A former Managing Director and Editor in Chief, Newswatch newspapers, and a coordinator for Friends of Atiku Professionals (FOAP), Moses Jolayemi has called on the international community to be prepared to rescue Nigeria from an impending mayhem being instigated by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President, General Muhammadu Buhari.
In a statement made available to journalists yesterday, Jolayemi called the attention of Nigerians, civil society organisations, religious leaders and the world at large to the televised part of the APC caucus meeting holding at its secretariat in Abuja where the President confirmed, among other things, h penchant for violence and mass killing.
Buhari in warning people against causing any disturbances during the elections said categorically that whoever engages in such act “will pay with their lives”.
This, to say the least, is scary and ominous of what the President and the APC plan to unleash on the Nigerian electorate if they are unable to pull through with their plans to rig the elections.
It is unexpected that a responsible leader would issue such a threat having revealed that he had already instructed security agencies to be ” ruthless” in dealing with those who work against the interest of the party. He said those who think they are popular or strong in their localities and try to forment trouble during the elections will be doing “their last ignoble act” on earth. Buhari’s position was consistent with that of the chairman of his party, Mr. Adams Oshiomole who said all those working against their party’s interest would be put to shame. Yesterday’s statements by the party’s leadership resonate very well with an earlier threat issued by the Governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai that foreign nationals who interfere in Nigeria’s election would be killed and sent back to their countries as body bags. We strongly believe that the President has given the security agents especially the trigger happy elements free hands to shed the blood of Nigerians. What we expect of responsible leaders is that those caught disrupting the electoral process would be made to face the wrath of the law, not directing armed personnel of government to open fire on their fellow citizens. This is another attempt by the President and his bunch of desperadoes who are currently at their wits end on how to save their sinking ship. It is clear even to toddlers that the Buhari government has failed woefully on all fronts and Nigerians are set to show them the way out with their votes. The belief of most Nigerians is that the postponement of the elections was not without the knowledge and consent of the ruling party. What the party is trying to do is a face-saving gymick to give an impression of neutrality and non-intereference in the affairs of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). They hold that the whole thing is a charade. For instance, Buhari was reported to have gone to his polling unit to vote before he was told that the election had been postponed. But while addressing his party leaders yesterday, Buhari said he was informed of the postponement at about 5am, two and half hours after the eerie announcement by INEC. Who then is fooling who? Another school of thought holds that since the President and his co-travellers would do just anything to remain in power, terrorising and impoverishing the nation as they have done in the last almost four years, it is not unlikely that the threat being issued by both the President and the APC chairman was to inject fears in the INEC chairman as well as other Resident Electoral Commissioners across the 36 states of the Federation in order to ensure that electoral body does the bidding of the APC. President Buhari and his party should know that the world is watching and Nigerians are no longer willing to allow a small clique of power mongers to continue holding the nation by the jugular while hunger, poverty and insecurity envelope the nation. Noting that Buhari’s total disregard for the sanctity of human life is no longer in doubt considering the way and manner terrorists have continued to waste innocent, defenceless lives of women and children across the country without any tangible efforts to stem the disastrous tide, Jolayemi said Buhari’s latest outburst and blank cheque for security agents to kill unarmed Nigerians should be given all the seriousness and attention necessary. While it is condemnable, reprehensible and irresponsible for the President to declare war on the citizenry in his desperate bid to stay in power at all costs and against the will of the people, we are not too surprised given the President’s antecedents as a military head of state and as a private citizen. The records are there how he had threatened to spill the blood of fellow Nigerians in the past and his unpretentious hatred for non-moslems.
Nigerians should nonetheless ignore the vituperations of the President and his frustrated party leaders and go out peacefully to exercise their franchise whenever the elections are scheduled to hold. The only opportunity for Nigerians to end the present slavery is to troop out enmasse and vote the candidate of their choice. God bless Nigeria.