By Audu Zango
The recent statements of Governors Bukar Abba
Ibrahim and Sani Yariman Bakura of Yobe and Zamfara states on the need for
consensus candidate for the North were ill motivated and undemocratic.
What they are essentially calling for is
continuation of the current form of fascism and dictatorship in a pseudo
democracy. Nigerians have suffered years of military dictatorship and
unfortunately instead of getting democracy in 1999, IBB and his henchmen
imposed on us a government that continued on his kleptocracy. The aim is to
protect him from facing a trial.
Going by the so-called zoning arrangement
already agreed by the People Democracy Party (PDP), it is clearly the turn
of the North to rule the country. But instead of using the opportunity to
usher-in sanity in the polity by encouraging all parties to bring out their
best candidates, the ANPP governors especially their king pin Attahiru
Baffarawa and the two Governors mentioned above are busy plotting against
the country by imposing General Ibrahim Babangida again on Nigerians. By
this they have shown Nigerians that they are unprincipled, unreliable and
hypocritical. If we agree to their arrangement, then in the next few years
we will have some people imposing consensus criminals such as Dariye,
Solomon Lar, Chris Uba, Tony Anenih and Omisere to rule Nigeria There is no
need to cajole Northerners and indeed Nigerians to accept one individual as
a presidential candidate from the North, especially if the past records of
such a person are nothing to write home about. Why can�t Nigerians choose
leaders from among others like Muhammad Buhari, Balarabe Musa, Yakubu Gowon,
Muhammad Goni, Shehu Musa, Abubakar Rimi, Paul Unongo and Mallam Shekarau,
if it is indeed the turn of the North.
It is a bad omen to even dream that IBB is
plotting to come back, because he is the cause of the current predicament
and torture afflicting Nigerians.
During his Fascist and Kleptocratic rule- Our
economy was destroyed, because he accepted the cruel economic policies of
the IMF for his selfish interest. He also squandered a significant amount of
our oil revenues and left services to decay.
Serious ethnic/ religious violence that
threatened the social fabric of the society started in his regime due to the
economic problems as well as his divide and rule tactics.
Instead of nurturing democracy he and his
propagandist like Uche Chukwumerije and Professor Omuruyi devised new ways
of deception, rigging and cancellation of elections there by demoralising
the masses and discouraging participatory political culture.
If the Governors are not hypocritical, they
should allow ANPP to produce its own presidential candidate to compete with
presidential candidates from other parties like PDP.
The ANPP Governors have shown us that they can
be worse than Chris Uba and Arthur Nzeribe, because the later at least never
tried to justify their diabolical activities unlike the former.
In trying to impose an incompetent ruler, they
are plotting mischief in the land as they claimed to be ruling the people by
Sharia law, it has already caught up with them. They should repent and stop
spreading mischief in the land or else face punishment, which in Sharia is
amputation or execution or imprisonment. Infact the masses have the right to
peacefully demonstrate and demand their resignation and trial.
Zango can be reached at [email protected]
