.Faults CJN’s trial
By Valentine Amanze
Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Sunday, January 20, 2019, alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari was misusing security institutions to fight critics and opponents of his administration.
He also said that the Buhari’s administration was a replica of that of the former late dictator, General Sani Abacha.
His words: “Another ‘Abacha Era’ has surfaced in the country with the unfolding development.”
Obasanjo spoke during a press conference at his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
He declared that the president and his hatchet men were desperate to rig the forthcoming general elections.
In his address titled, “Points for Concern and Action,” the former president said that in Buhari’s self-succession project, the president masterminded the intimidation of the judiciary with the prosecution of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, for non-declaration of assets without following the Constitution and the law.
Obasanjo, who also expressed doubt over the integrity and competence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct credible election, warned against actions that could derail the nation’s democracy.
He, however, urged Nigerians not to allow themselves to be deceived a second time by the Buhari administration, insisting that “Nigeria now needs a man with better physical and mental soundness, with an active mind and intellect.”
The former president also alerted the international community to the alleged ploy by Buhari to illegally perpetuate himself in power.
He said, “From available intelligence, we have heard of how Buhari and his party are going about his own self-succession project. They have started recruiting collation officers who are already awarding results based on their projects to actualise the perpetuation agenda in which the people will not matter and the votes will not count. It is the sole reason he had blatantly refused to sign the revised Electoral Reform Bill into law.
“His henchmen are working round the clock in cahoots with security and election officials to perfect their plan by computing results right from the ward to local government, state and national levels to allot him what will look like a landslide victory irrespective of the true situation for a candidate who might have carried out by proxy presidential debate and campaigns.
“The current plan is to drape the predetermined results with a toga of credibility. It is also planned that violence of unimaginable proportion will be unleashed in high voting population areas across the country to precipitate rerun elections and where he will be returned duly elected after concentration of security officials as it happened in Osun State.
“We are monitoring them and we call on all democrats across the world to keep an eye on the unfolding anti-democratic agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari. This is the time for preventive measures to be taken otherwise Nigeria may be presented with a fait accompli with impunity and total disregard of all pleas.
“Today, another Abacha Era is here. The security institutions are being misused to fight all critics and opponents of Buhari and to derail our fledgling democracy.
“EFCC, Police and Code of Conduct Tribunal are also being equally misused to deal with those Buhari sees as enemies for criticising him or as those who may not do his bidding in manipulating election results. Criticism, choice and being different are inherent trade mark of democracy. If democracy is derailed or aborted, anarchy and authoritarianism will automatically follow.
“Today, as in the day of Abacha, Nigerians must rise up and do what they did in the time of Abacha. Churches and Mosques prayed. International community stood by us Nigerians. I was a beneficiary and my life was saved. Well-meaning Nigerians took appropriate actions and made sacrifices, some supreme, some less than supreme but God had the final say and He took the ultimate action.”
