In 2011, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), a then
candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), called for a revolution
in Nigeria.
Via a statement by Yinka Odumakin, his spokesman at
that time, Buhari asked Nigerians to make exceptional sacrifices to assert
their collective will in the country.
“The Egyptian pro-democracy campaigners defied all
odds to achieve their set goal of terminating the 30-year old grip on power by
Mubarak. Their tenacity has again confirmed the truism that no force on earth
can stop a people determined,” he said.
This was not the first time the president called
for mass action — he did the same in 2003, after losing the presidential
election to incumbent Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In June 2003, supporters of the All Nigeria Peoples
Party (ANPP) and Muhammadu Buhari, began a mass protest against the outcome of
the April 19, 2003 presidential election in Abuja.
The protesters were reported to have massed at the
Court of Appeal, venue of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to
witness the proceeding.
They would later spill over to the streets where
they chanted anti-government slogans against the Olusegun Obasanjo government.
A REPEAT IN 2011?
In the same statement calling for a revolution in
2011, Buhari commended the Egyptian military for refusing to attack “the forces
of change”.
“The military in Egypt showed exemplary conduct
with the way they refused to be used to attack the forces of change,” Buhari
was quoted to have said.
“They showed the whole world that there is a clear
difference between the state and those who temporarily occupy political offices
for a fixed tenure. This is a lesson for our security agents who have been used
to subvert the will of the people at elections in recent past.
“The time has come for our own security forces to
demonstrate similar valour by putting national interest above that of
individuals when there is a clash between the two”.
“Unlike the Egyptians who went through self-denial
for 18 unbroken days to achieve their aspiration for leadership change,
Nigerians just have to take their voter cards, vote on each election day and
ensure that their votes count and are properly counted.
“It is time to demonstrate people’s power to free
our country from those who have held it hostage for the last 12 years and are
threatening to keep it so for 60 years”
BUHARI COMMENDS EGYPTIAN REVOLUTIONARIES
The CPC flagbearer commended the revolutionaries in
Egypt, asking Nigerians to emulate them and support themselves regardless of
religious divides.
“More importantly Nigerians have to learn from the
way faiths integrated to achieve national aspiration. Christians formed rings
round Muslims as they observed their Jumat prayers during the demonstrations,”
Buhari said.
“For us as a people, we need to also move from
balance of hate to balance of faith as the Egyptians practically demonstrated
on the field of battle for change.
“Rather than allow ourselves to be divided by our
faiths, we must emphasise what binds us together and areas where the shoe
pinches us collectively as people with common humanity. With all sense of
modesty, this is part of what the Buhari-Bakare candidacy represents”.
BUHARI CALLED FOR ELECTORAL REVOLUTION?
Omoyele Sowore, the convener of #RevolutionNow, was
arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) for planning civil
disobedience — once commended by Buhari.
The police has described the planned civil
disobedience as treason and terrorism. In Buhari’s defence, his supporters
claim that Buhari only called for electoral revolution.
He asked Nigerians to “draw the right lessons from
the 18-day revolution which saw Hosni Mubarak quitting office after 30 years;
and do the needful to effect a regime change in Nigeria at the April polls”.
Since winning elections in 2015, Buhari has asked
Nigerians to stop addressing him as a general but simply as president-with his
handlers stating he has become a reformed democrat.
CULLED FROM THE CABLE
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