Northern leaders have accused some All Progressives Congress
(APC) chieftains and associates of President Muhammadu Buhari of scheming to be
vice president, in the belief that the president may not survive the ailment
that has affected his performance in office.
For sometime now, the President has been out of public view,
fuelling speculation that his health has worsened.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), during the week, warned
those it said, were praying for the demise of the President.
Reacting to this development, prominent ACF leader, Senator
Joseph Waku, chided those wishing President Buhari dead and warned that if they
didn’t retrace their steps, the President may read their obituary. He accused
some Buhari’s associates of scheming to be vice president.
He likened developments on the president’s health to what
played out between Nigeria’s first President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, on one hand
and Dr. K. O. Mbadiwe and Chief R. B. K. Okafor on the other.
He said: “There was a day that Dr. K .O. Mbadiwe and Chief
R. B. K. Okafor announced that Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Owelle of Onitsha was
dead, and they went ahead to set up a funeral committee. Zik, in his response,
said his traditional title as, the Owelle of Onitsha forbade him from attending
a funeral, otherwise, he would have attended the burial of these two people.
And it came to pass, as these people died and Zik lived another 19 years.
“I’m not speaking for President Buhari, and I’m not casting
aspersion on those who wished him to die, it is only God, who controls life.
First, who in this world cannot be sick? You have a leader, a President that
has fallen ill,. Rather than pray for him, because of your evil mind and
because you are very deep in corruption that somebody has come to fight
corruption or minimise it, then you are not happy with him. It is God that
brought Buhari to power, let no human being say he brought Buhari to power. APC
didn’t win election; it was Buhari who won. God has a purpose for Buhari to
have become the president of this country, and the good Lord that we worship
will see him through to finish his calling.”
Senator Waku said he was not bothered, but felt sorry for
those who thought that they controlled life, noting that, “sometime, I wish I
were not a Nigerian, because it is only in this country that your leader is
sick and you sit down and pray for him to die. I cannot challenge God,
otherwise I would have asked God why He made me a Nigerian. To those who do not
like the truth, God will always take them away for the good of the country”.
He regretted that while Buhari, out his patriotism, often
ignored doctors’ advice to continue to render services to this nation, some
people sat to pray for him to die.
He prayed that the President would regain his health and
work for the country as he had done in the past and would in future. He
expressed dismay that some people, even in the President’s cabinet, were
already allegedly issuing letters and sending messages to lobby for the
yet-to-be vacant position of the vice president.
Stressing that God would enable President Buhari to
accomplish his God-given assignment of cleaning up the country, Waku said:
“America produces dollars, but no American has seen the volume of dollars that
we are seeing here. If not for Buhari, who would have known that some people
stocked dollars in their homes?
Dollar is American currency, but there are more
dollar cash in Nigeria than in America. If Buhari didn’t take over, Waku said,
Nigeria would have gone bankrupt, rather than be in recession.”
He noted: “I’m sure in the homes of these people praying for
him to die, several people have died, who were younger than Buhari. It is only
God that gives life, as well as, takes life. This wishful thinking, God never
answers such prayers. Some people who are not doctors have called for the
National Assembly to declare the office of the President vacant. They don’t
even know the procedure, but that is their feelings, rather than kneel down and
pray for their leader or neighbour, we have this. It tells you how wicked some
people are.”
In the same vein, President of the Arewa Youths Consultative
Forum (AYCF), Alhaji Shettima Yerima, queried the ill will against the President
all because of lust for power.
He said those angling to profit from the President ill
health, apparently knew “it was going to come,” just as during the time of
former President, Umaru Yar’Adua.
“They played the game and Nigerians went to sleep, but on
this matter, we are very resolute and committed, and we are watching, and
nothing must happen to President Buhari in the first place.
“If anything happens to him, we know those we are going to
hold responsible, and they will pay dearly with their lives; they will never
have peace in their lives, we know them and we are watching…As a result of his
illness, people around him, the unforeseen powers within the corridors of power
took advantage and caged him and hijacked the government.
They looted so much money and we know them, when the time
comes, we will hold them responsible. Six people or less than six people cannot
hold the country to ransom. The man got sick they refused to allow him to go
for treatment. They capitalised on two things, age and sickness and we saw this
coming and cried out.
“I’m praying that he gets strong to complete this term, and
by 2019 we come up with a better option. Never again, will we allow these
recycled people to make this country as their personal estate and go about
doing all sorts of things”.
Also, former Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Alhaji
Abubakar Tsav, said it was not customary for any Nigerian or African to wish
another dead.
His words: “Those wishing him dead are those who have
interest in his position or those who think that they will benefit if someone
else goes there. It is very ungodly.
It is very unfortunate, and ACF was apt in its warning to
those wishing the President dead. Our lives are in the hands of God. Suppose
you wish somebody dead, and the next morning you are dead, what do you say?
Only God knows who will die first. You see somebody who is very sick and he is
still alive, while somebody who is very heal
thy dies. It is all in the hands of
God, let God do what He wants.”
By Vincent Kalu
