Buhari is a civilian autocrat, says Adebanjo

Ayo Adebanjo, a leader of Afenifere, the Yoruba socio-political organisation, says President Muhammadu Buhari is a civilian autocrat disguising under the guise of a democrat.

In an interview with Tribune, the elder statesman said the power Buhari enjoys is preventing him from changing the constitution to suit the current demands of the country.

He also said Buhari has not been active in solving the several problems ravaging the country.

“We have no democracy now, particularly with Buhari in government. He is the greatest civilian autocrat under the guise of being a democrat,” he said.

“I am Ayo Adebanjo. Everybody is entitled to his or her own opinion. What I am saying is that Buhari is the greatest civilian autocrat. Why? I am judging him by his actions. Will a democrat, in a democratic society, disobey court orders on two, three, four individuals? Will a democrat, under the rule of law, invade judges’ quarters under the pretence that he wants to wipe out corruption? These are my reasons I don’t just label him. I call him a dictator by his actions and let people tell me that those actions are consistent with democratic principles. That’s all.

“Unfortunately, the so-called governors from the South-West, who are in alliance with him, are so sheepish. Their hands are so dirty that they cannot talk to him. It is because their hands are so dirty that is why they don’t have the courage to stand up to him.”

The Afenifere leader alleged that more deaths have been recorded under the leadership of Buhari than the civil war which occurred between 1967 and 1970.

He said Buhari having contributed to the insecurity in the country, he has “turned a blind eye” to the “incompetence” of service chiefs in the country.

“We don’t hate him, but he does not understand the job he has taken upon himself,” he said.

“These are issues in the country which he (Buhari) has not even said a word about on Democracy Day. We don’t know what Nigerians have done to make us deserve a man like Buhari. The number of people that have been killed under him is more than the number killed during the civil war and yet, the man still has the effrontery to be telling us the security is alright.”

He called on the federal government to restructure the country immediately, adding that there is no other solution to the numerous challenges in the country than restructuring.