Our position remains unchanged: President Buhari has failed and the sooner he leaves the national stage as the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of our underwhelming Armed Forces the better for the general health of the nation.
President Muhammadu Buhari is a Fulani from Daura in Katsina State. A retired Major-General who coveted democratic power after truncating democracy in the early 80s for the sake of power and its appurtenances. In December 1983, aided and abetted by other professional coup-plotters ('militricians' if you like), Generals Ibrahim Babangida, Domkat Bali and the late Joshua Dogonyaro and Sani Abacha, Gen. Buhari had overthrown a democratically-elected President, the late Shehu Shagari, citing corruption and national salvation. Alhaji Shagari led a corrupt inept civilian government, yes, but coup d'etat was not the solution, then and now.
When an elected government at the centre is found wanting in terms of failure to deliver democracy dividends and assure the security of lives and properties of the citizenry the best way to send it packing, according to the acceptable universal standard, remains through the ballot or constitutional legislative impeachment.
Shagari's presidency (even with rice and champaigne merchants like Umaru Dikko) never witnessed daunting security challenges on an irredeemable scale we have today. Yes there was corruption then but today corruption has been 'democratized'. If a Minister in the Shagari-led presidency had stolen a million Naira then today ordinary presidential special assistant could pocket millions of Dollars or politicians billions of Dollars without scruples!
Under Buharism Nigeria has lost her 'innocence' as perfidy, disunity, terrorism and immorality prevail. No one is safe any more, on the streets or even at the home front. Even in Buhari's Katsina State his 'brother's and 'sisters', like the rest of us, are living dangerously, challenged on a daily basis by combined forces of misery, insecurity and despair.
Of course, we have never had it so bad in terms of leadership failure since our flag independence six decades down the line. Our country is now a basket case socio-economically and politically. It is more of a classical case of greatness and richness squandered; squandered by the elite!
The Buhari regime is buffeted by caustic criticisms bordering on its abysmal nepotic sectional administrative style. Since coming to power in 2015 it has failed to deliver on any of its campaign promises. 'Change' has indeed come but on a negative note. Instead of the promised 'Next Level' we are now witnessing next levels of banditry, blood-letting, terrorism and graft.
The virulence with which critics call out the regime bears certain hallmarks of a patriotic duty. Yet Buhari and his handlers have demonstrated their impervious disposition towards suggestions on the way forward. Genuine calls for the President's voluntary resignation or his impeachment by the National Assembly have been mounting here and there.
Lately, one hears deafening calls from unfamiliar quarters for Buhari to do the needful, given his demonstrated ineptitude, by throwing in the towel. These calls are coming ominously from the north, Buhari's strongholds. The 'revolt' from the northern region is indicative of how we have degenerated as a nation under siege and as a people under attack.
Recently, non-governmental pressure groups up north have been making themselves heard, loud and clear. They are united in concluding that the Buhari regime is taking Nigeria to Golgotha.
The latest group to register their displeasure with Buharism were the Hausa youths who accused the President of running an ethnic Fulani agenda to the detriment of the interest of all and sundry, including the Hausas. They asked him to resign or the National Assembly to initiate impeachment procedure against him.
Another group, the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) had issued a statement denouncing Buharism and accusing the President of running out of ideas on how to lead a great nation like ours. Lamenting that Nigeria was deeply soaked in blood and had lately been turned into an abattoir the NYCN asked him to 'eat the humble pie' by announcing his resignation or be forced to quit by the legislative imperative.
And yet another group, the Arewa Concerned Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria (ACCSON) had released a statement signed by one Abdulsalam Mohammed Kazeem strongly canvassing for support for power shift to the South-east region of the country. The group decried the past and present crop of elected and appointed leaders from within their region that have failed them completely. "They have failed to meet up with the expectations of our people, and have continued to betray our trust, confidence, and respect for them", they argued.
"To promote fairness, equity, unity or oneness of the country" they reasoned the region that has not produced the President for the nation before should, of priority, be considered. And the people referred to are no other than the Igbos. Let a President of Igbo extraction be elected, come 2023, to heal the land and undo the damage Buharism has inflicted on the nation.
Hashtags like #SaveTheNorth, #NoMoreBloodshed, #NorthIsBleeding are currently trending online mobilizing the northern youths to rise in protest against Buharism. If the northern youths had joined the #EndSARS campaign or Comrade Sowore's #RevolutionNow initiative for radical change then by now our nation's story would have changed for the better.
Last Monday another tragedy of national dimension happened when 23 innocent travellers were waylaid and killed in Sokoto! That singular brutal bloodshed had generated public outrage. Yet as the gory event was unfolding Buhari was in Lagos wining and dining with Lagosians.
But many Nigerians are not shocked any longer whenever blood is spilled from Maiduguri to Potiskum, Katsina to Zamfara states. The 'monkeys' and 'baboons' in the large open 'zoo' Buhari had famously predicted would be soaked in blood way back when he was still desperately in the opposition in search of the presidency has turned out to be a macabre reality before our very eyes!
If a revolution could happen successfully in Nigeria then the north must take the lead. North is indeed bleeding and the revolt next time must come within its local social establishment. If they are fed up with Buharism then we must be given credit for our consistent position over the broken system orchestrated by the Buhari incompetent inhumane regime.
If the northerners have just woken up now from their deep slumber to reality then we can only tell them 'bonjour'! (good morning!) Welcome to a destroyed nation by one of your own!
Our position remains unchanged: President Buhari has failed and the sooner he leaves the national stage as the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of our underwhelming Armed Forces the better for the general health of the nation.
SOC Okenwa
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