General Buhari Should Leash his Dogs and Goats Immediately
By Ejike Okonkwo, PhD
There are dogs and goats in every tribe and every religion. If unleashed, nobody could predict what they could do because they are just dogs and goats. At the present moment, General Buhari’s mad dogs and goats are unleashing mayhem on Nigerians in northern Nigeria. In as much as many in Nigeria hitherto regard Buhari as an honest man, his unguided utterances just before the 2011 presidential election results were released by INEC, were to say the least, reckless. He cannot be fully absolved from the wanton destruction of life and properties that his dogs and goats have unleashed across northern Nigeria.
Granted, General Buhari has condemned the ongoing violence. He described it as a “dastardly act”. However, this is not enough. As can be seen, his call to halt the violence has fallen on deaf ears. It is easier to destroy than to build. It is easier to incite a crowd than to control the crowd. He should do whatever it takes to leash his dogs and goats. It is time for politicians to learn that their words matter. Politicians should avoid incendiary utterances. General Buhari, in particular should avoid making more incendiary statements.
Understandably, this violence affected Northerners and Southerners alike but the brunt of the violence was borne by Christians and Southerners. Whereas I am not advocating for an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tat, I have to warn General Buhari and his acolytes that violence doesn’t solve anything. Violence indeed begets more violence. Unguided utterances and divisive comments often lead to violence, especially in a third world country like Nigeria. If Buhari felt that the elections were rigged or that he was cheated, he should seek redress in the courts. That’s where election issues and petitions should be resolved
Although Southerners and Christians do not want more violent, if pushed to the wall, no one knows what will happen. Like I stated above, there are dogs and goats in every tribe and religion. To avoid disintegration of the Nigerian nation, Moslems and Christians must be ready to accept the outcome of a presidential election irrespective of whether the winner is a Moslem, Christian, Pagan, or an atheist. Nigeria has come a long way. She has fought a civil war. She has continued to survive despite several societal upheavals and trying times. The foundations of this country cannot be shattered because of one presidential election that has been described by election monitors from all over the world as one of the freest and fairest in decades in our part of the world.
I too, am in concurrence that the 2011 presidential election was free and fair to a reasonable extent. Yes, they are free and fair to a reasonable extent because no election is devoid of problems include the United States and United Kingdom elections. There are imperfections in elections. Imperfections are different from outright rigging or fixing of elections. When elections are imperfect because of minor organizational issues, losers don’t ask their supporters to reject the election and destroy lives and properties. They usually seek redress in the courts and they have to be ready to accept the verdict of the courts. The United States presidential election that brought George W. Bush to power is an example of an imperfect election. Al gore accepted his fate and bowed out after all court battles were exhausted.
I have to advise General Buhari and his acolytes to study the results of the election closely. President Jonathan won with huge margins in the South-South and South-East geopolitical zones. There is no way he could have lost in these two zones. The huge margin may appear ridiculous at fast but if you are from these two regions, you will be inclined to believe that they are real. I am from Anambra State and I can tell you that I never for once met anyone that didn’t intend to vote for President Jonathan. I believe that Present Jonathan won more than 90 percent of the votes in all the states in the South-South and South-East zones.
The battlegrounds were actually South-West and North-Central geopolitical zones. Of the six states in the South-West, Jonathan won five and Ribadu won one. In the North-Central, Jonathan won three states (including Abuja) to seal his victory and Buhari won the rest. Also, General Buhari (as expected) won North-West and North-East handily. Nonetheless, President Jonathan was able to garner twenty five percent of the votes in some of the states that he lost in North-Central and North-West zones. There is a large population of Jonathan’s supporters in these states. Unlike Jonathan, Buhari doesn’t have many supporters in the South-South and South-East zones.
Where was the election rigged? If Buhari Campaign Organization has any evidence to prove that the election was rigged, they should provide it to the courts. Otherwise, they should shut up and accept the results of the election. Meanwhile, General Buhari has to leash his mad dogs and goats immediately to prevent the disintegration of the Nigerian nation. |
