In the year 2014, it is unfortunate that some public commentators still feel a need to resort to using indecorous language when discussing retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari, a former military dictator and leading presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC). If not for anything else, Buhari, at 72, is a Nigerian elder who deserves to be accorded the respect that all Nigerian communities accord their elders. True, there are times when Buhari himself fails to speak or act like an elder. Despite that, we cannot take away what God, in His mercies, has granted the man; that is, the privilege of living to become an elder.
Those who are in support of Buhari’s desire to ascend the nation’s presidency are fond of pointing to his anti-corruption record when he was a military dictator who truncated the democratically-elected government of President Shehu Shagari at the end of 1983. For what it is worth, it must be conceded that this much-vaunted anti-corruption record is a good starting point, never mind that the immense differences between a 42-year-old Buhari leading a military dictatorship and a 72-year-old Buhari chasing a civilian presidency do not quite resolve in the retired General’s favour.
On the other hand, for those who are against Buhari’s present-day ambition, it is also to his records, and his words, that they should turn; there should be no room for rude or inappropriate language. In Buhari’s records and words, present and past, we find enough to make discerning Nigerians shudder that the former military dictator would once again present himself as a potential presidential candidate of any political party after three failed attempts.
The present-day Buhari, that is the 72-year-old chasing a civilian presidency, said recently in an interview that he is not opposed to a Muslim-Muslim ticket, implying that Christians in the country should either live with it or perhaps go and form their own country. In his words: “…the question of this Muslim-Muslim ticket, although it was a long way from Abiola and Kingibe [in 1993], all the same, I have not absolutely closed my mind….” That an elder like Buhari fails to see how insensitive these words are is an indication that he may, unfortunately, have a hangover from his days as a military dictator.
Even though former President Olusegun Obasanjo, while not addressing Buhari directly, has pooh-poohed the Muslim-Muslim ticket idea, it certainly cannot register with the APC presidential aspirant. This is because, as a military dictator, Buhari did exactly as he wished and picked Brigadier (later Major-General) Tunde Idiagbon, a fellow Muslim, as his deputy under the title of Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters. If Buhari, the military dictator, saw nothing wrong in him, a Muslim, having another Muslim as his deputy, it is a wonder that people expect him today to now reconsider his position, more so, after having thrice, as he rationalised, chosen Christian running mates and failed to win in 2003, 2007 and 2011.
Moreover, Buhari’s record in his days of military dictatorship speaks volumes of his tolerance for or predisposition towards people from the South of Nigeria. His Supreme Military Council, SMC, the highest decision-making body under Buhari’s government, was inaugurated in January 1984 with a total of 16 members. Eleven of the SMC members were from the North. These included Buhari himself and Idiagbon, Major-General Domkat Bali, Major-General Ibrahim Babangida, Major-General Mamman Vatsa, and Air Vice Marshal Ibrahim Alfa. Others were Brigadier Sani Abacha, Brigadier Yohanna Kure, Brigadier Mohammed Magoro, Brigadier Gado Nasko, and Colonel Salihu Ibrahim.
The five Southerners on the SMC were: Commodore Augustus Aikhomu, Brigadier Ola Oni, Brigadier Paul Omu, Air Commodore Larry Koinyan and Navy Captain Ebitu Ukiwe. Interestingly, Omu, Koinyan and Ukiwe appeared to be afterthoughts for, other than Nasko, they were the only SMC members without portfolios.
Additionally, in Buhari’s heyday as the overlord of the General Sani Abacha-established Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), it is on record that he took matters to an astonishing level by engaging the services of the late Ahmad Salihijo, his brother in-law and head of the all-powerful Afri-Projects Consortium, as a super-consultant. It was well-known that absolutely nothing could happen in PTF without the express approval of Salihijo’s Afri-Projects Consortium, the supervising-consultant to the PTF that wielded so much power in a manner that had never been seen in any organisation before then.
If that was the Buhari of the past, it is common knowledge that the present-day Buhari continues to surround himself with mostly people from the Katsina-Kaduna-Kano axis. Buhari only remembers to make a quick dash to the south when he is seeking a lame-duck running mate for his quest for the presidency. Of course, that is his right. He may associate with only those he wishes to associate with. However, it should concern all well-meaning Nigerians if, with his track record, Buhari wishes to lead Nigeria under a democratic dispensation.
It should also concern all Nigerians that the present-day Buhari has consistently displayed a predilection to encourage violence among his followers. Indeed, it would be rather irresponsible of Nigerians to forget that it was Buhari who said: “If what happened in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood.” The interpretation to this ominous statement is a clear pointer that we do not require insults to reject Buhari’s present-day aspirations.
Mr Ojo sent this piece from Ketu, Lagos via Kayodeojo64@yahoo.com
