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Buhari versus Obasanjo in Nigeria nowadays

Sir: Nigeria’s President, General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB) has succeeded in creating another distraction from his perpetration of carnage, genocide, and economic destruction of Nigeria by declaring, in his fourth year in office, June 12, to be Nigeria’s “Democracy Day”, instead of May 29 that has been the day since 2000. The former was the day…

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar at the AU Summit in Addis Ababa. January 2018.<br />Photo: Twitter/mbuhari

Sir: Nigeria’s President, General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB) has succeeded in creating another distraction from his perpetration of carnage, genocide, and economic destruction of Nigeria by declaring, in his fourth year in office, June 12, to be Nigeria’s “Democracy Day”, instead of May 29 that has been the day since 2000.

The former was the day in which it was generally believed that Moshood Abiola (a Yoruba) won the presidential election that would have returned Nigeria to civilian rule in 1993, but truncated by the then Military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB) who annulled the election, and insistence by Abiola on his own mandate led him (Abiola) to being imprisoned, where he died eventually.

The latter day, May 29, refers to the day Nigeria eventually returned to civilian rule in 1999. That means that either day (June 12 or May 29) has some justification for being Nigeria’s Democracy Day, depending on the political disposition of those in government.

What some critical Nigerians are asking, however, is whether the decision of GMB to make June 12 the day to celebrate democracy in Nigeria will stop the bloodshed and impoverisation that he has been perpetuating since 2015, in his unrepentant war against Boko Haram and protection of Fulani herdsmen terrorists, such that his presidency is even bloodier than those of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan who started the unjust war against Boko Haram.

The war is unjust because Boko Haram was protesting the prevalent haram responsible for Nigeria’s gross underdevelopment and mass abject poverty, not violently but through a secluded lifestyle perceived to be un-Islamic by imperialistic Muslim leaders who have been living affluently as part and parcel of the prevalent boko (literary-related) haram.

Yar’Adua, as a descendant of a Fulani Muslim imperialist, like GMB, abused his presidential powers to attack Boko Haram, while his predecessor, General Olusegun Obasanjo saw no justification for an Islamic sect that was not violent against anybody, except against the conscience of imperialistic Muslim leaders.

Otherwise, there is no obvious personal enmity between GMB and the former President, General Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ), other than the latter pointing to the fact that GMB’s Nigeria is worse than any other, 1999 till date, security-wise, economically, and otherwise.

GMB increased fuel price from N97 to N145 and he is recovering looted funds and yet hyper inflation is worse than ever before, while Nigeria’s debts are also said to be skyrocketing, and bloodshed is unabated.

That means that if OBJ simply kept quiet on the state of the nation, or joined GMB’s praise-singers, he would not have had any problem with GMB.

Suddenly, GMB remembered that OBJ was alleged of misappropriating $16 billion meant for provision of electricity, and so he (GMB) drew the battle line.

Where do common Nigerians who constitute the suffering majority belong?

They still have to think of voting against bloodshed and mass abject poverty in 2019.

What’s your take?

Prof. Oyeniran Abioje wrote from University of Ilorin.

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