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Letter to Buhari from the grave of the
innocents –
By Bashir Yusufu
Dear General Buhari; I would’ve addressed
this letter privately to you, but in the
expectation that you may not receive it, I
decided to make it an Open Letter, in the hope
that you would stumble on it, read it and
hopefully feel some of the pains and anguish
that have been my lot. Having said that,
permit me therefore to proceed with the rest of
this missive from the grave of innocents
departed.
Last night, while I was at my modest home in
Katsina, relaxing and probably half-awake, I
heard the voice of my cousin who was killed in
the North in April 2011 during the post-
election violence instigated by your loss of the
presidential election. With bloodshot sad eyes,
my cousin, looking apparition-like, was wailing
“Gen Buhari, why why”. My cousin’s name is
(or was) Mallam Yusuf Danfulani, a bright
young lad originally from Katsina State, who
was slaughtered in cold blood and set on fire
by youths chanting “Sai Buhari”, like they are
again now chanting in 2015.
Gen Buhari, in case you have forgotten, Yusuf
was slaughtered in your name even though he
never did any wrong to you, and even voted
for you against Dr Jonathan. He lost his life
just because the murderers you encouraged
by your many hate speeches believed Yusuf to
be from middle belt or southern Nigeria, most
probably because of his bulky looks and brave,
patriotic attempts to prevent the killing of an
innocent Youth Corper, Ukeoma Ikechukwu.
Even though he cried out in Hausa and
Fulfulde, he was still not believed by those you
(Buhari) managed to brainwash to see all non-
Fulani Nigerians as conspiring to vote against
you. In this very case, Yusuf voted for you but
his ‘Sai Buhari’ killers never believed he did.
Like you, Gen Buhari, the mob was baying for
the blood of innocents.
If not for Yusuf’s best friend who was with him
and was himself nearly killed, we would not
have recognized his charred body that was
burnt beyond recognition. And thanks to the
same friend for recounting to us the little he
could make out at the last moments of Yusuf’s
life, the agony he passed through and the most
important words he uttered before he gave up.
It is the same words I heard him utter last
night from the grave: ‘Gen Buhari, why why’.
Yet, to this day, you (Buhari) have not cared to
apologize or show any remorse, but you
instead offered lame excuses for the
bloodletting you had instigated, and still
instigate. I now ask you this: Gen Buhari, must
you always shade blood, like you started doing
from 1983, to rule Nigeria? Do you recall how
you killed Brigadier Bako in 1983 just so you
could take power by force from Shehu
Shagari?
General Buhari, Ukeoma Ikechukwu himself
was reported missing that same day Yusuf was
murdered by your supporters, and finally
confirmed dead the following day when his
charred remains was discovered in a hooded
area. Apparently, your supporters had
dragged him out of the open and tortured him
before finally snuffing life out of him. Like my
cousin, Yusuf, Ukeoma was very young and an
innocent. Unlike Dr. Jonathan, they were not
contesting against you. Yet, when they were
killed, part of Nigeria was killed with them;
the same Nigeria that you are now angrily
campaigning to rule.
Yusuf and Ukeoma were not alone. Six other
innocent Youth Corpers were also murdered in
Bauchi, where you Buhari, polled 1,315,209
votes (almost 82 per cent), defeating Dr
Jonathan who scored 258,404 votes and did
not even hit the 25 per cent mark. The corps
members were reportedly chased to a police
station where they sought refuge. But the
rioters, who were raving mad with bloodlust
and chanting “Sai Buhari”, overran the station
and murdered the young Nigerians in cold
blood. So, Gen Buhari, as you can see from the
Bauchi result and it’s aftermath, your
supporters even shade blood when you win;
still you have no qualms. Today, you are
prancing around the nation, arrogant and
angry as usual, behaving like you have already
won the election; and thus setting up another
bloodletting if you are not announced winner.
The story of Obinna Okpokiri is as heart-
wrenching as Yusuf’s. The 27-year-old was
butchered and burnt to ashes, in the service of
his fatherland. Okpokiri’s own circumstances
were as gruesome as they could be. He had
run to the Corpers’ Lodge as the rampaging
‘Sai Buhari’ rioters targeted Youth Corper
polling officers recruited by INEC for the
election. As painful death loomed, the young
Nigerians contemplated fleeing to the
barracks. But they were not lucky enough.
Your ‘Sai Buhari’ supporters caught up with
them, slaughtered and set them on fire. Like
Yusuf, these innocents are human beings and
future leaders on the last laps of fulfilling their
national duty before moving on to a bright
future. But it was not to be because, in your
name, Gen Buhari, they were slaughtered,
sliced, soaked in petrol and scorched. Reduced
to ashes in minutes and in the most callous
fashion by those that are not better citizens or
humans than them.
General Buhari, while you are now busy
inciting another violence, please bear in mind
that in 2011, your supporters turned violent in
whole 12 northern states as they burned the
homes, vehicles, and properties of innocent
Nigerians, some of whom are also Muslims and
Northerners like you and my cousin Yusuf.
Your ‘Sai Buhari’ supporters also targeted and
killed Christians and members of southern
Nigerian ethnic groups, who were seen as
supporting the PDP, and they burnt churches
across the north. One particular attack in
Bauchi stood out as most heart-breaking.
According to Human Rights Watch, on April
17 in Giade, a rural town in northern Bauchi,
‘Sai Buhari’ mobs attacked youth corps
members in the town. The Corpers, who were
mostly from Yoruba, ran to the local police
station to seek refuge, but the mobs stormed
the police station. The mob killed the police
officer on duty and burned down the police
station. They raped two of the female youth
corps members and then hacked them to death
with machetes, along with five male youth
corps members. In total, rioters killed ten
youth corps members in that town alone.
A lecturer at the Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic,
Zaria, Kaduna State, described to Human
Rights Watch how a mob of Muslims chanting
“Change, Sai Buhari” attacked and killed
several Christian students, a Christian lecturer
and four Muslim students suspected of being
PDP sympathizers on April 17: He said
“Between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., they entered
the school chanting slogans and shouting:
“Where are the Christians and Muslims that
supported the ruling party?” They had painted
their faces black and were shouting that they
needed “change”, the Congress for Progressive
Change campaign slogan. The mob had all
sorts of weapons – machetes, sticks, and clubs.
They started breaking the glass on the
buildings. The students ran away but the mob
pursued them into the staff quarters and they
had nowhere to go. The mob beat them to
death. The lecturer they killed was Yoruba“.
Finally, Gen Buhari, let me end this letter by
asking you this question: When are you going
to apologize to me, to Yusuf’s aged parents, to
Ukeoma’s parents, to parents of all innocents
murdered by your brainwashed supporters, to
Nigeria and to mankind? And here is Yusuf
again, asking you from the grave: “Gen Buhari,
why why”.
Bashir Yusufu.
yusufubashir@yahoo.com

Now, the irony is, no one was able to send a petition to the ICC after this unfortunate incident even as history is about to repeat itselt. Buhari actually made some inciting coments just as they have vow to run a parallel govt. Should PDP emerged victorius. I weep for my country Nig.