₦airaland Forum

Nigeria must confront Boko Haram – step forward, Muhammadu Buhari
The elections are an opportunity to depose the ineffectual Goodluck Jonathan and install a strong leader with a reputation for incorruptibility

'Muhammadu Buhari has a reputation for strong leadership and incorruptibility.

Nigeria is at war. In the past week alone the Islamist militants Boko Haram have slain hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people across north-eastern Nigeria, some with the help of child suicide bombers, including a 10-year-old girl. In recent months they have sacked entire towns and villages, and are now masters over 20,000 square miles of territory.

About 1.7 million people now live in Boko Haram’s declared “caliphate”, while 1.5 million have been displaced from their homes as a result of the violence. With a month to go before presidential elections, Africa’s most populous country is losing the war against a fullblown Islamist insurgency. So what is the Nigerian government doing about it?

In 2013 President Goodluck Jonathan, who is up for re-election, declared war on Boko Haram and dispatched the Nigerian army to battle them. But Boko Haram not only fended off the army’s offensive, it ended up being emboldened by the obvious ineptitude of the Nigerian forces. Soldiers meant to be protecting cities and towns have sometimes taken to their heels when Boko Haram’s fighters arrived on the scene, leaving inhabitants at the mercy of the Islamists.

But the problem isn’t that Nigerian soldiers are cowardly, it is that they are woefully under-equipped, under-trained and far too demotivated to tackle the well-armed Boko Haram fighters. The governor of Borno, the state most affected by Boko Haram, has publicly stated that the Islamists are much better armed than the soldiers.

[size=14pt]The reason the Nigerian army is in such poor shape is simple: corruption. The military’s annual budget exceeds £4bn, but rather than equip and train frontline troops, there are complaints that much of the funds end up in senior officers’ pockets. Soldiers who complain have been known to be court-martialed and sentenced to death for “mutiny”.

As commander-in-chief, this is where Jonathan could have been expected to step in. But rather than confront the army top brass the Nigerian president has opted to bury his head in the sand and place the blame for Boko Haram’s success on everyone bar himself. When news emerged last year of the kidnap of the Chibok girls, instead of reacting swiftly Jonathan hesitated for two weeks, suggesting there was no kidnap, only a plot by his political opponents to discredit him.[/size]

At other times he has shrugged off Boko Haram’s deadly attacks as little more than the unavoidable localised version of global jihad, implying with his tone and body language that hundreds of citizens getting killed every week is something Nigerians will simply have to get used to. After a deadly bomb blast killed more than 100 people in the capital Abuja last year, Jonathan was pictured dancing away at a political rally the next day.

Travelling around the country over the past few weeks, my impression is that Nigerians are increasingly looking to the main opposition presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, a former general and one-time military ruler, as the country’s best hope of tackling Boko Haram. Under “normal” conditions Buhari, a conservative Muslim from the north who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist from 1983-85, would have little hope of support in the country’s southern, predominantly Christian region. Without outstanding charisma, eloquence or competence on policy detail, the 72-year-old Buhari has already made three unsuccessful bids for president.

But after a year in which Boko Haram and government corruption has dominated local headlines, the ex-general has two things going for him: a reputation for strong leadership and incorruptibility. He is probably the only prominent Nigerian politician today who isn’t hounded by allegations of embezzling public funds.

A president with military experience to take on corrupt army officers would surely serve as a morale booster to the Nigerian soldiers battling Boko Haram. Granted, the ex-general has no magic wand to make the militants simply vanish. But in this period of existential crisis, Nigeria may need a wartime leader who can project reassuring strength and provide a plausible strategy for overcoming the insecurity in the country. Time is running out.

waternogeteneny:
[size=18pt]Remi Adekoya Endorse Buhari not UK Guardian.



Actually he is really endorsing Osinbaj in hope a sick Buhari dies in Office.



Southwesterners playing the same trick on the North twice.[/size]

lionness:
Guardian is not his property. Last time I checked they have editors and bosses. Park well man!

