The Special Adviser to President Muhammed Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina has explained why the pigeons rleased by President Buhari during the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration in Abuja last week refused to fly.
Adesina said there was nothing unusual about the incident and that the pigeons had used to being caged.
“Now, something for those who twist my every word, turn it upside down, to generate hatred. Something for them to wail about. The release of the pigeons.
At every Armed Forces Remembrance Day, after the laying of the wreaths, the sitting President releases some pigeons, to symbolize peace in the land. Emblems of National harmony. It was not different last Friday.
“The pigeons had been kept in a cage. For how long, I do not know. And when birds and some other roaming animals have been circumscribed for a while, they get accustomed to their new status as lawful captives. Therefore, when you offer them freedom, they first baulk, thinking itâs too good to be true. Itâs a natural phenomenon.
President Buhari opened the cage that held the pigeons, about a score or so. One hesitated, then flew, followed by another. The others temporized a bit. And then, two, three minutes later, they all took to the sky. Nothing extraordinary in the development, you would think.
“But not to the idle and indolent, most of who populate the social media. It was time to major in something minor, cavil, find fault unnecessarily. The pigeons didnât fly, they refused to fly, itâs ominous, they wailed like wailing wailers. And you began to wonder: are people this idle? Donât they have productive things to do with their times? Are their minds so addled, and all they want to do is find faults against their President, ascribing spiritual connotations to a non-issue? For their information: Muhammadu Buhari has no time for such frivolities.
“He just continues to serve the country with his heart and mind, trying to make a difference in security, economy, and anti-corruption. And he will get there, by the grace of God. But if they donât change, the wailers will be losers, standing small.
May the souls of our heroes rest in peace. May their widows be comforted. Their sons, daughters and dependents cared for. We were together, walking, seeing, hearing, and understanding the same world. And in two minutes, with a sudden snap, they were gone. âOne mind less, one world less.â
