Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Buhari's burdens are too much for Nigeria

Another way to see this is to think of it in terms of the declining capacity of the Nigerian state to perform its role effectively.

No person in Nigeria, if the state is functioning very well or effectively,  should be allowed to go free if there is evidence of the person's  willingness to support any act  that subverts or undermines the integrity and  cohesion of the Nigerian state and society.

So unless if Buhari is above  the law, this is in my view more a question of the incapacity of the Nigerian state to function effectively and maybe that is where we should focus our attention first. This is not even an issue of GEJ vs. Buhari but the Nigerian state vs. anyone who is threatening the corporate existence of the country.

If the Nigerian state has evidence against anybody threatening the existence of the country, it has the right to arrest such a person and try him or her and it should do so now. In the long run, the problem in reference  cannot be solved by making mere accusations against Buhari or anyone in the country for that matter. Concrete action needs to be taken.


Samuel

On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 6:28 AM, Oluwatoyin Adepoju <oluifayantra@gmail.com> wrote:

Comparing Saul in the Bible and Buhari does not help your argument, Segun.

Saul underwent a revelatory experience that made him the greatest   foundational Christian thinker after Jesus, as represented by his monumental theological writings in  his letters. 

Up till 2014, Buhari was an ideological supporter of Boko Haram Islamic terrorism,urging the fed govt not to fight Boko Haram and describing the war agst the terrorists as a war agst the North, arguing that instead, Boko Haram should be given amnesty like the Niger Delta militants were given, ignoring the huge differences btw both groups as demonstrated in Boko Haram fighting for an Islamic state, murdering thousands, if not more,  and destroying large swathes of the social systems, infrastructure and economy of the North in the process, unlike the Niger Delta militants who fought in protest at environmental degradation in the Niger Delta and whose violence was on a much smaller scale without an aspiration to impose a state of their own wishes on Nigeria.

The same Buhari at the Abacha Kano memorial in in  2008 declared that ex head of state, fellow Northern Muslim Sani Abacha did not steal public funds even though part of Sani Abacha's huge loot had just been returned to Nigeria from Switzerland, an effort at distorting history for which he was castigated on behalf of political party AC by spokesman Lai Muhamnmed, the same Lai Muhammed who has become Buhari's spokesman in the APC alliance with Buhari's CPC, demonstrating the hypocrisy embidied by Buhari and the APC. 

Buhari never condemned Boko Haram by name nor as Nigeria's most prominent Muslim politician, ever condemned their evil Islamic ideologies till the elections began to approach from the middle of or late last year.

APC is fielding Buhari simply  bcs of the arrangement they are likely to have reached with him before the merger with Buhari's CPC, and bcs they want to use him in getting the votes expected from the Muslim North.

Without those votes, Buhari has little electoral value.

APC's claim to be a party of change would have been better served by fielding a candidate who represents a different kind and generation of politician such as Fashola or Oshiomole, who have very visible positive track records, are very much in the public consciousness in the South, and have none of Buhari's negative trail which the APC is working very hard to whitewash. 

With such politicians, however, they cant satisfy what is likely to be the condition of the merger of Buhari's CPC with Tinubu's AC, the major parties in the APC coalition, which is that Buhari musty be the Presidential candidate, a Presidential dream Buhari has pursued unsuccessfully  in 3 elections to date, and has not been known to groom any proteges or build a political school, meaning his politics is centred on his person. 

With a non-Northern Muslim, APC  would also lose the votes of the Muslim North.

The APC who would have preferred  a different kind of candidate than Buhari find themselves compelled to play along and invent all sorts of whitewashing for Buhari.

This is the reality of the political calculations in play which no amount of real or pretend  idealism will wash away.

thanks

toyin 

On Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 11:59 PM, Anunoby, Ogugua <AnunobyO@lincolnu.edu> wrote:

Buhari was the undisputed Head of his Military Junta. However powerful other members of the Junta including Idiagbon might have been, Buhari as head, must be presumed to be the most powerful of them all and he was. He has never said that he was not. He was primus inter pares. He signed off on the junta's decisions. The buck stopped with him. He is not on record to have acknowledged that his junta was a collective. Buhari continues to claim credit for all the "accomplishments" of his regime. He of course, denies or rejects the regimes' wrongs.
Buhari's many pitches for the office of president have all been founded on his tenure as Head of State. If he takes whatever credit his junta earned, he must take all the debits there are. He as leader, more than any other member of the junta, must be held accountable for the wrongs of the junta. Then again if he was leader of the Junta in name only, his supporters must be worried that history may repeat itself if he wins the presidential election.
Buhari's supporters continue to give him "special" treatment. Gowon, Mohammed, Obasanjo, Babangida, and Abacha to their credit, accept responsibility for the rights and wrongs of their regimes. Their supporters and critics never commend or criticize their number twos for their regimes' accomplishments or failures. It is never said for example, that Yar'Adua, not to mention Danjuma,  voluntarily handed over power in 1979. It has always been Obasanjo who did.  It is never said that Bali forced an economic  structural adjustment program (SAP) on Nigerians. Babangida did. It is never said that Diya or Akhigbe persecuted NADECO. Abacha did.  Buhari was the head of his junta. He claims all the credits for his regime. All of the regimes' debits must be charged to him.