DaJulee:
TINUBU AND FASHOLA WRONGLY FOOLING THE NORTH
By Julius Diamond

While there are young, competent, brilliant, strong, and healthy individual/politicians in the North, Tinubu and Fashola the TWO owners of APC have strategically conspired to put forward an Old, Sick, incompetent, Semi-Literate, physically weak and unhealthy Gen Buhari (NORTH)as the APC Presidential Candidate, and using a young, strong, healthy Osibanjo (WEST) as Vice President.
Will a man prefer to use an old horse which may collapse along way to undertake a long journey rather than a young horse? Such is the realities of the political strategy deviced by Tinubu and Fashola, using the platform of APC against the North. Far from verbalizations and criticizations, it is obvious that Gen Buhari with his health condition cannot withstand the heat associated in governing this country (Nigeria)as related to the office of the presidency of this great country. Definately, Obasanjo is not left aside in playing this pilitics of secret conspiracy against PDP and the Northernans, as a co-conspirator to Tinubu's politics of secret conspiracy against APC loyalist, and Fashola's politics of secret conspiracy to betray the North simultaneously. It is indeed a collective effort by these greedy None-Western Representative to rob the NORTHERNERS of their expected opportunity. This I conclude from the fact that it would have been better if Kwankwso was selected as the APC Presidential flag bearer. Yet, Tinubu and Fashola knowing how young, strong, healthy, articulate, and right thinking Kwankwaso was; Tinubo and Co decided to sideline Kwankwaso only to select a sick candidate(Gen Buhari), a replicate of 2007 "Gen Umaru Musa Yar-Adua"(MHGS R.I.P), so that Gen Buhari may end his life on seat being 73years to rule 8years if elected. Of course with the health conditions of Gen Bohari, it is predictable of what will happen in the near future if elected, and it is clear to the eyes and senses that it is the WESTERNERS (Osibanjo) who will succeed in governance after another human induced ill luck for the NoRTHERNERS.
A good brother to Fashola, a man devoid of evil, and who could not keep this evil secret: the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayo Fayose, has through the media exposed this secret plot, and has urged Nigerians and the Northerners in particular to be very careful with Olusegun Obasanjo, Fashola, and Tinubu in relation to next month's presidential election. According to Fayose , in qoute "Obasanjo wants to make an old man like Gen. Buhari,the president of Nigeria so that he will die in office like late Musa Yar’Adua". He said what happened to Yar Adua will repeat itself if Gen. Buhari wins the presidential election. I COULD SAY A VERY BIG THANK-U TO FAYOSE, AND ALSO, I THANK GOD THAT THE NORTHERNERS HAVE RESOLVE NOT TO LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN. THIS IS WHY THEY HAVE RESOLVE NOT TO VOTE GEN BUHARI IN FEB 14, 2015.
Just as Fayose has reasoned. I have also thought as well on how baffling Obasanjo has created an artificial and unreasonable misunderstanding with, Kwankwaso, Atiku, and President Jonathan, and developing a media relationship between APC leader, Buhari, Bola Tinubu and Fashola. How goody is this media friendship? to what expectation is this media friendship? can a lion and a goat live together?
We can recall that it was the idea and personal decision of Obasanjo to put forward Umar Yar ‘Adua as the president knowing the man’s state of health and as he had expected, the man died in office. He was the one who said President Goodluck Jonathan was the best for Nigeria and that without him there would be no Nigeria.”
“The question people should ask former President Obasanjo is what has gone wrong between now and then? Why does he hate the North so much? Why is He so against President Jonathan? Is it because President Jonathan has refused to see him(Obasanjo) as a godfather? However, knowing this, any Nigerian and Northernans who wish good for Nigeria will not allow BUHARI & OSIBANJO to be elected. This is for the futuristic benefit of both the Northerners and Nigeria as a whole. After 2019, the next political dispensation will be for the North. This, Nigerians have not argured. For this reason, it is wise for the NORTH to VOTE president Jonathan so he will complete his term and after which the North will be allowed to present credible candidate in 2019, not an old horse being put forward."

As an Advocate for the progress of Nigeria. I call on all Nigerians and the Northernans in particular who wish well for Nigeria to see fact from this exposition and to take on the right step.

Show ur love to Nigeria, Vote GoodLuck Ebele Jonathan, Com 14 February, 2015.

Long Live Nigeria
Long Live the Nothernans
Long Live PDP
Long Live GEJ
Short Live APC