[dropcap]T[/dropcap]here is a quote people attribute to Russian playwright, Anton Chekhov “any idiot can go through a crisis, it’s the day to day living that wears you out”. Since General Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015, he has relentlessly, systematically, and brutally used government forces including the Nigerian military, secret police, the federal anti-graft agency, and other agencies to intimidate, harass, victimise, and sometimes kill those who oppose his policies or have different political views from him.
With recent developments in the country, it appears that President Buhari has extended his reign of terror to those who have a different religious belief or a different tribe, or come from a part of the country that didn’t vote for him in the 2015 elections. Surely, anyone on the receiving end of this insanity of a government will be worn out.
Considering the dictatorial clampdown on the media, arrest and jail of opposition voices and activists, the silencing of independent voices, genocide against Christians in the Northern part of the country under the guise of “Fulani herdsmen killings”, and extra judicial killings by state actors that occur daily; it is no longer a crisis, it a collection of extended crises designed to wear out decency and democracy.
The carnage and destruction that Buhari’s incompetent government has left in its wake, casts a dark cloud over May 29, 2015, the day that he was sworn into office as president of Nigeria. I predict that it will go down in Nigeria’s history as one of the darkest of our democracy.
One of Buhari’s governments’ relentless attacks on ‘the other’ is what the Nigerian military announced as “Operation Python Dance”. The first Operation Python Dance was carried out from November 28 to December 27 2016 in the five South East states of Nigeria. It is interesting to note that Boko Haram operates in the Northern part of the country where there is a significant population of Muslims.
Yet, for some reason, Buhari’s hateful ideology placed the security emphasis in the South East of Nigeria, where majority of the population is Christian and there are no terrorist attacks or terrorist strongholds. President Buhari felt it was the most valuable use of the country’s military personnel and resources to unleash brutality on the civilian population of the South East under the guise of hunting non-existent terrorists.
Apparently, the government felt one siege on defenceless people was insufficient. Operation Python Dance II began in September 15 and ended October 14, 2017. During the recently concluded operation, there were military patrols on the streets and military checkpoints. The military attacked the home of private citizens creating a security crisis in the South Eastern region of the country.
Last month, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) condemned the military action against civilians in the South East and also condemned the assault of the military on Abia State Office of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). This military action was aimed at intimidating and silencing independent media from reporting the atrocities of Buhari’s army.
We must remember that Major General Muhammadu Buhari was a military dictator who came to power in 1983 through a military coup which ousted a democratically-elected government. At some point during his 23-month reign of terror, he was asked when Nigeria would return to democratic rule, “What is democracy?” he asked his interviewer, “I don’t believe in democracy.”
Since a leopard cannot change its spots, it is no surprise that Muhammadu Buhari’s would engage in a campaign of unleashing the military on defenceless civilians in a time of peace. The misstep is even more glaring because common sense shows that military action could be better served in intensifying the war against the terrorist group, Boko Haram which have pledged allegiance to ISIS.
The news reports of gruesome torture of suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, as well as reports of extrajudicial killings during Operation Python Dance is shocking and heart breaking. IPOB is a self-determination group which advocates for the free state of Biafra.
What conclusion can be drawn from all this? President Buhari remains a military dictator at heart, he didn’t believe in democracy in the 80s when his short and brutish regime was stopped by his own men, he still doesn’t believe in it today. Buhari, therefore, has no place in the mainstream of democratic society. He certainly doesn’t have a place in a democracy as young as the Fourth Republic in Nigeria. The fault lines of our country makes us a fragile union that should not be entrusted to a tin-pot dictator.
Buhari and his image managers hoodwinked Nigerian voters during the 2015 campaigns when he proclaimed he was a “born-again democrat” at Chatham House in London, but today, he has shown his true oppressive, intolerant, and genocidal colours.
Sadly, but not shocking, Buhari’s government has used the tools of the state to hound, intimidate, and victimise elected senators and elected members of the House of Representatives, the very people who are meant to implement checks against his authoritarianism. The president of the Nigerian Senate, Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu have been the victims of executive action to criminalise and remove them from their elected positions.
President Muhammadu Buhari should be held to account; and impeached or voted out. If he has committed impeachable offences, he should be removed and someone who takes seriously the oath to uphold the democratic values of Nigeria’s constitution should be sworn into the office.
The other choice Nigerians have is to register to vote and be ready to vote Buhari out when his first term is over. Given the government’s tactics, and Buhari’s appointment of cronies and family members into Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), it is doubtful that INEC will conduct free and fair elections. It is therefore important that the National Assembly do its job and implement the checks they are entrusted with otherwise there is no hope for democracy and rule of law in Nigeria.
Edikan Uko is a political activist, business strategist, and human capital management professional. She sits on the Editorial Board of The Trent. She tweets from @EdikanUko.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
