The Coalition for Democracy and Good
Governance has hailed the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai and the
Nigerian Army over responsiveness to protecting Nigeria’s democracy and
the sovereignty of the country.
The group, therefore, called for
continuous loyalty amongst troops to constituted authority before, during and
after the elections.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja on
Thursday, Emmanuel Itodo, the Executive Director of the group, said since the
directive for the military to ruthlessly deal with ballot snatchers it observed
that the Nigerian Army has risen to the occasion, particularly in the way it
has intensified operations to counter incidents that could have undermined the
elections.
According to him, "Such calls
condemning President Buhari’s directive came from the People’s Democratic Party
(PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who even went to the absurd
extent of asking the Army to disregard the directive was totally unacceptable
to close watchers of events around the county.
This is sad as it betrays the
desperation of Atiku who now wants the country to be set ablaze since it has
become clear that he is likely to come a distant third in the election.
"We wonder how he would react
to the military disregarding his orders if he were the Commander-in-Chief of
the Armed Forces.
Benue state governor, Mr. Samuel
Ortom, also asked the Army to disregard the President even though the same Army
continues to save his state from the self-inflicted violence that has gripped
the state.
"The people he armed under the
guise of being herdsmen had unleashed attacks on the state and it took the
intervention of the Army to curtail them. One can only wonder what the outcome
would have been if the Army had gone with his request not to shoot at anyone,
even those that are carrying weapons just as would be ballot box snatchers will
do.
The confidence that the Coalition
for Democracy and Good Governance has in the Army and the Chief of Army Staff
(COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, has increased with the way he has
handled the situation in which members of the opposition are asking him to
politicize the military by siding with them and disregarding the directive from
the C-in-C.
"Our confidence is informed by
the professionalism and apolitical nature of the current Nigerian Army under
Lt. General Buratai.
"We are pleased that he has
made it amply clear that the Nigerian Army is not on sale to the highest
bidder. The PDP and Atiku Abubakar should at this stage get the message clearly
that the Army is not the same as some of the compromised electoral officers
that trampled on patriotism upon being paid in dollars.
"The Army is also not the same
as foreign agents masquerading as foreign observers that shamelessly became the
spokespersons for a corrupt opposition. Both classes of compromised persons are
not interested in protecting the sovereignty and integrity of Nigeria, which
the Army has sworn to protect and is doing a good job of.
"General Buratai must however
be wary as the PDP has continued to put officers under pressure of monetary and
career inducement. He should leverage on intelligence reports to conduct hourly
risk assessment until the elections are over. This is because the PDP has
promised some officers in the Army dollar payment in six and seven digits once
they agree to allow ballot snatching under their watch in contravention of
President Buhari’s order. The contact persons that made these offers on behalf
of Atiku has promised at least six different officers the position of COAS if
they allow ballot box snatching and rigging so that Atiku can win.
"This is why general Buratai’s
charge to army personnel to be apolitical is timely but we urge him to back
this up with proactive measures to identify anyone that contravenes his
directives by hobnobbing with the PDP or its agents. The Army must also suspend
its officers and personnel from having any interface with foreigners and
foreign organizations as these so called foreign observers are being used to
convey the PDP’s messages and offers to officers. They use avenues like break
times during briefings and innocuous meetings to attempt recruiting members of
the Armed Forces to take sides with the opposition.
"Even as we urge General
Buratai to exercise caution, we warm politicians, especially the opposition PDP
to desist from dragging themselves into the administration of Nigerian Army and
must cease their ongoing attempt to compromise the institution because there is
a thin line between what they are attempting and treason. There is no provision
in the Constitution that empowers the opposition to dish out instruction
to the Army neither does the opposition form part of the chain of command between
the C-in- C, the Service Chiefs and the troops. The fact that the PDP, its
presidential candidate and chieftains are attempting to compromise the Army
therefore lends credence to earlier intelligence report that foreign agents
have perfected a plan for the PDP to reject the outcome of the elections,
declare a parallel government and get the backing of its foreign partners.
"In view of the fact that the
Army is a key institution in preventing ballot box snatching and averting a
descent into chaos for the country, it will come under sustained attack aimed
at intimidating its ranks and leadership to capitulate and become politicized.
Nigerians must consequently be prepared to resist the attempt to destroy key
institutions of the country by supporting the Army in its determination to
protect the sovereignty of the country and to remain subordinated to
constituted authority without any iota of disloyalty.
The commendable arrests of
troublemakers commissioned by dubious politicians to cause confusion must be sustained.
The Army should not be deterred by the lies being told by those claiming that
it is clamping down on the opposition. What is required of it is to maintain
its apolitical stance by ensuring that anyone that foments trouble is made
accountable for their actions."
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