Presidency Condemns Buhari's Prediction Of Bloodshed In 2015
ABUJA, May 15, (THEWILL) - Former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has come under opprobrium from the presidency for his alleged prediction of bloodshed for the country in 2015, and for labelling the federal government as “the biggest Boko Haram.”
His comment that “since the leaders now don’t listen to anybody but do whatever they wish, there is nothing the north can do,” was identified as the most unfortunate of all.
“We find it very sad that an elder statesman who once presided over the entirety of Nigeria can reduce himself to a regional leader who speaks for only a part of Nigeria,” a presidential statement signed by Dr. Reuben Abati, said.
“We now understand what his protégé and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Nasir El’Rufai, meant when he wrote in a public letter in October of 2010, telling Nigerians that Buhari remains ‘perpetually unelectable’ and that Buhari's ‘insensitivity to Nigeria’s diversity and his parochial focus are already well-known.’ Who can know Buhari better than his own political associate?”
The statement observed that as CPC’s presidential candidate in the 2011 election, Buhari never bothered to campaign in the southern part of the country and consistently played up the North-South divide to the chagrin of patriotic and well-meaning Nigerians.
“As the results revealed, Nigerians will never vote for anyone who wants to divide the country. Is Buhari going to continue to be a sectional leader?” the statement queried.
“The federal government, led by President Jonathan, is not Boko Haram. Boko Haram means ‘western education is sin.’ That being the case, one wonders how a government that devoted the largest sectoral allocation in the 2012 budget to education could be said to be Boko Haram.”
Jonathan, in the release, argued that between 1983, when Buhari forcefully seized power from the democratically elected administration of President Shehu Usman Shagari, and 2012, no other administration has committed the same quantum of resources as his to education in the part of Nigeria that has witnessed the most Boko Haram-related insecurity.
“Only on April 10, 2012, President Jonathan commissioned the first of 400 Federal Government Model Almajiri Schools, equipped with modern facilities such as a language laboratory, Qur'an Recitation Hall, classrooms and dormitories as well as a clinic, vocational workshop, dining hall and quarters for the Mallams. As Nigerians read this, more of such schools have been completed.
“We now challenge Major General Buhari (rtd) to tell Nigerians what he has done, whether in his capacity as the head of a military junta or in his private capacity, to bring education to vulnerable children. If he cannot live up to this challenge, perhaps he has to reassess who really is Boko Haram.”
The statement further chided Buhari for claiming that the federal government does not listen, saying that such accusation should not be coming from a man who was overthrown by his own hand-picked military colleagues, for refusing advice and behaving as if he had a monopoly of knowledge.
“It is on record that the federal government led by President Jonathan is a listening administration, hence its decision to pursue all means of resolving the Boko Haram insurgency, including dialogue,” the statement added.