Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari
Following the deteriorating security situation amongst other happenings in the country under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressive Congress (APC), the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) has demanded for the immediate resignation Buhari. The elders who from the same northern region as Buhari believe the president and his government are incapable of combating the increasing insecurity in the country.
The call from the elders from northern Nigeria coincided with that of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who rose from a marathon debate on last Saturday’s massacre of over 67 farmers in Zabarmari village, in Jere Local Government area Borno State, Borno State, declaring that the federal government had breached section 14 (1), which makes security and welfare the sole purpose of its existence.
On the other hand, the House of Representatives said it is angry over the worsening insecurity situation in the country and moved a motion summoning the president to appear before it over the Borno bloodbath. The NEF, in a statement by its director of publicity and advocacy, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, expressed outrage at the massacre of Borno rice farmers, saying life has no value under the Buhari administration due to the absence of political will to fight the Boko Haram insurgency and other threats including banditry, cattle rustling and kidnapping. NEF further accused the president of ignoring its advice and concerns raised by many other Nigerians.
The NEF said, “Under this administration, life has lost its value and more and more citizens are coming under the influence of criminals. We do not see any evidence of a willingness on the part of President Buhari to honour his oath to provide security over Nigerians. These killings and the reality they expose will make relocation of citizens and resumption of economic activities a lot more difficult to achieve even for leadership that attaches priority to them, and this administration does not.
“Elsewhere in many parts of the North, many farming communities have not been allowed by bandits and kidnappers to plant crops. In civilised nations, leaders who fail so spectacularly to provide security will do the honourable thing and resign,” the NEF said.
Baba-Ahmed also flayed the response by a presidential spokesman, Mr. Garba Shehu, that the slain farmers did not get security clearance from the military before going to the farm describing it as ‘most insensitive.’
Again, they said, “These particular killings have been greeted by the most insensitive response by spokespersons of the president. The lame excuse that farmers had not sought permission from the military to harvest produce merely exposes the misleading claims that our military had secured vast territories from the insurgency,” Baba-Ahmed said.
At the Senate, lawmakers condemned Buhari for failing to fire the nation’s service chiefs as demanded in the past. Senators argued that the continued retention of the military chiefs implied the president as the commander-in-chief of the country had failed in his most primary assignment of securing the nation. They made the declaration while adopting a motion sponsored by a former governor of Borno State, Mr. Kashim Shettima.
Shettima had stated that over 40,000 people had been killed in 10 years by insurgents, adding that over 2.5 million people had been displaced, with thousands of security agents killed. “Last weekend’s beheading happened about 20 kilometres away from Maiduguri. From the 1st of January to this day, we have had 2,800 attacks in Borno State. Boko Haram is virtually ruling all our rural areas. They kill and abduct people at will. They’re targeting farmers and this will create hunger in the North,” he affirmed.
