The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor
Ayo Oritsejafor has read another divisive and inflammatory statement by
Muhammadu Buhari, a retired General, former Head of State and
Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, (CPC).
The retired General was widely reported by several national newspaper
Correspondents, who monitored the Liberty Radio programme “Guest of the
week”, to have questioned the “special treatment” given to the
Niger-Delta militants by the Federal Government while the Boko Haram
members were being killed and their houses destroyed by government.
“They (the Niger-Delta militants) were trained in some skills and were
given employment, but the ones in the north were being killed and their
houses were being demolished. They are different issues. What brought
this? It is injustice”, the former Head of State was quoted to have
said.
“I cannot wish away the outburst of harshly critical statements,
especially as some of them are directly related to the defense of the
Boko Haram sect whose members have continued to kill, maim Christians
and burn Churches. I feel the pain inflicted on Christians living in the
north is too deep for us in CAN to ignore any unsavoury statement that
tend to portray innocent Christians who have been killed by the sect
members as the aggressors.
“It is shocking that at a time well-meaning Nigerians are praying for
the success of our soldiers, Buhari, rather than reflect the mood of
the nation in his statements and conducts is indulging in careless
statements without regards for victims of the sect’s violence who are
mostly Christians.
“I have, several times been vindicated that Boko Haram is not
inspired by pecuniary motives, the latest of which is the statement by
Robert Fowler, the released former United Nation’s envoy to Niger
Republic who said in a BBC programme, “Hard Talk”, aired on Tuesday, 4
th
of June, 2013, that his captors never talked of poverty but
islamisation of Africa. Spent and defeated politicians with outburst of
temper and elders like Buhari who take delight in inflaming religious
and ethnic passions should, therefore, be arrested and made to explain
some of the issues raised by them. This is why I call for the arrest of
Buhari now. Buhari is a big security risk to Nigeria’s cooperate
existence.
“It is laughable that Buhari, an ex-Head of State, a General in the
Nigerian Army who has served this country in different capacities would
support Islamists who are confronting those in his constituency who are
fighting to keep the nation from dismemberment. For Buhari who has led a
Brigade of troops in 1982 to repel invading Chadian troops from the
same north-eastern borders of Nigeria, the first major foreign invasion,
to oppose a state of emergency when some parts of Borno and Yobe States
had been occupied and the Nigerian flag replaced with theirs, burnt
Churches, schools, government institutions, killed innocent Christians,
attacked traditional rulers and others not sympathetic to their cause,
speaks volume.
“The retired General’s sad commentary has not portrayed him as a
national leader. As a retired General, he should have known that fights
against terrorists are not mere child’s play. They are much more
difficult than conventional war which he fought in 1982. If Buhari is a
national leader, he should have been more concerned about the killings
of innocent ones by the sect members and the success of the troops and
not that of terrorists as he has been doing.
“Therefore, Buhari’s comments, coming at a time Nigerians have been
quite appreciative of the bold steps taken by President Goodluck
Jonathan to rid the north of Nigeria’s enemies can only mean that the
retired General is a fanatic. He is, therefore, the prime leader of this
religious and blood thirsty sect called Boko Haram, a movement that is
based on a warped interpretation of a strict adherence to force people
of other religions into Islam. This kind of fundamentalism is the
driving force behind his failure of each election in the country.
“I intensely dislike to believe that Buhari is making these
distasteful and unacceptable comments only as a way of escaping from the
wrath of the sect members after their attack on his native Daura town.
It is not enough to oppose positions that have been applauded by
majority of Nigerians. Constructive criticism dictates that alternative
solutions are given. Having explored all the windows of opportunity and
commitments in its search for peace in the north-east, what I expect
from Buhari is a suggestion as to the way forward and not comments that
are divisive. Buhari should know that no injustice can justify the
wanton destruction of Churches and the widespread massacre of innocent
Christians. Why are Christians more of the victims of this orgy of
terror unleashed by the Boko Haram sect?
“Buhari and others of that ilk should rather than exacerbating the
problem at hand aim to convince the sect members of the wrongfulness of
their islamisation plot. If the retired General is now crying out that
the Boko Haram members are being killed, it can only mean that the boys
he intended to use to spill the blood of monkeys and baboons on the land
are being decimated by the gallant Special Forces.
For now, Buhari should be told that the time to grandstand for 2015
is not now. I, therefore, call on him and his fellow travelers to
remember that we are all Nigerians, our religion and regional leanings
notwithstanding. 234Ureports
