“Messrs Muhammadu Buhari, and Dahiru Bauchi are among decent and illustrious Nigerians who continue to labour to keep Nigeria together. We are completely shocked that anyone would want them dead,” Chris Uyot continued in sharing his thoughts on the two attempts.
Fallout continues over the bombing attacks and attempts on the lives of two noteworthy Nigerians. It raises the alarm on not only random terrorist threats around Nigeria, but with special force, the targeting of important persons in the society.
“The assassination attempts on two prominent Nigerians, General Muhammadu Buhari, former Head of State, and Sheik Dahiru Bauchi, a prominent Islamic Cleric, which left scores of people dead is criminal and abhorrent,” wrote Chris Uyot, Acting General Secretary of the Nigeria Labor Congress in a recent statement.
“Messrs Muhammadu Buhari, and Dahiru Bauchi are among decent and illustrious Nigerians who continue to labour to keep Nigeria together. We are completely shocked that anyone would want them dead,” Chris Uyot continued in sharing his thoughts on the two attempts.
In the case of Sheik Dahiru Bauchi, who is a prominent Islamic Cleric, the Boko Haram may have been sending a message in both cowing and silencing a noted Muslim moderate.
In the case of General Muhammadu Buhari, the message is one with a political slant that could well have an impact on Nigeria’s presidential election set for February of 2015.
General Muhammadu Buhari, is retired, but his political connections to the All Peoples Congress is one worth watching. As Nigeria’s fractured opposition parties vie for a strong candidate to take on Goodluck Jonathan, the sitting president running for re-election, Buhari has sat on the sidelines.
He has not publicly stated whether he has interest in taking part in a grueling political campaign for Nigeria’s highest office. The retired general has done it before, unsuccessfully, in 2003, 2007, and in 2011. Yet, he is no stranger to politics or elected office, having served as governor in the then newly created North Eastern State in the mid-1970’s. In addition to his military career, Buhari also has an impressive resume of public service.
He makes a ‘rich target’ for the Boko Haram insurgents, on a par with the current sitting president. Hence, the call for further study into his recent brush with death by car bomb.
“We would want a comprehensive investigation of these incidents with a view to not only unraveling the forces behind them but for the purpose of preventing subsequent attempts,” writes Chris Uyot.
While no group has claimed responsibility on the recent attempts on the two men, “the Boko Haram, it seems, has become a convenient brand under which all manner of atrocities are committed,” Chris Uyot said with urgency.
Both men represent an obstacle to furthering the message of extremism within Nigeria. Buhari is seen as a ‘no-nonsense’ military man, and an administrator, who has zero tolerance for insurgent groups like the Boko Haram.
Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, is seen as a moderating force whose calm demeanor, and centrist world view, counters extremism in the Islamic faith. That is a stance that runs strongly counter to the message of spokesmen of the Boko Haram, who must feel a staunch competition to their message of Islam.
Both men are seen as level-handed Muslims, which carries great weight across Nigeria.
“We condemn the senseless slaughter of innocent lives and call for more action from the government and more vigilance from the citizenry,” concluded Chris Uyot, who remains hopeful in spite of the continued attacks across Nigeria.
Both men are mainstays on the Nigerian political scene and within the society. The loss of either, amid random attacks, and political uncertainty would be huge in a nation coming to grips with perhaps its biggest set of challenges to date.