-February 22, 2019/interview/comment
In this interview conducted by our editor, Mark C. Orgu, few hours ago in a telephone chat with a Second Republic Lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, and who has incessantly critcised the leadership style of President Muhammadu Buhari, from inception has not changed his mind, in fact, he cares not whose ox is gored. In this interview, he warms Nigerian Army not to cause more trouble or support evil but act according to the rule of law of the land. He also caution President Buhari’s supporters to know that Nigeria is bigger than any individual.
Excerpts
Your view on tomorrow’s Presidential election and National Assembly
My hope is that, elections across the country should be peaceful, while the electorates who have registered should exercise their civic rights happily without fear of intimidation, and at the end, few leaders will emerge. I also hope that the votes of the masses will count; and if you vote in an election, and you get the reverse, it means your vote did not count. That is a very bad omen.
However, if the outcome of the election tomorrow does not reflect the overwhelming popular person (choice) of the electorates as the real winner, then, the violent and anarchy it would bring will be very difficult to manage, and the whole trouble and sacrifices made by Nigerians to come out to vote will be defeated. And I will not encourage any contestant in this election to accept such fraudulent result. I would advise the person to do it in a very peaceful manner by going to court. In the past, many of them who are leaders today came in-in a very fraudulent way by rigging themselves into office.
Buratai says, he would carry out the order of Mr. President
The chief of Army staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai has a duty, to obey the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces that is the president, Muhammadu Buhari as elected by the electorates. He has to follow a legitimate order despite circumstances’, I don’t see anything wrong on that. You see, the military has made themselves partisans to politics, unlike the Navy, Airforce, who are not political.
But we need not to go into how orders are given, nature of orders, or to encourage Army, Airforce, and Navy commanders to be resilient and to choose what type of order to follow or not . That alone clearly would be a case of court martial. If a commander fails not to follow the orders of the commander-in -chief, he or she is heading for court martial. I don’t want to go into that, because they are not my business.
Having received order from Mr. President, the Army commanders should be determined to be professional in carrying out their legitimate duty that would not cause danger or get things worse. No! Let the army instinctively decide whether to obey a legitimate order or otherwise. Anyway, if for any reason we have the Armed forces so biased among the political class , and allow the will of the people not to prevail, and follow who ever emerges as President by rigging election, and if the results of the elections do not reflect the will of the electorates, only the commanders themselves alone , then, danger looms. We must therefore do things according to the law, and backed by the law.
Military involvement in an election
I do not support the idea of using the military in elections because throughout the history of Nigeria, the military has never been a factor for civility, political and economic hope to share duty, but if the military were to simply go round, threatening people and putting fear in the minds of Nigerians, then, that election is null and void.
There is no business of the military in an election. I tell you, Nigerian Military has become so corrupt, that even in a war zone they can still compromise. As far as I know, election has to be right, conducted by the correct people and not the armed forces. In democracy, there is no place the Armed forces has business in the conduct of an election. It is the police, even though they are more corrupt but they can flow with the masses compare to the military. They are not as violent like the army who are quick to react.
Do you see the national broadcast of President Buhari this morning as an encouragement?
I do not know what you mean by encouragement, and as far as am concern, leaders should be consistent by their pronouncement, I am not sure whether President Buhari has been consistent in most of his statement. He is a man of few words and appears to be non-violent man. However, from the postponement of the election last week Saturday till this moment, we have seen various national outcry, but nevertheless, let’s hope that his supporters will act out his national address, encouraging Nigerians to come out and vote for their choice of candidates. People should come out and vote in their conscience, not for the interest of any individual but for the interest of Nigerians.
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