Buratai: Beyond the warning

THE warning handed down by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Tukur Buratai, to army officers and soldiers hobnobbing with politicians to steer clear of politics or, in the alternative, resign their commission calls for concern. Buratai, in a statement issued on his behalf by the Nigerian Army spokesperson, Brigadier General Sani Usman, had informed the public that the service had information about surreptitious and nocturnal meetings involving members of the army and some unnamed politicians for undisclosed political reasons. Although the Army Chief failed to give further insight into the issue, the public interpreted the meetings to be most likely about staging a coup d’état.

This interpretation is probably not misplaced given that the army was so concerned to have thought that the matter warranted alerting the public to it. Then, that this development came on the heels of President Muhammadu Buhari’s travel to the United Kingdom to seek medical attention and shortly after the redeployment and reassigning of key military officers, including General Officers Commanding and theatre commanders, is also suggestive that this matter deserves more than a kid gloves treatment.

Several sections of the society have condemned any attempt by the military to contemplate a coup d’état. Anyone who is old enough to remember what it was like living under a military regime would not want to trade the most awful civilian administration for the most benevolent military government. So, any attempt by the military, either the top brass or the junior rank, to stage a coup would face strong resistance from the Nigerian populace. The simple reason is that under a military rule, all rights are abrogated; no one has any right. The rights that are enjoyed are at the mercy of the military authorities. In other words, military regimes rob the people of their will, deny them of their independence, kill their initiative and, in essence, reduce them to a subhuman existence. This is why the world is so much against military rule. After an unprecedented 18 years of democratic government with all its shortcomings, the worst that can happen to the country is for a military regime to be foisted on it.

Be that as it may, I think General Buratai should have done more than he did in this respect. According to the statement issued by the Nigerian Army, the service had information that “some individuals have been approaching some officers and soldiers for undisclosed political reasons.” While I do not expect the army chief to come to the public space to disclose wholesale what the Army is doing with the information, the least I expect him to do is to inform the nation that investigation is on and suspects are being interrogated. The military itself said that the meetings have political undertone. So, I expect the army to have marked out the military officers involved in the meetings and their civilian collaborators with a view to finding out their real intention and nip any untoward plan in the bud. This matter is too serious to be handled with levity otherwise the military hierarchy may be guilty of culpable negligence. Military chiefs should not think that the matter has ended because it is already in the public domain. According to Murphy’s Law, whatever can go wrong will go wrong. The only antidote is to take deliberate steps to stop it from going wrong.

Then the political class should get its acts together, be less selfish and be more concerned about the future of the country in order not to give fillip to the actualisation of the dream of power-hungry members of the army who may want to capitalise on the situation to have their way. Politicians should refrain from creating the impression that the absence of President Buhari means the absence of governance in the country. Coup plotters usually latch onto such excuses to perfect their act.

Coup plotters are ever opportunistic; they capitalise on cracks in the polity. The five majors capitalised on the ensuing unrest after the 1965 general election to put an end to the First Republic through a coup d’état in January 1966. Those who planned the July 1966 coup capitalised on the rumpus that the January 1966 coup generated among some segments of the society to seize power. The coup of 1975 was hinged on the failure of the Gowon administration to live up to its promise to hand over power to a civilian administration. The 1983 coup plotters capitalised on the discontent in the polity consequent upon the 1983 elections. The masterminds of 1985 coup capitalised on the hardship in the country occasioned by the hostile economic policies of the time. Late General Sani Abacha capitalised on the June 12 logjam and the agitation of the South-West people for the instatement of Chief Moshod Abiola, to take over the reins of power from Chief Ernest Shonekan in 1993. So, as a nation, we must deliberately guard against any conduct that would encourage any military putsch to avoid a regress into a past that is too ugly for contemplation.