President Mohammadu Buhari’s draconian style of administration is<\/p>\n
impacting negatively on the nation, fuelling ill feelings, despondence and
\ngeneral discontent among the populace and spiking a gloomy future with an
\never spiraling economic downturn.
\nThe effects of his harsh policies and perceived lopsided anti-graft war,
\nreminiscent of his stint as military head of state between 1983 and 1984
\nis so pronounced that even his former constituency, the military, is
\nweighed down by his high-handedness.
\nPointblanknews.com investigation has uncovered an existing plot by some
\nelements in the military to unseat President Mohammadu Buhari.
\nNiger Delta militants under the aegis of the Joint Niger Delta Liberation
\nForce (NDLF) had Wednesday revealed that some top army officers had
\napproached them to intensify the oil pipeline bombing campaign which
\nwould be used as a justification to overthrow President Buhari’s
\ndictatorial administration.
\nPointblanknews.com had long monitored developments in the military and has
\nsince confirmed that indeed, like a de’ ja vu, there is a plot to oust
\nPresident Buhari’s government a second time owing to his inflexible and
\nself-centered disposition in discharging the affairs of state each time he
\nis given the opportunity.
\nBut like Julius Ceaser, who trained his sights on conquest of more
\nterritories for Rome without paying attention to what happened at home,
\nBuhari’s enemies, like Caesar’s, are coming from the most unexpected
\nquarters: his own constituency.
\nThe alarm sounded by Niger Delta militants appeared to have unwittingly
\naltered the calculations of the coup plotters, our investigations has
\nrevealed.
\nBut with hindsight, Buhari had embarked on a half-hearted cleansing of the
\nmilitary starting with those involved in the $2.1 billion arms scandal
\noriginally meant for the procurement of arms for the prosecution of the
\nwar against Boko Haram. Most of the service chiefs that handled the funds
\nunder former President Jonathan, were retired and handed over to the
\nEconomic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution.
\nPresident Buhari went further to retire more top army officers mostly from
\nthe South-east and South-south geo-political zones of the country, an
\naction that is viewed as ethnic cleansing. Many of the affected officers
\nwere said to be those involved in the 2015 general elections and the arms
\nscandal.
\nBut the affected officers have countered that they were neither involved
\nin the general elections nor had anything to do with arms purchase and
\nonly saw their retirement letters on their desks on resumption of the
\nduty.
\nThe EFCC has since indicated its intention to prosecute the 38 retired
\nofficers in court.
\nPresident Buhari for the first time by any sitting president, addressed
\nstaff of the Presidential Villa on Wednesday and cautioned them against
\ninvolvement in corrupt practices. A circular, Pointblanknews.com gathered,
\nwas later circulated to all staff, demanding absolute loyalty with
\nconcomitant threats of severe sanctions against leakage of top secret
\ninformation and links to outside forces working against the government.
\nThese measures, President Buhari believes would rid the army of officers
\nwhose loyalty is in doubt and who are still believed to nurse some
\nfeelings for the former administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.
\nPointblanknews.com has learned of the existence of a political arm of the
\ncoup plot hatched by Buhari’s own people. The Hausa-Fulani ethnic stock
\nare also believed to have carried out an extensive threat analysis of the
\npresent political situation and the long term effects of President
\nBuhari’s political misadventure vis-a-vis his inability to understand
\nNigeria’s diversity and his inclination to stubbornly stick to his
\noutdated view of the present political realities in Nigeria.
\nFulani political tacticians have suddenly realised that the political
\npower they enjoy presently may slip through their hands if a deft
\npolitical calculation is not applied immediately to arrest the drift, a
\nsituation where the entire country is held down by harsh economic
\nconditions and the mishandling of the Niger Delta situation which led to
\nthe emergence of more militant groups and a rapid dip in the oil output
\nfrom 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) to as low as 400,000bpd with
\nconstant threats by the militants to get Nigeria to zero output level in a
\nfew weeks.
\n“The problem is that he is blind to reason. The service chiefs and
\nofficers he has removed and still plans to remove whether they are
\ninvolved in arms scandal or elections and the innocent ones have thousands
\nof other officers they mentored and who owe their employment and present
\nranks and positions in the army to such officers and service chiefs. He
\nwas in the military and he knows it.
