Yorubas: Behold Buhari’s atrocities -Olurotimi Adeola

Few years to his death, Late Chief Bola Ige at a seminar in Ife, admonished his audience to forgive their enemies but never to forget their deeds. As the country awaits February 14 presidential election, I am compelled by events in the past, particularly those against Yorubas, to revisit Buhari’s atrocities.

First I must confess, I am no believer in another Buhari presidency. The man as far as I’m concern has no business seeking to rule Nigeria again. A man adorn in strong tribal, religion and retrogressive sentiments, is not the answer to the mileage of problems confronting our dear nation.

Quite a number of Yorubas today are being deceived by Tinubu and his cohorts in accepting Buhari as the next good thing to happen to Nigeria. They claimed he is incorruptible and will come and fight corruption. They labeled him a saint before the people of the south-west, because they need our votes to boost the ones he is likely to get from his kinsmen who thinks it is their birthright to perpetually rule Nigeria.

Yorubas must wake up and look beyond Tinubu’s veils. Buhari is fast ageing and obviously do not possess the intellectual capacity to understand and checkmate the criminalities that Tinubu and his APC’s rogues would unleash on us, if he (God forbid) becomes president.

That Buhari will have the gut to move freely in Yoruba-land, seeking our votes is nauseating; it even more annoying that a clique of ‘never do well’ who are now claiming to be leading yorubas politically, are the ones selling his candidacy to the rest of us.

Why should Yorubas forget Buhari’s consistent assaults on our collective interest in this country? Why are some dummies in our midst feeling that Buhari is now a change person? Truly it’s time for a political re-awakening in yourba-land, because some of us are beginning to forget our painful political past.

General Mohammadu Buhari, as military Head of state, served the interest of his folks who sees Awo as their political arch rival; spent his eighteen months in office, trying to demystify Awo’s legendary achievements in Nigeria. Barely a week in office, he ordered the renaming of the then Obafemi Awolowo University in Ado-Ekiti to Ondo state University. Not done with his disrespect for Awo, he sent soldiers to ransack Awo’s Ikeja residence, turning the whole building upside down, while desperately looking for ways to hang a criminal charge on the late sage. Failing in his evil plot, he arrested all political associates of Awo, even those who were not in government and clamped them in prisons. None was release until Babangida took over.

This same Buhari refused to name anything road or monument after Awo in Abuja. And when the so called ‘born to rule’ elites in the north finally did, using their protégé in power, they named an inconsequential road after the late sage.

Now desperate for Yorubas’ votes, he is shamelessly eulogizing Awolowo at every political rally. We must not be fooled. Buhari never saw anything good about Awolowo until now; he refused to pay tributes to Awo when the sage died. He was too big to pay condolence visit to the family of the late sage when he came out of prison. Now the same Buhari is shuttling between Kaduna and Ikenne to impress yorubas and Mama Awolowo.

Buhari never raised a voice when Abiola’s mandate was denied him. It’s also a known fact that he was close to General Sani Abacha; the same Abacha who turned south west to a graveyard during his five inglorious years in power. Abacha clamped yorubas leaders in detention, while Buhari and his likes were enjoying the perks of their offices under him. There was no record of Buhari speaking against these callous actions by Abacha.

He ordered the execution of three drug pushers, whose crimes predate his decree; one of those killed is Yoruba. He imprisoned two journalists using decree 4, again one of the journalists is Yoruba. Buhari has a long history of hatred for Yorubas, so don’t be fool into believing he now thinks differently.

Buhari suspended Ooni of Ife, the most reverence throne in Yoruba-land; he tried to cripple Abiola’s business, just because he is Yoruba. And these APC charlatans in our midst can’t still decipher what this man – Buhari represents to us (yorubas)?

They claimed Buhari is incorruptible, yet the man can afford a mansion in the wealthiest location in Kaduna town called Malali GRA. His wife runs a multi-million naira oil business; and he can afford more than four jeeps in his convoy. Please they should tell us something else.

Because of Buhari’s violent approach to defeat, after the 2011 presidential poll, eleven young Nigerians (youth corpers) serving in some parts of the north were massacred by Buhari’s kinsmen; seven of them are yorubas. Not even a consoling message came from Buhari to the families of the bereaved; instead he made attempt to justify their killings. Even if for nothing, yourbas must never forget this dastardly act against their own. And as a Yoruba person you will be inflicting more pains to the families of these slain corpers if you vote Buhari.

Can anyone point at any school built in the south west by petroleum Trust Fund, during Buhari’s era? None, yet Buhari built and rehabilitated more than 200 schools in the Hausa speaking parts of northern Nigeria, using PTF resources.

Mohammadu Buhari is never a national leader; he has never hidden his primordial allegiance to his Hausa north. He cares only for his Hausa/Fulani hegemony and it will be disastrous to yorubas if we agree to help him return to power.

Buhari do not mean well for yorubas, his past antecedence confirmed this assertion. Why are we now being cajoled to vote for him?

We must never forget Buhari’s atrocities against of our people. As yorubas go to cast their votes, we must remember that while he locked up late Pa. Bisi Onabanjo, late Pa. Bola Ige, late Pa. Michael Ajasin and pa. Lateef Jakande, great incorruptible Yoruba leaders in prisons because he wants to spite Awolowo, he left his Hausa/Fulani kinsmen like Maitama Sule, Balarebe Musa, Lawal Kaita, Umaru Shinkafi and many others to walk freely. We must also remember Late Major Bamidele, whose military career, was ruined by Buhari.

We should never forget that Buhari sent Fela to prison under controversial circumstance. When APC shenanigans ask us to vote Buhari, we yorubas must tell them the many reasons why we will not.

To forgive Buhari, is to allow history to repeat itself. Buhari should be told by our collective votes as yorubas that February 14 is our day of vengeance. Certainly a Buhari’s presidency is a mirage as far as Yoruba votes is concern.

To continue to uphold the fond memories of the late sage (Awolowo) in our hearts is to be grateful to the man who renamed Liberty Stadium after him. Something the northern oligarchy which Buhari represents has denied him many years after his death.

Village square, January 15, 2015

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