Not in Buhari’s name (I)

For any reason at all, there is an army of malcontents armed with machetes, swords, cudgels, petrol and matches set to burn, maim and kill at a huff. This attitude has led to the use of the most profane and unprintable verbs to describe us northerners by those who still hold on to their primordial […]

For any reason at all, there is an army of malcontents armed with machetes, swords, cudgels, petrol and matches set to burn, maim and kill at a huff. This attitude has led to the use of the most profane and unprintable verbs to describe us northerners by those who still hold on to their primordial tendencies. It burns the belly to read some of the reactions to reports of crisis in our part of the country.

It is time to put a stop to this and to rescue our region from the negative stigma it is fast acquiring as a result of these idiotic outbursts. It is time to put a stop to the carnage that is losing us not just the sympathy due to us as talakawas and victims of the avarice of our ruling elite but the friendship and help we urgently require to put us at par with the rest of the civilised world. Putting a stop to premeditated crises will help shame those who feel that nothing good can come out of northern Nigeria. It is time to rebuild confidence in northern Nigeria and make rioters realise that no region can develop without the help of others either internally or externally.

So, who are the perpetrators of the current riots in northern Nigeria? Are they, as our enemies are quick to allege, supporters of General Muhammadu Buhari? It will appear that they are not. The mere fact that some miscreants shout somebody’s name or hold somebody’s campaign poster while they carry out their nefarious acts are just not enough to insinuate that such people have been instigated by the person to commit arson and murder. As a matter of fact, these rioters and their social network supporters are no democrats neither do they have the mental capacity to understand the rudiments of democracy. They are not lovers of peace and their conduct rates them lower than beasts.

Records would show that in the turbulent campaigns that preceded the most scientific rigging in poll history, General Buhari conducted himself above par. He was prevented from campaigning in some parts of Nigeria. His campaign posters were torn down in some parts of the country and another candidate’s erected in its stead; his campaign adverts were rejected on state-owned but public funded electronic media. One governor’s lamest excuse for closing down CPC campaign offices is that the landlords had not paid tenement rate. Then in a shocking twist following outrage, he suddenly became ‘magnanimous’ and offered to defray the tenement rate with his own salary.

In all these, General Buhari was never quoted as reacting negatively. Except in the Plateau, he gave up campaigning in hostile environments. And in a rare move of exemplary courage and display of hitherto a soft unknown side, he broke down and cried when it became obvious that his party was unlikely to win and give Nigeria the anti-corruption surgery it requires to advance. He was never known to insult or abuse anyone. He urged voters to make sure their votes count, but some wicked people translated that to mean a total opposite. The tapes are there for those who care. Indeed, contrary to opinions which portray him as rigid, insensitive and bigoted, this man never called anyone names or insulted any region. His opponents denigrated an entire race but all that is forgotten.

As I recall, General Buhari was the first of the candidates to reach out to people of all tribal and religious persuasions. The picture of his visit to the much respected Pastor Enoch Adeboye is etched in the minds of those who care to recall. In the Christendom today, Adeboye occupies a pride of place akin to the position of the Pope to Catholicism and so, it is unlikely that Buhari went there to denigrate the Christian faith. Indeed, Buhari, the so-called fundamentalist picked one of the most vociferous preachers of the Christian faith, Pastor Bakare as his running mate.

Indeed, when that happened, I recalled some prominent PDP stalwart making it an apostasy issue because Bakare had converted to Christianity from the Islamic faith. Naturally, Buhari is a man of few words – he lives what he preaches. If he is a fundamental Muslim, I give it to him, because I too, a northern Christian, am fundamental about my faith. Truth is, Nigeria recognises and tolerates us both. Buhari is a detribalised Nigerian. If the rioters had their way, they would have killed even Buhari himself – after all, he founded a party and gave the chairmanship to a Christian – Tony Momoh himself comes from a tolerant family with mixed faith. Buhari’s chief spokesman, Yinka Odumakin is as Yoruba as they come from Moro, just a few kilometres from Ile-Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba race and for many years the spokesperson of the pan-Yoruba group – the Afenifere. I am still trying to find one action of Buhari that fits the garb that the status quo and its media tried to fit him in, but so far, I have none.

Given all these and the fact that in spite of denials, Nigerians have attributed to General Buhari, things he never said; the fact that he was often misquoted with prejudice, it is clear that the perpetrators of the heinous crimes in northern Nigeria have committed crimes against humanity. They should be fished out, tried and judged accordingly. But then, we, as northerners need to speak frankly and truthfully to ourselves. We are fast becoming a pariah and a byword among other tribes but how did we get here?

….to be concluded