frustrated, Mrs Ajayi said that she understood. According to her, one of Buhari’s unique qualities is that he is calm when most men would be spitting fire. At the time he was said to be sleeping, she figured that he was most likely meditating.
Lucy Ajayi laughs at those who say that Buhari wants to Islamise Nigeria. Chuckling, she asks, ‘does it make sense that this man who so desperately wants to Islamise Nigeria went ahead to choose the fiery Christian, Pastor Tunde Bakare as his running mate in the previous election? How many Islamists would have handed over the reins of power to Yemi Osinbajo, a well-known Redeemed pastor and asked him to take decisions as he deemed fit?’
Lucy Ajayi is not that kind of political supporter who uses foul language against people she disagrees with or insults those opposed to her political position. She says to me, ‘the General has taught us to love everyone, even those who do not agree with us. Today, he is the President of the entire Nigerian nation made up of different kinds of people. All Nigerians are his children and we must love every one of his children.’
In one peculiar situation, Lucy Ajayi saved my life and ever since, Mrs Ajayi and her husband, Foley have been my friends. She shares my strong belief that money is not everything and that you get true peace of mind not by the amount of money you stash away but by doing that which benefits the greatest number.
At a time when some of my colleagues in the music industry were set to destroy me with one false allegation after another, Lucy stood by me. She went to court with me as I challenged those terrible allegations. As I won case after case in court, Lucy celebrated with me.
As a rule, I do not respond to comments made in Saturday Breakfast. I just start a conversation and let everyone express their views. I however feel sorry for those of my kith and kin who have repeatedly displayed the view that I cannot genuinely love my Igbo brethren except I hate others.
l work hard every day to eschew hate in my life. Hate is a killer. If it does not make the one consumed by hate to kill the person he hates, the hate eats up the person consumed by hate.
Hate is behind all the wars, strife, terrorism, bombings and killings that have consumed millions of innocent lives around the world. I believe that any Nigerian who truly has the future of his children in mind, must fight tribal or religious hatred in our land before it consumes us.
Lucy and I share the same values that we are all children of the same God irrespective of where we come from or how we worship. Our attitude is to ask for what we can do to make things better and not what is in it for us. I know that those who have other values may find it difficult to understand how we reason.
Buhari is almost two years into his tenure. Lucy Ajayi who canvassed endlessly for him and sat next to him when he was being nominated has not been appointed as tea girl in any of the thousand departments of the Federal Government. You know what? Lucy does not care.
That is not why she supported the man and even supports him more than ever before. Lucy is happy that the democratically elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is back standing tall. So am I.