Background
A group of young Nigerians under the platform of Patriotic Vanguard staged a public procession/rally at the Lagos Ibadan Express Way by Old Tollgate on Wednesday, 21st January, 2014 to sensitise Nigerian public and prospective voters on the unsuitability of General Muhammadu Buhari for the office of President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Patriotic Vanguard is concerned that records and misdeeds of the presidential candidate of All Progressive Congress (APC) in public office are incongruous and inimical to the quest of genuine democracy in Nigeria. It is the conviction of Patriotic Vanguard that General Buhari is unsuitable and unfit to lead a democratic Nigeria in the 21st Century based on past records of inhuman, insensitive, unaccountable and draconian leadership in public office.
The public procession/rally was held against the backdrop of emerging facts regarding General Buhari’s undemocratic and uncivil tendencies as manifested in his deceitful admission on Oath and refusal to provide evidence of academic qualification to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as well as failure to avail Nigerians on the true position of his health and source of the enormous resources currently being deployed into his campaign.
It has therefore become important to sensitise the general public and particularly voters on the need to be vigilant and ensure that Nigeria’s democratic process is not put on reverse gear on the pretence that General Buhari is the change Nigerians need at this crucial time. Indeed, Nigerians should be weary of desperation for change being championed by selfish and corrupt cheerleaders leaning on General Buhari.
Our Concerns about General Buhari Desperation for power
Based on available and undisputable facts in the public domain, General Buhari’s desperation to be president after 31 years of his draconian leadership as head of military government is not borne out of genuine intention to provide democratic leadership or bequeath governance with selfless and pro-people leadership. For the avoidance of doubt, General Buhari’s fourth attempt at the poll posits present and clear danger to the quest for deepening democracy and governance on the basis civility and progressive leadership. Patriotic Vanguard therefore believes that General Buhari is unsuitable and unfit for the exalted office of President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is therefore based on the following reasons amongst others:
· Who are the sponsors of General Buhari’s Campaigns? Whereas General Buhari and the APC would want Nigerians to believe that PDP are committing more than enough public resources to the ongoing presidential campaigns based on the N21 billion raised at its fund raising, the simple, undisputable truth today is that the APC and General Buhari are virtual outspending their opponents without public disclosure of the source and the size of campaign funds. Nigerians therefore must be weary of deceitful and lack of public transparency/ accountability of General Buhari and APC in their desperation for power. Who are the sponsors of Buhari’s campaigns? Why would Nigerrians not know who are contributing millions into the presidential campaign of a man who claim to represnt change? Why deceive Nigerians with the idea of raising campaign funds from ordinary poor citizens? Nigerians should be concerned that General Buhari desperation is laced with huge deficits in integrity as his APC’s gang and their monebags represent serious danger to Nigerian economy if allowed to take over power.
· More than 30 years after triple cold-blooded murder of Benard Ogedengbe (29), Lawal Ojuolape (30) and Bartholomew Owoh (26) by the military government headed by General Muhammadu Buhari, the APC presidential candidate has refused to publicly acknowledge the fatal error as manifested in the execution and injustice meted out to the victims of retroactive anti-drug trafficking law. While the families of the victims whose lives were terminated in their prime live in agonies and pains, General Buhari only found it convenient to publicly defend murderous religious extremism in northern Nigeria by tacitly condemning the death of Boko Haram members in faceoff with Nigerian military.
· Ongoing controversies over General Buhari’s certificate scandal in the face of “Change” which APC purportedly represents say a lot about the much-touted integrity of General Buhari. Indeed, Buhari’s refusal to show evidence of his academic qualification is consistent with his obduracy and lack of respect for public feelings.
· General Muhammadu Buhari cannot be the change Nigeria truly deserves! The simple truth is that General Buhari’s idea of change is to torpedo the socio-economic and political order in Nigeria through manipulation of politics to further entrench religious extremism and impunity. Nigerians therefore must exercise caution with much trepidation as the integrity and change being deviously and deceitful canvassed as an alternative could only lead to anarchy.
· If General Buhari has forgotten about the missing N2- billion (now equivalent of N-) oil revenue when he was Minister of Petroleum resources in the 70s, Patriotic Vanguard wishes to join other Nigerians in reminding him that his past record of unaccountability in public office raises fresh concern about his integrity and suitability for the office of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
· In the words of General Buhari, “late head of state General Sani Abacha was not corrupt as he did not steal any money”! It is therefore not strange that Buhari and the APC have not considered it appropriate to respond to the outcome of the PTF probe which revealed multi-million Naira thefts under the watchful eyes of their standard bearer. Unlike what the agents of Buhari would want Nigerians to see in the nebulous power-game being championed by the APC, the missing or unaccounted PTF fund shows that General Buhari given his age and frail health at the moment is most unsuitable to preside over the affairs of the country; more so that he has surrounded himself with political wolves who has succeeded in putting states under their control in huge; unexplainable debts having milked the treasury pitiably dry.
Conclusion
Patriotic Vanguard calls on Nigerians and the electorate in particular to be extra vigillant and circumspect in the circumstance we found ourselves as a people. Again, Patriotic Vanguard considers it incubent to warn that General Muhammadu Buhari is NOT the change Nigeria deserves! Indeed GMB is nothing but a GAMBIT intended to put Nigeria on the reverse gear. We urge Nigerians and the electorate to rise above political deceit and see through the decoy of power which General Buhari represents in the electoral equation of the APC.
Signed
Sina Animashaun
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