In 2011, General Muhammadu
Buhari, the candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), called for
a revolution in Nigeria — albeit through the ballot.
Via a statement by Yinka
Odumakin, his spokesman at the time who has now turned to one of his fiercest
critics, Buhari asked Nigerians to make exceptional sacrifices to assert their
collective will in the country.
“The Egyptian pro-democracy
campaigners defied all odds to achieve their set goal of terminating the
30-year old grip on power by Mubarak. Their tenacity has again confirmed the
truism that no force on earth can stop a people determined,” he said.
This was not the first time the
president called for mass action — he did the same in 2003, after losing the
presidential election to incumbent Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP).
In June 2003, supporters of the
All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and Buhari, began a mass protest against the
outcome of the April 19, 2003 presidential election in Abuja.
The protesters were reported to
have massed at the Court of Appeal, venue of the Presidential Election Petition
Tribunal to witness the proceeding.
They would later spill over to
the streets where they chanted anti-government slogans against the Olusegun
Obasanjo government.
A REPEAT IN 2011?
In the same statement calling for
a revolution in 2011, Buhari commended the Egyptian military for refusing to
attack “the forces of change”.
“The military in Egypt showed
exemplary conduct with the way they refused to be used to attack the forces of
change,” Buhari was quoted to have said.
“They showed the whole world that
there is a clear difference between the state and those who temporarily occupy
political offices for a fixed tenure. This is a lesson for our security agents
who have been used to subvert the will of the people at elections in recent
past.
“The time has come for our own
security forces to demonstrate similar valour by putting national interest
above that of individuals when there is a clash between the two.
“Unlike the Egyptians who went
through self-denial for 18 unbroken days to achieve their aspiration for
leadership change, Nigerians just have to take their voter cards, vote on each
election day and ensure that their votes count and are properly counted.
“It is time to demonstrate
people’s power to free our country from those who have held it hostage for the
last 12 years and are threatening to keep it so for 60 years.”
BUHARI COMMENDS EGYPT’S
REVOLUTIONARIES
The CPC flagbearer commended the
revolutionaries in Egypt, asking Nigerians to emulate them and support
themselves regardless of religious divides.
“More importantly Nigerians have
to learn from the way faiths integrated to achieve national aspiration.
Christians formed rings round Muslims as they observed their Jumat prayers
during the demonstrations,” Buhari said.
“For us as a people, we need to
also move from balance of hate to balance of faith as the Egyptians practically
demonstrated on the field of battle for change.
“Rather than allow ourselves to
be divided by our faiths, we must emphasise what binds us together and areas
where the shoe pinches us collectively as people with common humanity. With all
sense of modesty, this is part of what the Buhari-Bakare candidacy represents.”
BUHARI CALLED FOR ELECTORAL
REVOLUTION?
Omoyele Sowore, the convener of
#RevolutionNow, was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) for
planning civil disobedience — once commended by Buhari.
The police has described the
planned civil disobedience as treason and terrorism. In Buhari’s defence, his
supporters claim that Buhari only called for electoral revolution.
He asked Nigerians to “draw the
right lessons from the 18-day revolution which saw Hosni Mubarak quitting
office after 30 years; and do the needful to effect a regime change in Nigeria
at the April polls”.
Since winning elections in 2015,
Buhari has asked Nigerians to stop addressing him as a general but simply as
president — with his handlers stating he has become a reformed democrat.
Now he’s attacking the force of change..Now he’s had a taste of power, he has seen it’s easy to condemn when you’re not up there but hard to deliver
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