Buhari once ordered me to dismiss
48 errant cadets in NDA , 32 of them
Muslims –Gen. Paul Tarfa
Former Commandant of the Nigeria
Defence Academy ( NDA ) , General Paul
Tarfa has said that the Presidential
candidate of the All Progressives Congress ,
Gen . Muhammadu Buhari , has never been
a religious bigot , but a man committed to
discipline.
He added that it is foolish for anyone to
say that Buhari does not have school
certificate.
Tarfa said in Abuja that most Nigerians
who joined the army during the
Nigerianisation of the Nigerian Army in the
1960 s obtained their school certificates
after becoming officers.
“I had the same Principal with General
Buhari in person of Mr. West , ” he said
Tarfa , who has lived a quiet life since he
retired from the army , said : “I stand up
here to say a few words about General
Buhari because I am one of those who
know him most .
“We met in 1963 as cadets and we shared
one thing - discipline , punctuality and
purposefulness.
“Like him, I heard erroneously that I am a
fanatical Christian. I don ’ t know if I am ,
but I am a Christian to the letter .
“I remember that Buhari used to say that
following the tenets of Islam does not
make one a fanatic .
“If I read my bible before I sleep, does it
make me a fanatical Christian?
“In addition to what has been said , I want
to say that in 1984 when he was the head
of state , I was posted to the Nigerian Army
Ordinance Corps in Lagos from the
Command and Staff College in Jaji. The
Nigeria Defence Academy was on its way
to becoming a degree awarding institution .
I was in Lagos for only three months and
there was a reshufflement and I was asked
to go back to Kaduna .
“I reported to him that I had just come
here and so , let me stay here. He said no ,
in the first place , your posting to the
Ordinance Corps is wrong . I want you to
go to the Defence Academy because I want
our future officers to take after your
character . So , I took my wife and family
and returned to Kaduna.
“On my first week in the academy, I blew
what we called the tattoo . Tattoo means
blowing horn at 12 midnight or after to
make sure you catch those who are not in
their dormitory .
“Before then , Gen . Buhari had heard that
our cadets were sleeping in surrounding
villages. Some were going to Zaria to
come back early in the morning , looking
sleepy and not concentrating .
“When we blew the tattoo , everybody had
to come out , even if you were sick and you
had to be carried to the parade ground.
When we counted , there were about 48
cadets absent that night . They were in the
villages with prostitutes.
“I was with Prof . Ukpabi , who was then
the Academy Provost. I said the number
was too much for me to dismiss even
though they were supposed to be
dismissed.
“Out of the 48 errant cadets, about 32
were from the North , and out of these 32 ,
the majority were from the far North . In
other words, they were Muslim cadets.
“I flew to Lagos and met General Buhari
and told him , ‘ this is what you said we
should do , bug look at the number.’
“Even though majority of them were
Muslims, he said , ’ dismiss them all .’ I told
him that the number was too much and
that if I did that , our Muslim brothers in
Kaduna would kill me. He said , ‘ They
won ’ t . If these people become officers ,
they will not be good for us . There was no
such thing as this during our time . We will
not have half - baked officers , whether they
are Christians or Muslims. If they are not
good , it does not matter. So , dismiss them
all . ’
“When I came back , Prof , Ukpabi and I
decided to dismiss the very bad ones and
keep the good ones . That was how we
restored discipline in the academy.
“What I am trying to say is this . where is
the fanaticism here . He didn’ t say because
they were Muslims, we should leave them .
“This has been the character of General
Buhari. If it is right , it is right .
“I am not trying to praise him , but to bring
out the qualities in this man . A vote for
General Buhari is a vote for change.
“People are thinking whether it is a do or
die . To him , it is Nigeria first and not
Buhari first . So , I believe a vote for Buhari
is a vote for change; change for good. ”
On Buhari’ s educational qualification , he
said : “Buhari’ s principal was my principal .
From their school , the principal , Mr. West
was sent to our school .
“In those days when Nigeria was
Nigerianising its military, many of the
officers that you see today did not even
have their school certificates until long
after.
“When we were invited to go to Kaduna ,
we were given qualifying examination in
English, Mathematics and General
Knowledge, even before we took the school
certificate exam. Some did not even wait
to take their school certificates because
vacancies were already waiting for them .
“It was after that qualifying exam that we
were recruited into the army . By the time
some had their school certificates , they
had become officers.
“For example , Gen . Babangida never saw
his school certificate until when he was
head of state . I got my school certificate
long after I became an officer .
“But there was officer cadet qualifying
examination . About 240 of us sat for that
exam in Kaduna”.
culled from the NATION MAGAZINE
www.thenationonlineng.net/new/buhari-ordered-dismiss-48-errant-cadets-nda-32-muslims-gen-paul-tarfa/

Hmmmm
Really long tho

Well the more they shoot spite and defermation at him,the more he comes out sparkling clean
Haters/ love children..if you can't beat em,join them..dnt join those that can

Sai buhari

Dis Tarfa man is shamless after cajoling nd ridiculling xtian clerics under D guise of briefing wit buhari to buhari's unrealistic CAN endursement, still hav mouth to talk?

Den who said muslims shld vote for muslims? Lemme guess, ya old man at how!

PDP says GMB is a fanatic, but Nigerians say if U like call him a BH we shall vote for him; if not why threatening Jega to postpone the elections. Just let us meet at the polls.

It pain me whenever i see my fellow Christians defending this religious bigot called Buhari

Here is one of a post from NY Times that shows that Buhari is a religious bigot.

http://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/21/world/a-burst-of-moslem-fervor-in-nigeria-the-north-stirs-and-the-south-frets.html?pagewanted=2

Despite this, nearly all of Nigeria's leaders have come from the north, and nearly all have been Moslems. Under the Government of the previous President, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Buhari, many Christian schools were taken over by the state, and permits to build churches were held up while the construction of mosques was stepped up. Nonetheless, Mr. Dabo said, there is still a sense of insecurity and inadequacy here.