Former Nigerian Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has
accused President Goodluck Jonathan of deploying the institutions of the state
to wage war against the country, especially the opposition.
In a statement issued in Kaduna on Sunday, Gen. Buhari urged
President Jonathan to pull the brakes on his Administration’s runaway train of
impunity in the interest of Nigeria’s survival and the sustenance of the
nation’s democracy.
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| Mohammadu Buhari |
He said the developments in the polity have become an
unwelcome distraction for the nation’s ongoing survival battle against the
terror group Boko Haram, which has put Nigeria on the tenterhooks, with
innocent citizens being daily mowed down at the times and places of the group’s
chosen and over 200 school girls spending their fourth month in precarious
captivity
“In my capacity as an elder statesman, rather than a
politician, I have spoken to President Jonathan in private over these issues,
but indications are that the strategy has not yielded positive fruits. I
cannot, just because I am an opposition politician, fail to do what is expected
of me as an elder statesman to help rescue our nation in times of great trouble
and palpable uncertainty.
“History will not be kind to me if I sit back while things
turn bad, just so that no one will accuse me of partisanship. Yes, I am a
politician. Yes, I am in the opposition. Yes, there is the tendency for my
statement to be misconstrued as that of a politician rather than a statesman.
But I owe it as matter of duty and honour, and in the interest of our nation,
to speak out on the dangerous trajectory that our nation is heading.
“I can say, in all sincerity, that I have seen it all, as an
ordinary citizen, a military officer, a head of state, a man who has occupied
many other sensitive posts and a politician. I have been a close participant
and witness to Nigeria’s political history.
“Our country has gone through several rough patches, but
never before have I seen a Nigerian President declare war on his own country as
we are seeing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President deploy federal
institutions in the service of partisanship as we are witnessing now. Never
before have I seen a Nigerian President utilize the common wealth to subvert
the system and punish the opposition, all in the name of politics. Our nation
has suffered serious consequences in the past for egregious acts that are not
even close to what we are seeing now. It is time to pull the brakes,” Gen.
Buhari warned.
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