Former Head of State and a chief of the main opposition All Progressives
Congress, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, said on Monday that the gale of
impeachment spreading across the states governed by opposition parties
was an indication that the Nigeria was drifting into anarchy.
Buhari noted that whether or not President Goodluck Jonathan was unaware of the impeachment of governors, what could not be denied was that it was happening under him, adding that the development would not augur well with the nation's democracy.
The former Head of State in a statement, titled, 'Pull back Nigeria from the brink', made available to reporters in Kaduna State, on Monday, argued that he had in his private capacity discussed the current situation with
the President.
The statement read: "Whether or not President Goodluck Jonathan is behind the gale of impeachment or the utilisation of desperate tactics to suffocate the opposition and turn Nigeria into a one-party state, what cannot be denied is that they are happening under his watch, and he cannot pretend not to know, since that will be akin to hiding behind one finger.
"In my capacity as former Head of state, rather than a politician, I have spoken to President Jonathan in private over these issues, but indications are that the strategy has not yielded positive fruits. I cannot, just because I am an opposition politician, fail to do what is expected of me as a former Head of State to help rescue our nation in times of great trouble and palpable uncertainty.
"History will not be kind to me if I sit back while things turn bad, just so that no one will accuse me of partisanship. Yes, I am a politician. Yes, I am in the opposition. Yes, there is the tendency for my statement to be misconstrued as that of a politician rather than a statesman. But I owe it as matter of duty and honour, and in the interest of our nation, to speak out on the dangerous trajectory that our nation is heading.
"I can say, in all sincerity, that I have seen it all, as an ordinary citizen, a military officer, a state Governor, a Minister, a Head of state, a man who has occupied many other sensitive posts and a politician. I have been a close participant and witness to Nigeria's political history since independence in 1960.
"Our country has gone through several rough patches, but never before have I seen a Nigerian President declare war on his own country as we are seeing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President deploy federal institutions in the service of partisanship as we are witnessing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President utilize the common wealth to subvert the system and punish the opposition, all in the name of politics. Our nation has suffered serious consequences in the past for egregious acts that are not even close to what we are seeing now. It is time to pull the brakes."
He asked the President to tarry a while and ponder the impact of recent events in the polity, under his watch on the survival of the nation and the sustenance of its democracy.
He said subverting the Constitution in a desperate move to impeach a state governor or deploying the institutions of state, some of which are symbols of the country's unity, just to kick an out-of-favour state Governor in the stomach could only breed anarchy and lead the nation down the slippery slope to chaos.
He said, "The dangerous clouds are beginning to gather and the vultures are circling, and these have manifested in Nasarawa where the ordinary people have defied guns and tanks to protest the plan to impeach Gov. Umaru Tanko Al-Makura in a repeat of the bitter medicine forced down the throat of Gov. Murtala Nyako.
"The people's protest in Nasarawa is a sign of what to come if the federal authorities continue to target opposition state Governors for impeachment. In the long run, the impeachment weapon will be blunted. Positions will become more hardened on both sides and Nigeria and Nigerians will become the victims of arrested governance and possible anarchy."
Buhari noted that whether or not President Goodluck Jonathan was unaware of the impeachment of governors, what could not be denied was that it was happening under him, adding that the development would not augur well with the nation's democracy.
The former Head of State in a statement, titled, 'Pull back Nigeria from the brink', made available to reporters in Kaduna State, on Monday, argued that he had in his private capacity discussed the current situation with
the President.
The statement read: "Whether or not President Goodluck Jonathan is behind the gale of impeachment or the utilisation of desperate tactics to suffocate the opposition and turn Nigeria into a one-party state, what cannot be denied is that they are happening under his watch, and he cannot pretend not to know, since that will be akin to hiding behind one finger.
"In my capacity as former Head of state, rather than a politician, I have spoken to President Jonathan in private over these issues, but indications are that the strategy has not yielded positive fruits. I cannot, just because I am an opposition politician, fail to do what is expected of me as a former Head of State to help rescue our nation in times of great trouble and palpable uncertainty.
"History will not be kind to me if I sit back while things turn bad, just so that no one will accuse me of partisanship. Yes, I am a politician. Yes, I am in the opposition. Yes, there is the tendency for my statement to be misconstrued as that of a politician rather than a statesman. But I owe it as matter of duty and honour, and in the interest of our nation, to speak out on the dangerous trajectory that our nation is heading.
"I can say, in all sincerity, that I have seen it all, as an ordinary citizen, a military officer, a state Governor, a Minister, a Head of state, a man who has occupied many other sensitive posts and a politician. I have been a close participant and witness to Nigeria's political history since independence in 1960.
"Our country has gone through several rough patches, but never before have I seen a Nigerian President declare war on his own country as we are seeing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President deploy federal institutions in the service of partisanship as we are witnessing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President utilize the common wealth to subvert the system and punish the opposition, all in the name of politics. Our nation has suffered serious consequences in the past for egregious acts that are not even close to what we are seeing now. It is time to pull the brakes."
He asked the President to tarry a while and ponder the impact of recent events in the polity, under his watch on the survival of the nation and the sustenance of its democracy.
He said subverting the Constitution in a desperate move to impeach a state governor or deploying the institutions of state, some of which are symbols of the country's unity, just to kick an out-of-favour state Governor in the stomach could only breed anarchy and lead the nation down the slippery slope to chaos.
He said, "The dangerous clouds are beginning to gather and the vultures are circling, and these have manifested in Nasarawa where the ordinary people have defied guns and tanks to protest the plan to impeach Gov. Umaru Tanko Al-Makura in a repeat of the bitter medicine forced down the throat of Gov. Murtala Nyako.
"The people's protest in Nasarawa is a sign of what to come if the federal authorities continue to target opposition state Governors for impeachment. In the long run, the impeachment weapon will be blunted. Positions will become more hardened on both sides and Nigeria and Nigerians will become the victims of arrested governance and possible anarchy."
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