Balarabe Musa Calls for anti-Buhari protest
An elder statesman and former Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Abdukadri Balarabe Musa has urged Nigerians to protest against the alleged poor handling of the nation’s affairs by President Buhari, in order to avoid the looming doom in the country.
Musa, who is also the Chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) said: “It is time Nigerians should come out and protest against this insecurity in the country and the level of poverty in Nigeria today.
“We should not be afraid to tell the government the truth. It has never been so bad in the country. This government of Buhari is the worst in the history of Nigeria. And every patriotic Nigerian should come out and talk to Buhari and save the country from war.”
According to Musa, if the President cannot handle the security challenges, poverty, unemployment, and the gloomy crisis, “it shows that he has failed”.
But the former Kaduna governor argued: “Obasanjo should not be the one saying it, because during his tenure, he did not perform well and even the Yoruba knew this and did not support him.
“All that he said in the letter is the truth. Buhari’s present government is the worst in the country. He is not uniting the country. What is happening today in Nigeria is not helpful to peaceful coexistence. The insecurity in the country, poverty, unemployment, and threat to the unity of the nation are unprecedented and Nigerians should rise up to protest against these. There is nothing to fear about it. Let us save the nation,” Musa added.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), in a text message to The Guardian by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Mohammad Ibrahim Biu, said: “We are studying Chief Obasanjo’s open letter to President Buhari and will make our position known soon.”
The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) and the socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), commended Obasanjo for having the courage to once again write President Buhari on the threatening state of insecurity in the country.
Also sharing similar views with YCE and ARG, a Second Republic lawmaker on the platform of defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Prof. Seth Akintoye said the former president had consistently exhibited courage and statesmanship in speaking truth to the government when necessary.
The Secretary-General of YCE, Dr. Kunle Olajide, noted that the former president has the right to talk, irrespective of whatever anybody feels, having been twice at the helm of affairs in this country as a military head of state and civilian president.
“What Obasanjo said in his new letter to Buhari is germane because a situation seems to have been created under the current government that a particular section and race in the country is more sacred than the other. This was completely different from what Obasanjo exhibited during his tenure as president in 2002 when the crisis of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) started under Gani Adams. Instead of treating the issue of OPC then with a kid glove of ethnic sentiment, Obasanjo was all out after Adams and he (Adams) was imprisoned. Tell me how many of the so-called herdsmen have been apprehended by this administration since this crisis started?”
Olajide said the current security situation in Nigeria “is not only detestable, but it is also threating the corporate existence of the nation under Buhari because an impression has been created that the Fulani people are a different species that must not be touched under Buhari’s government.”
The YCE scribe, however, differed a bit with Obasanjo by putting the blame for the escalating insecurity the Southwest region on the doorsteps of the governors, instead of the Federal Government.
“I think southwest governors should wake up to the task of security in the states because to me, the idea of flocking our major highways with soldiers as suggested by the Federal Government will not work. The various state houses of assembly in the region must-pass bills that would empower the governors to appropriate money to buy drones that would man out forests from where the bandits are operating.”
The YCE urged President Buhari to change his negative disposition to the demand for restructuring, saying the only solution to the situation in Nigeria is to return to true federalism where each state and region will have its own security apparatus and programme.
“Obasanjo’s letter is apt, timely and right. There is mutual and dangerous suspicion among the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria today,” he said.
The Chairman of ARG, Mr. Wale Oshun, said: “If we all keep silent, this situation will one day consume us all. So, Obasanjo speaking or writing a letter to the president is not out of place.
“The Federal Government owes Nigerians the responsibilities to ensure our borders are appropriately manned and secured to prevent illegal immigrants that are now constituting a security threat to us. Even the ECOWAS treaty says you must come into another country with the necessary documents, but today our nation is currently flocked with illegal immigrants.”
Akintoye flayed Buhari’s style of government, describing him as a type of leader who does not care or feel concerned about what is happening to his people as long as his personal agenda and ethnic interest are intact.
The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) urged the Federal Government not to treat Obasanjo’s letter with levity.
PANDEF Secretary-General, Alfred Mulade, told The Guardian that all the four major issues raised by Obasanjo, such as the spontaneous attack against the Fulani which may inadvertently or advertently mushroom into a pogrom, are all a possibility.
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