A
few hours after President Goodluck Jonathan and ex-Head of State, Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari took a swipe at former leaders, ex-Military President
Ibrahim Babangida fired back.
He asked Dr. Jonathan to learn to accept criticisms and threatened to expose the “holier-than thou-attitude” of Gen. Buhari.
Gen. Babangida, who spoke through Prince Kassim Afegbua, his media
adviser, reminded Gen. Buhari that those who live in glass houses should
not throw stones.
He also advised Dr. Jonathan to look elsewhere, not him, if he is blaming past leaders that are criticising him.
Kassim said: “On President Jonathan, there is nothing wrong in
criticism if it is constructive and in the interest of the country. Gen.
Babangida is one unique former President who does not criticise a
sitting President as a matter of courtesy.
“If President Jonathan is blaming past leaders, he should look elsewhere, certainly not IBB.
“On Gen. Buhari, it is not in IBB’s tradition to take up issues with
his colleague former President. But for the purpose of record, we are
conversant with Gen. Buhari’s so-called holier-than-thou attitude.
“He is a one-time Minister of Petroleum and we have good records of his tenure as minister.
“Secondly, he also presided over the Petroleum Trust Fund ( PTF) which records we also have.
“We challenge him to come out with clean hands in those two
portfolios he headed. Or, we will help him to expose his. “records of
performance during those periods.”
Those who live in glass houses do not throw stones. Gen. Buhari should be properly guided.”
Those who live in glass houses do not throw stones. Gen. Buhari should be properly guided.”
It would also be recalled that Buhari’s present protege, the
controversial former minister of the FCT, Malam Nasir Elrufai, had in
October of 2010 accused Buhari of a litany of improper acts. To quote
Elrufai, he had said of Buhari that ” That same prejudice accounts for
the baseless claims of corruption Buhari levels against El Rufai. The
fact is that Mallam El-Rufai served Nigeria with integrity and has never
been convicted of any corrupt act.
He is boldly contesting the false charges which the Yar’Adua
government filed against him in court. It is strange that a Buhari who
protests when unproven claims of N2.5 billion (about US $3billion in
those days!) missing oil funds are levelled against him can gleefully
elevate similar claims into facts when it concerns another.
How would Buhari feel if the corruption allegations made against him
by Group Captain Usman Jibrin, then a board member of PTF, are today
reported as if they were proven facts? So much for “corrupt background”
and “shoddy performance”.
Mallam El-Rufai wishes to remind General Buhari that he has remained
perpetually unelectable because his record as military head of state,
and afterwards, is a warning that many Nigerians have wisely heeded. His
insensitivity to Nigeria’s diversity and his parochial focus are
already well-known.
In 1984, Buhari allowed 53 suitcases belonging to his ADC’s father to
enter Nigeria unchecked at a time the country was exchanging old
currency for new. Against all canons of legal decency, he used
retroactive laws to execute three young men for drug-peddling after they
were convicted by a military tribunal and not regular courts of law.
Buhari was so high handed that he gave himself and his officials
immunity even from truthful reporting. That obnoxious Decree 4, against
which truth was no defence, was used to jail journalists and attempt to
cow the media as a whole. That tyrannical legislation shows the essence
of his intolerance. These are facts of recent history.
No comments:
Post a Comment