National Chairman of the Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, Dr. Frederick Fasehun, has faulted claims in some quarters that the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, is the Messiah Nigerians have been waiting for.

At a press conference yesterday in Lagos, Fasheun described the assertions as turning truth and logic on its head. He said for the avoidance of doubt, Gen. Buhari is not Nigeria’s saviour because under his “holier-than-thou” facade lurks a smelly throat of evil. Nigeria Map

Fasehun, who founded the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, recalled that when Buhari lost the 2011 presidential poll, he took up arms against democracy by fuelling insurgency and terrorism.

According to him, Buhari and his supporters then swore to make Nigeria ungovernable should President Goodluck Jonathan win the election, stressing that, “as the immediate fallout of this threat, National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members who officiated in the polls became the target of attacks, with many of these innocent young Nigerians slain in cold blood by Buhari’s supporters. Not done, he took insurgency to a new height, blindly driving Nigeria into the deadly attack of the terrorist group, Boko Haram.

“Instead of standing for election, Gen. Buhari should in fact be standing trial before the International Court of Justice, ICJ for crimes against humanity over the killing of thousands of Nigerians in the ongoing insurgency and terrorism instigated by him and his supporters.

“What economic credentials can Buhari flaunt today? What industry has he engaged in since he retired from the Army 29 years ago, to show that he has a hands-on experience to manage men and enterprises? Even in politics, his most visible pastime, what amount of success has he recorded? When he twice failed to win the presidency through the All Nigeria People’s Party, ANPP, he abandoned the party and founded the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, where he failed to win the election again. Thereafter, he co-founded the All Progressives Congress APC, on which platform he will attempt election again this year.

“He has unsuccessfully contested the presidency three times already and failed in 2003, 2007 and 2011. He failed against fellow retired Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo from the South-West, against Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua a Northerner like him, and against Dr. Goodluck Jonathan from the South-South.

“His hypocrisy was recently demonstrated and exposed at the National Convention of the APC. Feigning incorruptibility, he willingly became a beneficiary of the bribe that his supporters, APC governors and businessmen, doled out to delegates to secure his victory,” Fasehun said.

He also recalled that when Buhari served as Petroleum Minister, the N2.8 billion fraud broke out, signifying a new height in corruption in the country.

“This was a man who served as chairman of the Petroleum Task Force, PTF under the late Gen. Sani Abacha and pretends he made no money. Let him render account for his PTF years.

“We challenge Buhari to declare the true state of his health. What ailment is he nursing in his vital organs? To prevent history from repeating itself, to the frustration of his zone, his kinsmen and indeed all Nigerians should ask this General to subject himself to an independent medical assessment.

“Have Nigerians forgotten that in 1983 Gen. Buhari overthrew the democratically-elected government under President Shehu Shagari, and unduly dissolved all political parties and democratic structures? Nigeria has never recovered from that brazen military intervention.

“No doubt, Gen. Buhari is a man of history. Dr. Jonathan is a man of history too. But on which part of history do these two personalities stand? It has nothing to do with the calling and profession of these two men, one being an academic, a Doctorate Degree holder and a lecturer in a tertiary institution; the other, a retired General and former Military Head of State, who seized power through a military coup in 1983.

“But obviously, as there are worthless scholars so there are wicked Generals; and noble Generals abound in the barracks even as excellent academics flock the ivory tower. But each man chooses his own path, and the cloak does not make the monk.”

He opined that on the other hand, the retired General has encouraged his followers to mix the ballot papers with the blood of dogs and baboons, adding that Buhari’s exact words are: “If what happened in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood.’’ That is an outrageous signpost to violence, insurgency and terrorism, a road this country no longer wishes to travel ever again.

“He has said he would stop Boko Haram if he becomes President. Of course, Gen. Buhari can make that boast because he originally set Boko Haram in motion.

“Today, Nigeria staggers under a weight of insurgency and terrorism that is very alien to our ethnic and national character. And we have some do-or-die politicians to thank for this. Insurgency and terrorism descended on Nigerians in the wake of the 2011 elections, after politicians of a particular coloration swore to make the country “ungovernable” should they lose the polls.

“When Nigerians massively rejected these politicians at the polls, these bad losers made good their threats and unleashed the dogs of war through the North-Eastern part of the country. Since then, Nigeria has become one massive killing field with an internally-displaced population of over 3 million. Shall we cow before those who have brought this tragic and catastrophic atmosphere upon us and reward them with the presidency?

“We must remember, a nation that turns its back on its history will never see development. Having weighed all this, UPN has decided to speak up for democracy -democracy without coercion. This is because Nigeria is not the patrimony of any single individual, and no single person can hold the entire nation to ransom.

“UPN assures our northern brothers that Nigerians will rally round a worthy, capable and nationalistic politician from the North when the time comes for power to rotate back to the North,” he said.

And he will fail again!! GEJ till 2019!!!

Change to backward ness