right course of action, and not tell them you have reached a conclusion that they must accept. A diversity of opinion is healthy for a democracy. This is a concept Buhari is yet to understand and it makes him as dangerous to Nigeria’s unity as the separatists.
He is right that they should not allow “irresponsible elements to start trouble”. But he has been doing exactly that with his lukewarm reaction to mass murder by Fulani herdsmen. He has backed “irresponsible elements” in the army that have committed mass murder against Shias in Zaria and shot unarmed pro-Biafran protesters.
The president said: “Every group has a grievance. But the beauty and attraction of a federation is that it allows different groups to air their grievances and work out a mode of co-existence. The National Assembly and the National Council of State are the legitimate and appropriate bodies for national discourse.” Once again, Buhari fails to understand what “democracy” truly means. People have a right to channel their grievances via any means necessary as long as they are peaceful. Many Nigerians have little faith in a National Assembly stuffed with “irresponsible elements” that owe their seats to fraudulent (s)elections. The Council of State made up of the president, vice president, former presidents, former chief judges, the heads of the National Assembly and state governors are all part of a ruling elite with little legitimacy or credibility. None of these people represent the interests of ordinary Nigerians and should be rightly ignored by the majority, who have every right to use other peaceful means and organisations to advance their interests.
Buhari added: “The national consensus is that, it is better to live together than to live apart”. He is in no position to know this. There is no valid opinion poll to suggest that an overwhelming majority of Nigerians prefer to live together. It may be true that they do, but until there is evidence of this, Buhari or anyone else should not be claiming it as a fact. The facts are that there are several groups advocating the breakup of the country. Separatism has grown legs since Buhari took over. He should take a cold look at himself and his utterances, even in this particular half-baked speech.
After concentrating for much of the speech on the separatists, Buhari only had one line each on Boko Haram, the economy (that continues to tank), and “farmers versus herdsmen clashes”. He continues to frame the latter like US president Donald Trump did with the white supremacists and anti-racists in Charlottesville as if there was moral equivalence between both sides. The clashes between herdsmen and farmers are simply about the cattle of the herdsmen destroying the livelihood of farmers. But Buhari is a Fulani supremacist and the herdsmen are Fulani. His stance on this issue is more of a threat to Nigerian unity than “irresponsible elements” on “the social media”.
Sadly for Nigeria, the most irresponsible person in the country today is the one that occupies the highest office in the land.
Naijiant
