Nigeria’s Former Head of State, Gen Mohammadu Buhari has come under
attack as members of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram purportedly
asked Federal government to negotiate with him in Saudi Arabia on their
behalf.
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A Member of the House of Representatives from Jos South-Jos East
Federal Constituency of Plateau State, Bitrus Kaze used harsh words to
describe Gen. Buhari’s antecedents and the faceless Boko Haram sect.
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In an online statement sent to African Examiner, the lawmaker urged the
federal government not to negotiate with Boko Haram, which he branded as
terrorists.
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His words: “Anyone who has been following on the internecine violence
perpetrated especially North of the Niger by these merchants of death
should understand their choice of Gen Buhari. Eventually the men behind
the masks are beginning to unveil.
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“In my view, Gen Buhari like the Boko Haram is a religious extremist who
cannot be trusted to negotiate for sustainable peace in Nigeria.
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“In the buildup to the 2003 Presidential elections, Gen Buhari was reported
to have asked Muslims across the country to vote only for the presidential
candidate that would defend and uphold Islam. Even before the emergence
of Boko Haram, Gen Buhari had vowed not to “stop the agitation for the total
implementation of the Sharia in the country.”
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“If it is too much to say Gen Buhari has a soft spot for Boko Haram, the
incontrovertible facts show that he has consistently instigated violence in
Nigeria.
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“In his desperation to rule Nigeria again, Gen Buhari ordered his supporters
in 2011 to “finish” anyone who tampers with the votes, whatever that means.
Sheik Lemu may have attempted although unsuccessfully to vindicate him,
but at least his Presidential Panel on Post Elections Violence
acknowledged Gen Buhari’s “provocative utterances” which according to
them appeared to have been “misconstrued by many voters to include
recourse to violence.” Nigerians won’t forget in a hurry that after his woeful
loss to President Goodluck Jonathan, many voters resorted to violence
leading to unquantifiable loss of innocent lives and properties.
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“Against this backdrop therefore, it is unthinkable that anyone will expect
peace from an engagement with an advocate of violence like Gen Buhari. By
nature, thorn bushes do not yield bananas! The terms under which Boko
Haram terrorist are seeking negotiations in the first place invariably offend
the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which
government has sworn to uphold, protect and defend.
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“They are asking for what they have been bombing Nigerians for all these
murderous years. Any government that considers as cardinal the protection
of lives and properties of its citizens cannot contemplate any negotiation
with those demanding for the release of captured terrorists who are in the
custody of security agencies awaiting trial. A government that has not
compensated victims or reconstructed any place of worship destroyed by
these suicide bombers has no business sitting at the same table with
terrorists under any guise.
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“On the verge of 100th anniversary of Nigeria’s amalgamation, President
Jonathan cannot afford to be deceived into mortgaging Nigeria’s national
sovereignty in the name of dialoguing with terrorists in Saudi Arabia or
anywhere. Desperate power mongers like Gen Buhari will more than likely
misconstrue this as an opportunity to negotiate for 2015 albeit in the name
of peace. There is no country in the whole wide world that has ever
succeeded in checkmating terrorists by negotiating on their terms. Peace
and terror like light and darkness do not and will never mix.”
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Source: African Examiner
