The Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, has said Nigerians out of hatred for an accomplished President Buhari, strangely found joy in raining curses on the President every day, but then wonder why things are bad in the country.
Quoting Numbers 14:28, Adesina said there is power in the tongue, and that what God hears, it what he does. He said, "When we speak evil about our country, and its leaders, it comes back to us. What we say is what we get. It is an inexorable spiritual law. Sow wind, reap the whirlwind."
Speaking in an opinion piece titled "Nigeria At War On Many Fronts", the Presidential aide said Nigeria is suffering because Nigerians continue to speak evil of their leaders.
He said, "A war of tongues has been unleashed on Nigeria, her leadership, anyone in government, in fact anybody serving the country in one capacity or the other.
"A vicious war of tongues is raging in the country, and from President Muhammadu Buhari, down to the least political appointee in government, no one is spared.
"And who are the warriors? So-called social activists and commentators. Newspaper columnists. Talk show hosts on TV, radio, influencers on social media, bloggers, anyone who can afford an Internet-enabled smartphone, politicians, and very embarrassingly, clergymen. The ones who should teach us to bridle our tongues.
"They say things that make the flesh tingle, with a chill running down the spine. No grace, no decorum, using words that are not seasoned with salt. Do they read another Holy Bible? Another Holy Quran? Holy Moses!
"The executive, legislature, judiciary, military, police, indeed, all national institutions are the butt of war of tongues. You find all sorts of commentators in the media condemning everything and everybody, but themselves.
"There is a rabid focus on negatives in Nigeria today. Agriculture revolution. Infrastructure renaissance. Prudence and probity in government. Doing a lot more with a lot less revenue. IMF revises growth projection for the country upwards. Nobody talks about that. It doesn’t interest them.
"They only focus on job losses. Poverty rate. Killings, maiming, unhappiness. Yes, those are germane, but too much sunshine makes a desert. That is not all there is to Nigeria. “Life is like being out on the sea,” said the philosopher, Marcus Aurelius. “A body has to take the rough and the smooth.”
"No government would love to see its citizens killed. Maimed. Displaced. Unhappy. And if anything, the Buhari administration is doing so much in battling the insecurity in the land. But sadly, it faces another deadlier war-the war of tongues. Why don’t we pause and think that it is the only country we have, and begin to speak better, more positive things?
"As you speak into the ears of God, so shall He do to you. (Numbers 14:28). When we speak evil about our country, and its leaders, it comes back to us. What we say is what we get. It is an inexorable spiritual law. Sow wind, reap the whirlwind.
"In Nigeria of today, if there are no issues to bellyache over, some people will create one. There must be no quiet time. The war of tongues must continue. Pity.
"However, what we don’t know is that war of tongues is a two-edged sword, which cuts both ways. It wreaks havoc on the person wielding the sword, and on whom the blow is directed. “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the whole course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell.”
"War of tongues cause acrimony, discord, disharmony. But let not the person who causes that war think he will get away with it ultimately. His tongue eventually gets set on fire of hell. (James 3:6)."