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. 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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