\n“Up till today, there are still those who are linked to him even though he
\nleft the military many years ago. If you think because you retired these
\nofficers and therefore, there wont be a plot against you, then, you need
\nto look back at Nigeria’s military history in relation to coup plots. If
\nyou do not carry your constituency along or if you decide to humiliate
\nthem, you are bound to pay for it especially when you even have a history
\nof the corruption you are fighting”, a competent military source told
\nPointblanknews.com.
\nFrom the political constituency, former Vice-President and the ruling All
\nProgressives Party (APC) chieftain and a fellow Fulani, Atiku Abubakar,
\nrecently described President Buhari as a man who has refused to learn from
\nhistory. He has also called for a restructuring of the federation, a call
\nthat has resonated with the politically marginalised sections of the
\ncountry but the call is also seen by political pundits as a deft move to
\nsell a better Fulani alternative to Nigerians ahead of 2019 general
\nelections.
\n\u201cWe have a leader who is not prepared to learn from the past. Again, here
\nwe come back to the same economic challenges that are facing the country
\nbut we also have a leadership that is not prepared to learn from the past
\nand the leadership that is not prepared to lead,\u201d he had said at a recent
\nfunction.
\nSenator Shehu Sani, a Fulani from Kaduna State recently tackled Kaduna
\nGovernor, Nasir el-Rufai, who is also of the Fulani extraction for
\ntraining his sights on President Buhari’s position instead of
\nconcentrating on the governance of the state.
\n“It would be counter-productive for the governor to start thinking of
\nevicting Buhari in 2019 to be the President of the Federal Republic of
\nNigeria. El-Rufai should do his job and stop putting his eyes on the
\nPresidency,” the senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local
\nand Foreign Debt, said in a recent interview.
\n“The plot to oust President Buhari is anchored on three planks: the
\npoliticians of his ethnic stock, who are disenchanted with his
\nmismanagement of their political fortune, top military brass from the same
\nethnic stock, who are no longer used to business as usual and are
\nencouraging younger officers from the same area to effect a regime change
\nafter which a short transition that would see to the handing over to
\nanother preferred Fulani would be consummated.
\n“So far, cocooned in his ethnic world view, President Buhari is
\nunwittingly removing those who would have made his removal difficult and
\nplaying into the hands of those he thinks would protect him but are
\ndetermined to remove him quietly and consolidate their hold on power”.
\n“The original plot was to prepare the ground for Buhari’s reelection in
\n2019 by removing every perceived or imagined security obstacle part of
\nwhich is the deployment of only Hausa-Fulanis as GOCs, police
\ncommissioners, Department of States Security (DSS), the Economic and
\nFinancial Crimes Commission (EFCC), state commandants of the Nigerian
\nSecurity and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the southern states, the
\nreason why you cannot have any meaningful investigation in the cases of
\nFulani herdsmen attacks in many states in the Middle belt and the South
\nor killing of Biafra agitators.
\n“The issue of service chiefs have long been resolved so the Chief of Army
\nStaff, Chief of Air Staff, the New IGP of Police, heads of Immigration,
\nNSCDC, Prison Service the same with state commands in the South are all
\nmostly core northerners and you know what this means. These are
\ninstruments of state, force and coercion.
\n“The political level or cabinet level have all been resolved with the
\nMinister of Defence, Justice and Interior all occupied by his kinsmen so
\nhis plan for full blown dictatorship was long consummated so the rest of
\nthe country is at the mercy of Buhari and his kinsmen. Do you understand?
\nThat is why you have indescreminate prosecutions without obedience to
\ncourt orders so except you have a coup or armed rebellion that matches or
\nsurpasses government’s arsenal, the rest of the country, especially the
\nSouth, even with the involvement of the Yoruba, is screwed.
\n“Remember that Buhari is partnering the Kanuris in this project with the
\nappointment of the Chief of Army Staff, NSA, Chief of Staff to the
\nPresident as well as the North-East Development Commission project as a
\nnew unifying factor. But the original reelection strategy is now hampered
\nby Buhari’s misrule hence the need to get rid of him. But as it is, the
\nreckless statement by the militants will definitely alter the arrangement
\nbut it is still there”, an impeccable military source said.
