TheNigerian News Editorial Comment

Buhari’s Golden Place In History

In the last few days in Nigeria, some national events have been dramatic and exhilarating. We observed its undisputable gripping hold on the psyche of Nigerians and promoted robust democratic and political discourses. The political leader of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari expectedly and through Presidential proclamation changed the May 29 date set aside every year as Nigeria’s Democracy Day celebration. It is the commemoration of the day the first batch of elected officials took oath of office with the return of democracy in 1999 after years of military intervention and suspension of democratic rule.
The Federal Government instantly announced June 12 every year as replacement for Nigeria’s Democracy Day celebration. It was another masterstroke which unsettled many Nigerians, coming from a leader unjustly vilified and crucified as dictator.
Nonetheless, President Buhari again publicized his intention to symbolically revalidate the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential elections, adjudge free and fair by both national and international observers, which was widely acclaimed to have been won by billionaire businessman, Chief MKO Abiola, who paired with Amb. Babagana Kangibe of the defunct SDP.
Further downloading the June 12 package, the President announced the conferment of Special National Honours and awards to the heroes and heroines of June 12, 1993 revalidation struggles. Chief MKO Abiola was posthumously honoured with the highest national honour of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR).
All Nigerians are aware since democracy was restored in the country in 1999, after military President Ibrahim Babangida annulled June 12 elections, President Buhari is the fourth elected President of Nigeria. It is also instructive that Buhari is the second military Head of State to assume democratic leadership of Nigeria, after Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s Presidency which lasted for eight years. But none gave a thought to the issue of June 12 and national healing and reconciliation.
TheNigerian is excited to punctuate that from the posture of the two former military and civilian leaders of Nigeria, President Buhari’s latest action exudes with a touchy passion and nationalism on democratic issues. It has demonstrated and portrayed his inspiring and venerated character as a truly repented military dictator. His current democratic garbs and manifestations are signposts of a heart willing to do the bidding of the generality of Nigerians.
At TheNigerian, we are prompted to perceive President Buhari as a leader with many democratic possibilities in character and actions. It is historical to assert that as a serving officer, he led the putsch against the religious extremists, Maitatsine’s fledgling insurgency, which would have consumed Nigeria decades before the emergence of Boko Haram terrorists.
Buhari is innately excited at all times to protect the masses from inequality and injustice, which are prime tenets of democracy, as reflected in his democratic leadership of Nigeria today. And the President has earned for himself the enviable reputation as the first civilian leader in the world to tame the menace of terrorism dreaded globally.
Our stainless and focused President inherited a Boko Haram terrorism that was completely sinking Nigeria. Terrorists had killed thousands of Nigerians, displaced over 2.5 million natives; bomb explosions were every day menu for Nigerians and insurgents seized swathes of territories in the Northeast region and were making gradual atrocious incursions in the Southern part of the country.
There were thousands of abductions of Nigerians including women, children and the aged, who were subjected to all manner of dehumanising treatments in fortified camps of terrorists. But through a reorganized military, especially the Nigerian Army led by the COAS, Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai, Boko Haram terrorists have been routed out of Nigeria to the next world.
We share in President Buhari’s belief in the sacredness of human lives, another defining character of democracy, which attaches premium respect to freedom and liberty for all.
Also of paramount interest is his symbolic June 12 declaration. Many times before 2015, Nigerians were skeptical about Buhari’s democratic credentials.But he has demonstrated in practical terms that his democratic baptism after retirement from the military has provided him with the platform of complete absorption into the ideologies and convictions of democracy.
Therefore, we want to dissuade those who erroneously think from a military perspective that June 12 is all about Chief MKO Abiola. It is certainly not about an individual as everything about it is hinged on healing past injuries, reconciliation and deepening the democratic future of the entire country.
It is about the will of the Nigerian people. And we feel the recent proclamation of June12 by President Buhari is the untainted affirmation that power belongs to the people.
Like he echoed himself during the investiture, “We cannot rewind the past but we can at least assuage our feelings; recognize that a wrong had been committed and resolve to stand firm now and in the future for the sanctity of free elections.Nigerians would no longer tolerate such perversion of justice.”
We believe this is a resonating voice of a true democrat, who is prepared to henceforth defend democracy now and forever. President Buhari has once again shamed his traducers before the international community that those peddling falsehood against Nigeria have never been true born-again democrats.

TheNigerian is of the opinion that the doubts of the anti-Buhari 2019 campaigners as to whether he is a democrat or not have been sufficiently proven with his latest outing. And it is also not about whether Buhari can or has the competence to deliver.
It would not be an issue of whether he can defeat terrorism or not because the Nigerian military has proved it. Rather, it will be about Buhari’s ability to surpass the Buhari of the last four years, if Nigerians give him a second opportunity in 2019.
We strongly feel these questions have been adequately answered with actions beyond reasonable doubts to assuage the curiosity of skeptics, critics and opponents. Thus, President Buhari has written his name in gold as far as the history of our great country is concerned.
Conclusively, our position at TheNigerian is that the answers to the nation’s puzzles provided by President Buhari would decide Nigerians reciprocal appreciation and determine the 2019 presidential election results in Nigeria.