oa
-----Original Message-----
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Bode
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2015 2:47 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Buhari's burdens are too much for Nigeria

I would think that the supreme military council under Buhari/Idiagbon was packed with the best and brightest of the military at the time which included Vatsa, whom Babangida killed, Babangida himself, Diya, among others. So, collective leadership could be more accurate. Remember their
slogan: Let us salvage this together!!!

On 2/4/15, 3:33 PM, "Emeagwali, Gloria (History)"
<emeagwali@mail.ccsu.edu> wrote:

>I concede  that  'gang of two' may be more accurate than' collective
>leadership'.
>
>G
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
>[mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of
>udoguei@appstate.edu
>Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2015 2:25 PM
>To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
>Subject: Re: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Buhari's burdens are too
>much for Nigeria
>
>Gloria,
>
>They (Idiagbon and Buhari) were referred to as the "gang of two" by
>some observers in those days in part because of the power they wielded.
>I recalled walking into the Nigerian Consulate in Atlanta and renewing
>my passport in less than 3 hours. I must admit that I thought it was a
>"miracle" when I was not asked to return in a week or month for it.
>Moreover, the officials at the Consulate were exceptionally cordial to
>me and others probably because of their policy on War Against
>Indiscipline (WAI).
>
>Ike Udogu
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Emeagwali, Gloria (History)" <emeagwali@mail.ccsu.edu>
>Date: Wednesday, February 4, 2015 1:52 pm
>Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Buhari's burdens are too much
>for Nigeria
>To: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com"
><usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
>
>> I recall that Buhari  did not rule alone. How does Tunde Idiagbon fit
>> into all this?
>>
>> GE
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
>> [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Anunoby,
>> OguguaSent: Tuesday, February 03, 2015 11:51 AM
>> To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Buhari's burdens are too
>> much for Nigeria
>>
>> Buhari's term as military dictator was a very harrowing time for many
>> Nigerians. He ran roughshod over fellow citizens'. He was arrogantly
>> oblivious of the of the high cost to them in lives, dignity, and
>> rights he masochistically disregarded or destroyed.
>> That he was a young man then could never excuse his anger,
>> hatefulness, and rage at anyone he disagreed with or despised. He
>> seemed to have forgotten that he was a citizen like all his victims.
>> His commission as an army officer Nigeria spent tens of thousands of
>> Nigerian pounds and naira to enlighten and train, should never have
>> caused or otherwise entitled him, to rule Nigerians against their
>> will and severely brutalize them in the process. His oath as a
>> military officer, which supposedly he freely took, committed him to
>> protect the Nigerian people against foreign and domestic enemies,
>> while respecting the law and their citizen and human rights in the
>> process. He violated that oath and has shown no remorse. Why he chose
>> to become a domestic enemy of the Nigerian people is beyond me.
>> The state of the Nigerian nation at the time of his military
>> intervention may not have been as well as most Nigerians wanted it to
>> be. That neither warranted nor justified Buhari's utter disrespect
>> for his fellow citizens' rights, and his brutal implementation of
>> unjust decrees he enacted, sometimes retroactively. He violently took
>> the lives of young Nigerians ( firing squad executions). He
>> persecuted politicians he did not like (unjust humiliation and
>> incarceration). He favored politicians he admired and liked (
>> affluent living conditions). He needlessly embarrassed Nigeria
>> internationally (roguish attempt to kidnap a Nigerian politician
>> living as a welcome guest in a mostly secure advanced foreign
>> country). Why he believed he could pull off the kidnap attempt in
>> that country is beyond me. Buhari seemed to be obsessed with
>> arbitrarily humiliating people he did not like. He seemed to enjoy
>> their pain and suffering. Not even the great Awolowo who was not in
>> government at the time, was spared. He seemed uninterested in
>> fairness and justice. He was an oppressive ruler.Buhari may  claim to
>> have had good intentions at the time. He must however have known that
>> he was doing wrong and quite oftentimes evil. He was well aware of
>> the extrajudicial misery, pain, and suffering he was visiting on fellow citizens at the time.
>> He must have known that the end does not justify the means for just,
>> lawful, and moral people. He must know that the end justifies the
>> means for hateful, lawless, vengeful, and violently mindless people.
>> He always knew that Nigerians did not choose him to rule over them.
>> He did not care. He never craved Nigerians understanding and
