If you’re asked to mention those politicians who are approaching junior military officers to stage a coup in Nigeria and take us back to Egypt where we came from, who would you mention? The first set of people I would mention are those governors who are in office but who obviously have no political future after the expiration of their immunity in 2019. Nyesom Wike and Ayo Fayose will most likely face jail term after the expiration of their immunity and are desperate enough to truncate the whole process just to save their own necks. Buhari has ignored these individuals like a plague and it’s obvious they’re not getting anything out of the current system under Buhari, and so would support any move to just end everything.
The second set of politicians I would mention are those whose business interests have been affected by recent federal government reforms. Some of them are even pretending to be members of the APC at the highest level, but have discovered that they can’t realise their own selfish ambition under the current political settings. Some of them in power like Dino Melaye will no longer be given ticket to contest on the platform of the APC; and some of them out of office are angry that they invested so much money to bring in the government but president Buhari has sidelined them because of their criminal history.
The third set of people who are approaching younger military officers to truncate our democracy are the same people who formed Niger Delta Avengers, who have been carrying death rumours of the president, and who have been using the media to make ordinary Nigerians to lose confidence in the government. These people have interest in the oil sector, they’re profiting from the bunkering business going on around our waterways, and are unhappy with the latest moves by the federal government to chase them out of the illegal business. Recall that recently the Service Chiefs and honourable minister of transportation met with the acting president behind closed doors to finalise moves on how best to secure the waterways. These people have strong ties to the military, in fact, they use some corrupt elements in the military to carry out the illegal bunkering operations, and they’re not ready to give up the business in anyway. Staging a coup will keep the business running and make it even more profitable as they would get the complete backing of the government. These same people have been sponsoring the Biafra and Niger Delta agitations, the Boko Haram war, with the aim of keeping the security agencies occupied while they do their illegal business in peace.
These are trying times for Nigeria, and as ordinary citizens we must do everything to support the government. Buhari’s major agenda since he assumed office is to secure our business interest as a country, protect our resources and all our source of revenue. The fight we’re seeing here is the fight for the soul of Nigerian revenue, and the Buhari’s government is fighting to take it back from the hands of the few corrupt elite to the hands of the majority impoverished masses. Let’s ensure that our actions and inactions are supportive of that fight of the government, and not directly and indirectly supportive of the few corrupt elite.
The British government has spoken through its High Commissioner to Nigeria, and they wouldn’t speak if the rumour had no legs. The High Commissioner said:
“The British Government believes that democracy is absolutely critical in Nigeria. There is a democratic process here; there are elections. If you are not happy with your leaders, then you should change your leadership process through your leaders and through elections.
“That is exactly what happened in 2015 and it is what the British Government will expect to happen in Nigeria. So, our position is very clear; we stand for democracy, we stand for the democratic process and we stand for change, if that is what the people of Nigeria want.
“It has to be a choice that the people make and not a choice that is imposed upon them.”
*This piece was picked from the Facebook wall of Baridam Ben, a biochemistry graduate of University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
