The moment Buhari released the pigeons

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina has come to the defence of President Muhammadu Buhari on why the pigeons did not fly when he opened the cage at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day.

During January 15, 2021 Armed Forces Remembrance Day, the pigeons refused to fly after Buhari opened the cage, with many Nigerians reading meaning to it.

But Adesina, in a write-up explained why the pigeons did not fly, lamenting that people twisted the issue out of context just because of their hatred for the president.

He said the pigeons did not fly at first because they had been in the cage for a very long time as they got accustomed to their new status as lawful captives.

He said: “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 it’s too good to be true. It’s 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 didn’t fly, they refused to fly, it’s ominous, they wailed like wailing wailers. And you began to wonder: are people this idle? Don’t 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?”

Adesina said for their information, Buhari had no time for such frivolities, as he just continued 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 don’t change, the wailers will be losers, standing small,” he said.