\nOther Northern leaders notably former Governor of Kaduna State and
\nChairman of Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Alhaji
\nBalarabe Musa and Chairman of the Northern Elders Council (NEC), Alhaji
\nTanko Yakasai, have also condemned President Buhari’s dictatorial style of
\ngovernance.
\n\u201cWe are quite sure from all the evidence we have gathered that there is
\nselectivity in the anti-corruption crusade of the Federal Government. Of
\ncourse, other governors in the country should be investigated if Fayose
\ncould be investigated.
\n\u201cAnd their bank accounts should also be scrutinised and frozen if they are
\nfound to be corrupt. Certainly, there seems to be selective probe, if
\nFayose alone is singled out.\u201d
\nOn the forgery allegation against the Senate President and his deputy,
\nMusa said \u201cwe are terribly concerned about the situation in the Senate
\nbecause this may lead to a serious political crisis in Nigeria. \u201cIt can
\nlead to an attempt by the government to undermine the Senate and by
\nimplication the National Assembly. And if this is done, then the
\nimplication is that the President will be a dictator. He will work alone
\naccording to his agenda.
\n\u201cNow, this action against the National Assembly by the Presidency implies
\nthat there is an attempt to destroy the National Assembly to enable the
\npresident to work alone and, at the same time, apply fascist measures in
\nthe country.
\nYakasai on his part said: \u201cI think it is now certain that presidents,
\ngovernors and other serving public officers can be investigated and their
\nbank accounts frozen. But, the President, Vice President and deputy
\ngovernors are conferred with immunity by the constitution. The things that
\nare happening these
\ndays make me develop some fears about this country.
\n\u201cI want you to read the history of Nazi Party, with particular reference
\nwith the formation of Gestapo. After Hitler came to power, he merged the
\nparty with the police and other security agencies put everybody in Germany
\nin fear.
\n\u201cAnd if care is not taken, to start with one governor in Nigeria, it will
\nend up with everyone in the whole country. So, I think the media in this
\ncountry should immediately help to rescue this country from dictatorship.
\nIf you don\u2019t do it then you are not performing your duty in a democracy.\u201d
\n\u201cI am 90 years now; I\u2019m on my way going. You have a duty to protect
\ndemocracy in this country. I know what we did when Olusegun Obasanjo
\ndenied Lagos State Government of its statutory allocation. He is a
\nmilitary man and I\u2019m not afraid of any military man in government.
\nHowever, the right thing must be done. We must protect our democracy\u201d, he
\nsaid in an interview with The Guardian newspaper.
\nThe military, has, however issued a statement denying any plot to topple
\nthe government as alleged by the Niger Delta militants. The statement
\nsigned by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col Sani Usman,
\nrestated its loyalty to President Buhari’s democratically elected
\ngovernment stating that indeed, the military fared better in a democracy.
\n\u201cThis is baseless and most unfortunate allegation that existed in the
\nwarped minds of the originators of such weighty allegation. The Nigerian
\nArmy wish to state that this is not true and hereby distanced itself from
\nthis weighty allegation”, he said.
\nAccording to him, the military \u201cis the greatest beneficiary of democracy
\nand therefore cannot ever contemplate any anti-democratic misadventure,
\ncertainly not under the command of the present Chief of Army Staff,
\nLt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai.
\n\u201cWe wish to state further that the NA is the greatest beneficiary of
\ndemocracy and therefore cannot ever contemplate any anti-democratic
\nmisadventure, certainly not under the command of the present Chief of Army
\nStaff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai. Rather, we see this type
\nof dangerous speculation as a declaration of war to destabilise the
\npresent government by these unscrupulous elements.\u201d
\nHe said the army was investigating those behind the “dangerous
\ninsinuation” and the motive behind it .
\n\u201cWe would like to reiterate our unalloyed loyalty to the President and
\nCommander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
\nand defence of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We
\nwould also like to reaffirm our unconditional support and obedience to
\ncivil authority,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Mohammadu Buhari’s draconian style of administration is impacting negatively on the nation, fuelling ill feelings, despondence and general discontent among the populace and spiking a gloomy future with an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50114,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n