[dropcap]I[/dropcap] am closer to the power brokers in this Buhari regime than I can persuade many people to believe. But I’m not in the business of persuasion. I just want to arm people with the right information. They can choose whatever they want to do with it.
In the wake of the gale of defections that hit APC around August last year, Buhari was overwrought with intense grief. Days later, as the relentless certainty of his electoral defeat stared him in the face, he called members of his inner circle and swore, in a fit of anger and frustration, that he would never hand over power to PDP’s Atiku even if Atiku wins fair and square. He said he would rather invite the military to take over than hand over to Atiku. I’ve confirmed this information with several trusted sources in the Villa.
It’s precisely because of this that the buzzwigs of the regime have gone into overdrive in perfecting strategies to rig the election. They’re no longer even making any pretenses about it, and are compelling all government agencies to contribute financially to Buhari’s reelection campaign. For them, the options are just two: military take-over or rigging. They’ve chosen rigging.
That’s why the threat by the United States and the United Kingdom to deny visas to people who manipulate the vote or instigate violence in the aftermath of the vote is a clear warning to Buhari. (The US and UK governments already know about Buhari’s threats). Banning Buhari from going to the UK where, according to him, he has gone for medicals since the 1970s “when I was in Petroleum,” is like signing his death warrant. Well played, Obasanjo!
Farooq Kperogi, Ph.D. is assistant professor of Journalism and Citizen Media at Kennesaw State University, Georgia, USA. He owns a blog, Notes From Atlanta where this article was first published, and tweets from @farooqkperogi.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