>> acceptance of his rule, having treasonably seized power. He forced
>> their compliance. His years as a military dictator were oppressive
>> and wasted years.
>> Some opportunists poised to criminally benefit from a possible Buhari
>> presidency seem to have chosen not to hold Buhari accountable. All
>> other Nigerians have chosen differently. They do not wish a rule such
>> as his to ever happen again. Is there a way out for Buhari? I believe
>> there might be. He must promptly come clean about whether or not he
>> graduated high school if he does not wish to continue to suffer an
>> integrity and trust deficit. He should as a matter of urgency
>> copiously, sincerely, and unabashedly apologize to the Nigerian
>> people for his misrule as s military dictator. He must promise and
>> deliver restitution which must at the minimum include that he, if
>> duly elected, will govern (note rule) all Nigerians under the law, as
>> the leader of a people's government, be always and fully accountable
>> to them, and guarantee (never deny) them their constitutional right
>> to replace his as leader, with another freely elected leader of their
>> choice. He needs a contract with Nigerians.
>> It is quite simply not enough that Buhari's proxies and supporters
>> continue to tell Nigerians that he is a not-corrupt, changed, new man.
>> He may indeed be who they say he is but where is the credible,
>> verifiable evidence? Not even spiritual salvation may be earned by
>> faith alone. An act for a promise does not seem to me to be prudent
>> in Buhari's case. If Buhari was to do the above and more, he will
>> have set an enviable standard for public service in Nigeria whether
>> or not he wins the election. He will have help to put politics and
>> public service in Nigeria, on the pedestal that it should have been
>> all along. He will also have redeem himself with Nigerians because he
>> must know that the concerns they have about a second chance for him
>> as head of government and state, are well borne out by their
>> experience of his oppressive and unjust rule. He might also secure
>> election victory for his party. He must know not to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
>> He will also cut his name in the stone of Nigerian, African, and
>> world history. If he does not, he will remain a blot on Nigeria's
>> political landscape that he has been for
>> many years now.
>>
>> oa
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
>> [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com]Sent: Monday, February 02,
>> 2015 10:59 PM
>> To: USAAfrica Dialogue
>> Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Buhari's burdens are too much
>> for Nigeria
>>
>> "One day, we woke up to the earth-shaking news that Buhari had
>> applied to his school to release his School Certificate. What came
>> out must have made the operators of ³Oluwole² forgers park in Lagos
>> livid with rage at the bastardisation of their trade by incompetent
>> amateurs. It was a ³cut-and-join² affair bearing the letterhead of
>> Katsina State Ministry of Education, with Buhari¹s old man 2015 photo superimposed!
>> To the best of my knowledge, Katsina State was created in 1987 and
>> Buhari claims he took his WASC in 1961. Yet, Buhari¹s supporters
>> cacophonously chorused that we should move on, the man has produced
>> his certificate.
>> Why this issue is important is that Buhari lied under oath that his
>> certificate was with the military. He has presented none. That is
>> perjury, a serious offence that could get him disqualified and even
>> jailed if we had functional rule of law. Secondly, it means Buhari
>> became a Major General and later Head of State without valid evidence
>> he was educationally qualified for officer commissioning.
>> I am afraid, even if Buhari manages to produce the genuine copy of
>> his WASC, his famous claim to integrity has already been injured
>> beyond repair as a result of his perjurious lies under oath. The evil
>> that northern political leaders committed by bringing uneducated
>> individuals into our state institutions has shown in the fact that
>> these chaps ran the country aground.
>> Buhari was one of such individuals inflicted upon the nation.
>> During his time as Head of State, goods disappeared from the shelves,
>> and food was being rationed in an otherwise capitalist state!
>> Draconian laws were made, backdated and used to murder drug suspects
>> ­ Bartholomew Owoh, Lawal Ojuolape and Bernard Ogedengbe.
>> Buhari ruled Nigeria like a bushman. The Press was put in chains."
>>
>> - Ochereome Nnanna
>>
>>
>> http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/02/buharis-burdens-much-nigeria/
>>
>> Hehehehehe! Now, this is how to write, entertain, and educate! We
>> still have writers in Nigeria. I laughed and cried from beginning to
>> end.
>>
>> APC has learnt a valuable lesson in its impending loss: It is a new
>> world, some of us don't forget and we will hold people accountable.
>> Better lock next time - without Tinubu, Atiku and Buhari! BTW,
>> whatever happened to Atiku since they robbed him of the candidacy?
>>
>> - Ikhide
>>
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