The Presidency has described former Head of State and
presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change,
Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), as the major sponsor of the
dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram and a leading protagonist of
violence.
It said that apart from his ambition to rule the country again,
Buhari had refused to contribute meaningfully to actions capable
of ending insecurity in the country.
Buhari, a National Leader of the CPC, had, on the Hausa service of
the British Broadcasting Corporation on Monday, said that the
Federal Government should be blamed for the lingering security
challenges in the country. According to Punch Newspaper, Buhari
also flayed the Goodluck Jonathan administration for what he
called “poor handling of insurgency” that had led to the death of
many Nigerians and destruction of properties.
While reacting to this, the Senior Special Assistant to the President
on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said it was unfortunate that
such a statement could emanate from Buhari.
Describing Buhari as a man he respects so much, Okupe added
that he had no option but to reply to his accusations against the
Federal Government and the President.
He reminded Nigerians that Buhari had previously been credited
with a statement that he would make the country ungovernable if
the last presidential election did not favour him.
Okupe said, “Everybody in this country knows that it was Buhari
who vowed that if he did not win the election, he would make the
country ungovernable for this President Goodluck Jonathan. It
was this same Buhari who said during the electioneering period
that if the votes were counted and he lost, people should go for
blood. He is not in any position to apportion blame on the issue
of violence in the North or in Nigeria in general. He is a
protagonist of violence.
The only solution he sees to his not being President is to call for
violence. This government has tried to contain some of the
repercussions of the unguarded statements made by Buhari and I
don’t think anybody in Nigeria will take him seriously on this
allegation.”
The presidential aide added that if there were those to be blamed
for the insecurity in the country, the name of Buhari should top
the list. Okupe wondered why the Katsina State- born general had
refused to visit states like Borno and Yobe despite the fact that he
hails from the northern part of the country.
He said, “As a former Head of State, have you ever seen him
(Buhari) visiting Borno or Yobe States? Have you ever seen him
show sympathy to people, either Christians or Muslims that have
been killed during these attacks by Boko Haram? Have you see
him as a leader, a man who traversed the entire length and
breadth of the North especially to canvass for votes seeking an
end to the violence? Why is it that he cannot use that same clout
that he has to get leaders together and say we must put an end to
this carnage? He finds it comfortable to shift the blame to other
people.
What has he done as a leader, who is from that region to help
Nigeria and the North out of this unfortunate development?
Nigerians should ask him, as a former Head of State and
stakeholder in the Nigeria project and a man who wants to be
President again, if he would want Nigeria to be destroyed up to a
point before he can try to wade in? It does not work that way.”
Okupe said that as a leader, Buhari should stop apportioning
blame, but should do something crucial to bring the carnage in
the country under control.
He reminded the former military ruler that during the crisis in
Niger Delta, leaders from the region went into the creeks and
discussed with the militants to lay down their arms. “Has Buhari
done that? When Christians were killed, he kept quiet, when
mosques were bombed, he did not say anything.
He doesn’t have any other interest in Nigeria but his inordinate
ambition to rule,” he added. In his reaction, Buhari said there was
no way he could be involved in the discussion on how to end the
carnage since he was not part of the problem. Buhari, who spoke
through the National Publicity Secretary of the CPC, Mr. Rotimi
Fashakin, also said it was apparent that those responsible for the
crisis in the Niger Delta were the ones that volunteered to end it.
He said, “When the Niger Delta militancy reached a crescendo,
some notable people from that region went into the creeks as he
(Okupe) alleged. The question is: ‘Who were the people who
started the Niger Delta imbroglio ab initio?’ If the people that
initiated and executed a problem decided to resolve it, what can
anyone do about it?
This is totally different from the Boko Haram palaver.”
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