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Buhari and Yar’Aduwa in 2007; Trial of Reasoning and Objectivity in Northern Nigeria By Mahamman Adarawa
The 2007 Nigerian elections were the worst in Africa in contemporary times. All observers, whether domestic or international have attested to the massive rigging, irregularities and deliberate sabotage during the elections. Even smaller countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mauritania and Niger conducted better elections than Nigeria. Obasanjo planned the evil of election rigging and Iwu executed it. Infact, Obasanjo told the whole world that the election was a do or die affair for him. Every Nigerian knew at that time that his obsession with who would take over from him was because of the crimes against humanity he committed. The monumental corruption, dilapidation of services and extra judicial killings was unparalleled in the history of Nigeria. To cover himself from prosecution, he picked up Yar’aduwa who was not even ready for national leadership and forced him first upon his party and subsequently on Nigerians.
Buhari in his usual philosophy of due process and discipline in politics and governance took the case of election rigging to the tribunal praying the court to nullify the elections. The overwhelming proof of rigging he tendered and the evidence from the first few witnesses has made most observers to predict the elections to be nullified and fresh elections ordered by the courts.
The ruling PDP as expected of those mentored by Obasanjo urged Buhari to withdraw his case and some of them even advised the courts to throw out his case. The PDP under Obasanjo was known for contempt of court injunctions. Infact during the heydays of Atiku in the PDP, He threatened to slap judges after the 2003 elections. People were not surprised because most of the politicians in the PDP (including former members now in the AC), are corrupt and murderous thugs.
The PDP then got their henchmen in the ANPP to destroy Buhari’s case. They initially wanted to merge his petition with the party, but it seemed he sensed betrayal and refused. Eme- ezeoke, the leader of the fifth columnist in the ANPP together with other corrupt and decadent hypocrites like Ahmed Sani Zamfara, Ibrahim Shekarau and Modu Sherriff then shamefully sold the party at a mean price of escaping prosecution from EFCC. They subsequently attempted to sabotage the court case of rigging against their masters in the PDP.
The crafty traditional rulers of Northern Nigeria tried on behalf of the government to dissuade Buhari from pursuing the case of rigging in the courts. The traditional rulers failed the nation in many situations in recent times. When IBB annulled the elections in which Abiola won, they kept mum and some of them supported it. They also tried to persuade Abiola but he refused. If they had prevailed on their friend IBB not to annul the election of Abiola, we would have being saved the June 12 turmoil, death of a beloved and compassionate businessman as well as suffering from the corrupt and murderous rule of Obasanjo. It had seemed even after God punished them with Abatcha, they refused to repent and there fore could not learn lessons. People wondered their reason for coming out to support cruel and cunning dictators while demoralising those trying to look for justice. After the failure of politicians (and their henchmen traditional rulers) to block Buhari from pursuing justice, religious leaders were then drafted to complete the job. A notorious cleric called Ahmed Gumi tried his wits and failed. In desperation, he issued some dubious fatwas without any sound religious basis. There after other rival clerics also started giving their opinions, which are mostly half-truth.
The saddest situation is not only the silence of young intellectuals in the North, but the fact that some of them write dodgy articles while lurking under the umbrella of false hood to moralise the evil of those in power. Their aim is to be noted and brought near the throne ( kusa da faada) no matter how the throne was made. Such is our level of decadence. Intellectuals are supposed to be the social engineers that direct societal aspirations and goals. If their roles are compromised, then that society becomes decadent and the next stage after that is disintegration. May God protect us!
Imagine how Obasanjo’s eight years rule destroyed agricultural productivity , forced textile industries to close, rendered many unemployed through dubious privatisation and annihilation of the banking sector in the north. Insecurity, apathy, poverty, dilapidation of health, educational, energy and transport services became part of daily life. Obasanjo stamped his feet on the issue of dredging of the river Niger as well as extending gas pipelines to the North and even when he left the scene, the issue is still in limbo. He never cared about environmental problems in the Niger Delta not to talk of desertification problems in the Far North and soil erosion in the North Central and South Easter parts of Nigeria. Yet some corrupt Governors like Dariye and Turaki dipped their dirty hands in their states ecological fund to help in 2003 electoral and Third term campaigns respectively. The global warming coupled with years of massive corruption and neglect will lead to loss of arable lands in states bodering the sahel, leading to un imaginable socio economic consequences. Despite all the crimes against Nigerians, some very few Northerners with abominable advantages want us to follow the evil plans of Obasanjo, who to this day is berated by reasonable people all over the country and even in his home state.
In the past ( before the catastrophe of IBB’s coup), good reasoning and objective decisions by Northern leaders and their counter parts from other parts of Nigeria with the back up of good intellectuals had helped to maintain some stability in the body polity. However, that is now history. One wonders why young intellectuals should join the bandwagon of decadence in any guise, instead of standing up to their responsibilities as guardians of societal aspirations and goals. Why should young Northern intellectuals prefer to join those who want to push our nation at all cost towards the plight of Somalia, Sudan and Sierra Leone and shun the few honest leaders?
Yours Faithfully,
Mahamman Adarawa, Abuja, Nigeria.
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