Re Buhari: Terror of looters

The article by Abba Mahmood was a well presented account of what any dictator will like to remembered as, it is a however a luxury that many tyrants can never enjoy as long as the will of the people prevail.  

Abba’s article has necessitated me to dig up an old piece I wrote on Buhari.

No matter how good you market this dictator or portray him as a man of integrity the fact remains that Muhammadu Buhari cannot be described as having any of the virtues he described, the man does not have what it takes to rule this country and certainly does not have the knowledge, achievements and vision. 

What about his radical Islamist agenda? Do we need a sharia advocate at a time when tribal, religious and ethnic divide is threatening to split this country? Buhari is an autocrat; he does not believe in democracy and sure as hell never practiced it!

Elementary and Secondary school barrack trained military Generals are not what Nigeria needs right now. Their biased, tribalistic diatribes coupled with the tendency to loot, abuse and denigrate the populace of this country hardly count as virtues of leadership in the 21st century!

Muhammadu Buhari was a military dictators; He seized power forcible from a democratically elected Government, forcing this country into another wave of military leadership that lasted nearly 2 decades. The dastardly effect of his brutal legacy is still felt after the counter coup of fellow dictators, Babangida, Abacha, and Abdusalam Abubakar. This country in its nascent democracy doesn’t need to be reminded of these men. It’s enough that the damage they caused with their brutal military legacies can never be repaired as long as this country exists.

Career & Appointments of General Buhari

Platoon Commander, 2nd Infantry Battalion, 1963-1964; Mechanical Transport Officer, Lagos Garrison, 1964-1965; Transport Company Commander, 2nd Infantry Brigade, 1965-1966; Battalion Adjutant/Commander, 2nd Infantry Brigade, 1966-1967; Brigade Major, 2nd Sector, 1st Infantry Division, April to July, 1967; Brigade Major, 3rd Infantry Division, August 1967 - October 1968; Acting Commander, 4th Sector, 1st Division, November 1968 - February 1970; Commander, 31st Infantry Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, February 1970 - June 1971; Assistant Adjutant-General, 1st Infantry Division Headquarters, July 1971 - December 1972; Colonel, General Staff, 3rd Infantry Division Headquarters, January 1974 - September 1974; Acting Director Supply and Transport, Nigeria Army Corps Headquarters, September 1974 - July 1975; Military Governor, North Eastern State of Nigeria, August 1975 - March 1976; Federal Commissioner for Petroleum Resources, March 1976 - June 1978; Chairman, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, June 1978 - July 1978; Military Secretary, Army Headquarters, July 1978 - June 1979; Member, Supreme Military Council, July 1978 - June 1979; General Officer Commanding, 4th Infantry Division, August 1980 – January 1981; General Officer Commanding, 3rd Armoured Division, November 1981 – December 1983; Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, December 1983 - August 1985. Executive Chairman of the Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund (PTF), 21 March 1995 - May 1999.

As a soldier, apart from hardly ever spending no more than 2 years at any particular position in the military including as head of state, everything He had done in his entire life was in the barracks. He hardly qualifies as a public servant and certainly does not have the Credentials and experience needed to lead a vast multi ethnic and multi Religious country like Nigeria.

When asked why he wants to rule Nigeria again, he replied

"Of the vote of confidence passed on me by Nigerians over the years."

"The people want us now because they believe we have not jailed them, we have not betrayed their confidence and trust in the past and that is why it has become a duty on us to answer the call to come and serve."

An incorrigible tyrant!

If I remember correctly this man's Decree 4 of 1984 was a clear indication why Nigerians will never give him any vote of confidence. It was a vengeful decree designed by a barbaric military leader not only to silence freedom of expression and of the press but also to silence the truth. It was an evil intent and execution and went against all norms of decency in civilized society. Indeed Decree 4 was an abuse of the fundamental principles of international human rights.

There was also Decree No. 2. The power to detain those suspected of planning “subversive acts” indefinitely. It was also Buhari that overnight decreed that drug trafficking was going to be a criminal offence punishable by death and made the decree have retroactive effects. Three young Nigerians who allegedly trafficked drugs about two years before the anti-drug trafficking law were unfortunate victims as they were executed by firing squad. There are clear testimonies to Buhari's autocratic tendencies and despotic antecedents. His despotic rule couple by a nonchalant attitude to due process, law and respect for the populace is evidence that Buhari lacks the patience and psychological make-up to engage in any civil discourse, not to talk of a political debate or dialogue under a democratic dispensation.

Buhari is a dictator of the deepest dye. His refusal to honour the summons to the Oputa panel is proof that he cannot see himself condescending to answer questions and be indicted by the citizens of this country. And today he wants to be "democratically" elected by the same people whose rights he violated time and time again! Any decent democratic person with nothing to hide (including the mystery of 53 suitcases escorted by his ADC at MM International Airport, under the watchful eyes of Vice President Atiku Abubakar, then head of customs at the Airport) would have gracefully gone to the Oputa panel and confronted justice!

