Former Nigerian head of state,
General Muhammadu Buhari, is a war veteran. Even as a retired soldier and now
an opposition politician, the man still has some form of romance with war.
After losing the 2011
presidential election, this All Progressives Congress (APC) party
chieftain became angry with the electoral system. He reportedly said that
if what happened in 2011 should happen in 2015, "by the grace of God,
the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood."
In Nigeria these days, elections
seem to be presented in war terms. We all remember former President Olusegun
Obasanjo describing the process as a do-or-die
affair and it seems that Nigerian politicians are working towards proving him
right yet again. Read more
The 2015 general and presidential
elections are some six months away and yet the drumbeats of war are already
echoing in different parts of the country.
Power struggles
Just a few weeks ago,
Buhari warned,
"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 utilise the common wealth to subvert the system and punish the
opposition, all in the name of politics."
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The former head of state was
reacting to the removal and threats to remove some state governors who belong
to the main opposition party, the APC. In July, lawmakers from the
northeastern state of Adamawa removed the state governor, Murtala Nyako, based on an investigation of
alleged financial misconduct.
A probe was also launched by some
legislators in Nasarawa State who threatened to remove the state
governor, Tanko Al-Makura; the move did not succeed, as accusations against
him were dismissed by the panel tasked with the
investigation. Tensions over Nyako and Al-Makura's probes rose and now there
are also rumours that plans are afoot to remove other opposition governors.
Although the two probes were
hinged on gross misconduct and misappropriation of funds, opposition leaders
strongly believe that the presidency and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) are the unseen hands manipulating the lawmakers.
The Nigerian president and head
of PDP has denied this charge, and in response his spokesman, Reuben
Abati, announced, "President Jonathan has never
at any time ordered that any Nigerian should be kidnapped or that anyone
should be crated and forcefully transported in violation of decent norms of
governance."
This was a veiled reference to
the failed attempt in 1984 to smuggle in a crate the-then exiled former
transport minister, Umaru Dikko, from London to Nigeria to face corruption
charges. Buhari was the military head of state then.
The idea of crating former
politicians to face charges died with Umaru Dikko.
The real issue today is Boko
Haram and both sides seem to conveniently use the group for their own
conspiracy theories.
The PDP believes that the
opposition uses the dreaded Islamist group to cause confusion and make the
government look incapable of governance.
The APC believes the ruling party
is using the terrorists to destabilise the north, the stronghold of the
opposition party, in order to gain political advantage in the forthcoming
elections.
As an APC spokesperson, Mr Osita
Okechukwu, reportedly put it, "The worst of Boko Haram
attacks are carried out in areas where the PDP is afraid of losing."
Last month, Buhari cheated death
when a suicide bomber suspected to be a Boko Haram member attacked his convoy
in Kaduna, northwest Nigeria. He strongly believes the incident was a clear
assassination attempt on his life and most of his party members seem to agree
with him. As expected, they point fingers at the PDP-controlled federal
government.
At the same time some
pro-government people believe that Buhari masterminded the alleged
assassination attempt to attract public sympathy and paint President Jonathan
as a bad leader.
This exchange of allegations is
clearly ridiculous, to say the least. Buhari couldn't have arranged his own
assassination. After all he had condemned Boko Haram and the group had
threatened him directly before the incident. It is equally implausible that the
government planned to kill him and sent a suicide bomber for the task.
Accusations and
counter-accusations
Some politicians are merely
capitalising on the poor security situation in the country to achieve
political gains.
Their accusations and counter-accusations
have become a pastime. In Osun, southwest Nigeria, the PDPclaimed that its governorship campaign
train came under attack at a rally in the Ilesa area of the state recently.
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The APC followed suit with
a petition to President Jonathan, alleging
plot to kill one of its governors - Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State.
The party further alleged that troops
sent to provide security for the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State
also harassed and intimidated the opposition.
Ironically, the federal
government deployed troops during the governorship election in Edo State in
July 2012. That year the opposition governor, Adams Oshiomhole, not only won
the election but also commended the Federal Government for deploying troops
to maintain law and order.
For now, the PDP appears to be
gaining ground over the opposition. Since it changed its national chairman in
January, the ruling party has been reaping good fortunes.
Some strong opposition leaders
have defected to the party, including the former governor of Sokoto state,
Attahiru Bafarawa; former governor of Kano state, Ibrahim Shekarau; former
military administrator of Lagos state, Buba Marwa and former governor of
Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff.
Currently, the PDP controls 20
states while the APC controls 14. In the governorship election held last June
in the southwestern state of Ekiti - a supposed stronghold of the opposition
- the PDP won.
More cross-carpeting and tension
will follow when President Jonathan formally declares his intention to run
for the 2015 presidential race. Some Niger Delta warlords have threatened that it's either him or
nobody else.
But some northern leaders, who
believe that it is the turn of the north to take the presidency, are ready to
do anything to stop him.
So far, the two main parties have
deployed what has been termed "stomach infrastructure" to outwit
each other. Occasionally, they dole out gift items, especially foodstuff such
as rice, to gullible citizens to win support.
Besides, some politicians indulge
in ritual practices to win elections. Each time a major election approaches,
as in 2015, there is usually an increase in cases of ritual killings
in different parts of the country.
In all this, only a few
politicians have the interest of the masses at heart, while the rest of them
struggle to grab power for their selfish interests.
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