Since May 29, 2015, over 22,000 Nigerians, mostly Christians in Northern and Middle belt areas have been murdered in cold blood by Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, armed bandits and in some cases, government security agents. I didn't make these figures up, it was collated through painstaking research and fact-finding by the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety).
These killings have gone on unabated, with the murderers exuding an air of invincibility, unbridled impunity and utter disdain for the sanctity of human life. It is noteworthy that in a multicultural and an ethnically kaleidoscopic society as ours, the entire security architecture of the country is in the control of one ethnic group~the Fulani, which happens to be the same ethnoreligious leaning of the killers. Sadly too, not much has been done by the President nor his government towards upholding the constitution in terms of safeguarding lives and property which he swore to.
Nigeria is indeed in dire straits. At this rate, there may not be a country left if Buhari remains in office beyond 2019. The bloodletting in the land is unbearable and certainly cannot be permitted any longer. It is disgusting that thousands of human lives have been lost without any remorse of meaningful concern by the government. Boko Haram is having a filled day slaughtering hapless civilians and military men but just the other day, a Kaduna train ran into a herd of cows and the Presidency swiftly issued a statement condoning with the owners and promising to compensate them. What a tragedy!
The president in no way hides his predisposition towards cronyism, nepotism, ethnic and religious biases nor his aversion to the concept of plurality. He views Nigeria through the narrow prism of his tribe's interests. We have seen him defend Boko Haram and the Fulani terrorists, calling for grazing routes for cows, asking citizens to give up their ancestral lands etc. He is not as decisive when dealing with the Fulani herdsmen terrorism as he did with Nnamdi Kanu and Biafra agitators.
The signs are perilous and the future, ominous especially when one ruminates over the recent happenings in Nigeria. Never in my adult life have I seen a President so insensitive nor unperturbed by the wanton destruction of lives. Buhari is by miles, the world's most incompetent President, certainly not fit for office. To even mutter a rerun in 2019 despite the disaster, pains and sorrow he has brought to Nigerians speak volume of how cold a soul he is.
To his supporters, I weep for you and your generations yet unborn. Of course everyone is free to make choices but clearly, no one in his right senses would support a man who has superintended over the deaths of over 22,000 of his citizens including men, women, and children. History will never be on your side.
2019 is a make or break. We all have to set aside biases, ethnic jingoism or religious bigotry. The lives of our fellow Nigerians and indeed our country, are at stake. May the tragedy of Buhari not befall us a third time because there would be no country afterward.
Dan is on Facebook @ Dan Okojie
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