Here him "THE need to change the face of Nigeria's politics and ensure service to the people and move the country forward are the underlying factors behind my presidential ambition,"

Would it not be correct to say that Buhari still has a lot of scores to settle with military comrades in arms and political rivals like the evil Dictator IBB? The underlying factor is that Buhari has always nursed intent to avenge his removal as head of state by Babangida. Who does not know that there is no love-lost between IBB and Buhari? General Buhari does not forgive; he takes all infractions against him or his government personally. Why should Nigerians have to suffer another wave of dictators and repugnant mediocre in power whose only purpose is to get one over the other and use our democracy as a tool for their friends and foe? Enough is enough!

We all know that Obasanjo's government was not what we needed to start a nascent democracy; His government has continued to allow morality to degenerate. He and his government could not lead by the same example of honesty that they demand from the common man. Since inception the government has been marred with all sorts of corrupt election malpractices and financial improprieties that remain unchecked.

Why does Nigeria need Military tyrants like Obasanjo, Buhari and IBB in the 21st century? When will the citizens of this great nation wake up and smell the blasted coffee? I cannot understand how these semi-illiterate military dictators hold an entire nation and its people to such unquestionable ransom, we must be gullible?

Buhari in his campaign speech last time said "I urge the people to contribute everything they can; Christians and Moslems alike should pray for me, from the wards to the national level. I will like to change the style of politics in the country," "Ordinarily, I would have wished to remain an ordinary member of the party but the dangers confronting the nation have denied my conscience the luxury of introversion. I can no longer sit back and watch poverty, disease, insecurity and illiteracy pervades the homes of my country men."  

Once bitten, twice shy! Dictators like Buhari cannot fool Nigerians anymore; we have already seen him for what he is. Buhari certainly does not have those qualities, in-fact if we remember correctly he was removed from office like a small boy! At a time when the main leader and backbone of his Regime was away from the country for a few days!

There is nothing strong in a military man who could not even hold the fort, keep his men together and call them to order. He lacks vision and courage; he certainly lacks strategy and strength in leadership. He is one of the biggest embarrassments in military dictatorships in Nigeria if you ask me. The coup that toppled him should tell us that the man does his job with a high degree of supervision; He is neither assertive nor decisive.  

He had the power of the gun as a military head of state yet could not function, why does he now want to be a civilian president promising things he cannot deliver?

What sort of Government will Buhari form this time round? A close look at his 1984 cabinet shows the make up of Buhari’s SMC stank to high heavens of tribalism and religious bigotry, almost all the senior positions in the SMC were occupied by northern Muslims; only five of the SMC’s fourteen members were from the south. The lopsided ethno-religious composition of the SMC was very glaring. His New Year’s Eve coup was a deliberate plan to prevent the south from gaining political control of the country, and was nothing more than an orchestrated preservation of the north’s political control of Nigeria by transferring power from northern civilians to northern soldiers.

Many Nigerians don’t know what Buhari stands for politically! Whenever anyone goes looking for a job they are told to produce a CV detailing their qualifications and work experience. In the case of Buhari, His curriculum Vitae carry little or no substance, his professional life reeks only of army work, a dictatorship that spanned just over a year. His educational background is nothing to write home about, Mallam Buhari is hardly the choice for leadership of this great country. 

If we leave political affiliations, tribe, religion and connections aside, what qualities has this man got to show for his time in public office? Extra-judicial killings, human rights abuses, jailing of corrupt politicians illegally with impunity, imposition of draconian laws, rules and regulation on the citizens of this country and pogrom! He is definitely not a statesman by all accounts.

Buhari boycotted a crucial Presidential Debate organized by the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria. Apparently the man got scared because he could not express himself clearly in the English language; He is not educationally and politically savvy enough to address the entirety of the Nigerian people. He could not even convince his own ANPP party members and camp to stick by him. He is constantly deserted everyday by his loyalist and yet people like Abba wants us to entrust 140 million people in his care?

There is enough evidence to show that Buhari is an incurable despot and an unrepentant autocrat. He had never denied being an autocrat. In an interview he once said "I would tamper with Press Freedom" In his months in office he certainly did take us on a roller coaster ride of press abuse. He jailed anyone who stood in his way by telling it like it is. Why should he be different tomorrow? “As they say the uniform does not make the man, the man makes the uniform” General Buhari is another Obasanjo in the waiting, once a soldier always a soldier.

Nigeria is at a crossroad in 2007. The country faces an opportunity - more than at any other time in its history - to build a society that can guarantee justice, human dignity and civil liberties to all Nigerians. That opportunity CANNOT be wasted on former military dictators like Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida and Muhamadu Buhari! 

Ben Oghre

Co. Wexford, Ireland