Nzeribe Declares At Pro-Buhari Demo: "The honeymoon is over"
Chief Francis Arthur Nzeribe, a senator in the second republic, reported this to the participants of the sizable solidarity carnival and peaceful march in London on Sunday afternoon in support of the federal military government. Chief Nzeribe who was the guest speaker at the carnival which started from Hyde Park and ended at the Jubilee Hall listed a number of factors which had contributed to what he termed 'the short-lived love affair with the soldiers'.
First factor, according to Chief Nzeribe, was a report attributed to Head of State General Buhari in defence of the disparity in the treatment given by the military to former President Shagari and Vice President Ekwueme, respectively out of prison and in prison.
Gen. Buhari reportedly said, "materially up till now, I haven't seen anything against the former President, you cannot say the same thing of the former Vice President."
Chief Nzeribe then queried, why then did he make the coup if there was nothing wrong with Shagari, the Executive President on whose desk the buck always ended? Drawing an analogy between the man who refers to a head as clean and body as rotten and yet attempts to kill the whole by cutting off the head, Chief Nzeribe wondered why General Buhari would not reinstate Shagari to exercise the mandate given to him by the people and compel him to re-appoint new, clean ministers with the consent of the Armed Forces.
Also commenting on another Buhari assertion that Umaru Dikko, Akinloye and the former Vice President were consistently involved in contracts on Abuja, petroleum and certain sectors of the economy, Chief Nzeribe wondered whether they could have done so without the authority and consent of President Shagari.
On this basis, Chief Nzeribe called for Shagari to be the first accused to face a tribunal and that if he is not detained in prison and tried then everybody should be set free. According to Chief Nzeribe, the next thing in line that is generating bad feeling in the populace, military and civilian alike, is the method and degree of sackings of people in the Police, Army, Air Force, Navy and the Civil Service. Reference was made to the States of origin of the sacked personnel which showed that 78.25% of the dismissed men, came from the Southern states (Imo, Anambra, Rivers, Cross River, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Lagos and Kwara). Crying unjust, unfair and provocative', Chief Nzeribe wondered how 9 states can produce 78.24 whilst 10 states produce only 21.75%.
Claiming to know of very prominent Northern businessmen who gained from NPN contacts, Chief Nzeribe questioned why they have not been touched. He warned the regime against shielding their friends, kith and kin and the impression that the change was from NPN civilians to NPN military government.
He said his criticisms were not because he loves the Buhari government less but because he loves Nigeria the more.
Chief Nzeribe cautioned the military not to tamper with the freedom of the press nor of the individuals and asserted that four years should be enough for General Buhari and his colleagues to achieve their objectives.
He re-stated the reasons for his support for the change that occurred in 1983 and said he is an agent serving the interests only of Nigerians and Nigeria in pursuit of unity, peace and prosperity.
Digging deeper he said "The Army leadership were NPN men, NPN installed, to protect NPN interests. They were together stock and barrel. It therefore appeared inconceivable that a Northern-dominated military would coup a Northern-dominated Federal NPN government. But, it happened. That was a lesson in nationalism, patriotism, justice - one Nigeria, one destiny and a UNITED NIGERIA. It proved me wrong, and I am man enough to accept my error and to acknowledge that not all Northerners are blind to justice, in preference to the majority interest of Nigeria as a whole. It showed light in the tunnel that there is hope for us in Nigeria. For this alone, we should all, Northern and Southern alike, support this regime unreservedly. I DO. The Army leadership, created by Shagari, could actually look him in the eye to say "MASTER, RANKEDEDE! Enough is Enough." I hail Buhari & Co. for that!"
With good weather, the demonstration passed off smoothly. A lone counter demonstrator carrying a banner, "PRP International wants a debate of the philosophy of the Nigerian Armed Forces before support" was quickly taken away by the police who were out in large numbers to guide the demonstrators. Similar demonstrations are scheduled for Paris, New York, Bonn and Washington on 18th, 25th March, 1st April and 8th April respectively.
