A First Republic Aviation Minister, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi has said
that the present administration committed treasonable offence by
deploying the military during the general election.
Amaechi maintained that the military should have no part to play in elections and internal security in the country.
Amaechi, a foremost nationalist, also noted that President Muhammadu
Buhari would not have stepped down had he lost the election to Atiku
Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party.
He told Vanguard that the military would have backed Buhari to sit tight in power.
The elder statesman said, “The present dictatorship in the country
wants to have the control of the government of those [oil
producing]states after taking over the management of the oil and gas in
those states.
“From what I saw, there was no election in some places; and two,
before the election, any sensible man should have known what will be the
result.
“Any sensible man would have known that when the intimidation, the
muscling, the reorganisation and the threat to the judiciary took place,
should have known where the country was going.
“You should have known that it was all in preparation for the
election. So, even if Alhaji Atiku Abubakar had been declared winner,
are you sure the incumbent would have agreed to step down?
“Did you not hear what the Chief of Army Staff said? That they have
every duty to obey the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and
President of Nigeria?
“Supposing the president was declared defeated, how are sure that the
military will not back him to continue to stay in the office or the
judiciary will not support him, when the judiciary has been so
intimidated and terrorised and reorganised.
“So how else do you want me to assess the election? In your own assessment, did your vote count? Tell me, did your count?
“Now from what I read in the newspapers and what I see on the
televisions about the military interfering with the elections in Rivers
State, in Bayelsa State, Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State, shows
the motive and the purpose of those presently in control of power in
Nigeria.There can be no peaceful environment in Nigeria until justice is
done
“The military is set up to defend Nigeria against foreign or external
aggression, not to defend Nigeria against internal insurrection.
Internal security is supposed to be taken care of by the Nigeria Police.
“The military, that is the Army, the Navy and the Air Force are
established to defend the country against external threats to the
sovereignty and security of Nigeria.
“Anybody who is using the military for any purpose other than to
check external threats is committing illegality, and illegality at that
level is treasonable.
“What is the business of the military in conducting election in
Nigeria? The military has no business in conducting election in Nigeria;
their interference in elections in Nigeria is a shame to the country
and its leaders but the question is: who is ruling the country? Is it
not a military man that is ruling the country?
“The man ruling the country now overthrew a democratic government in
1983 and took over the government until another military man overthrew
him and took over the government.
“Then, he won election in 2015 and returned as a democratically elected President of the country; but what is the difference?
“The only difference is the dress he wears. In 1983, he wore khaki
uniform; from 2015 to date he has been wearing agbada, but it is the
same man inside the agbada and khaki.
“There is no change at all, but they want to subjugate Nigeria by
military force. How long can they continue in this regard? I do not
know, but it does not make for peace, it does not make for tranquility
and development.
“They have done the election the way they did in other places in the
past with military intimidation, harassment and killings but in these
areas, the people are crying and saying you cannot control us by
foisting a government we have no hand in its enthronement.
“They have taken the oil, they have taken its management and they want to take our government and they are resisting it.”