SAHARA REPORTERS AND ALBINAWI: A SMEAR CAMPAIGN TAKEN TOO FAR.

SAHARA REPORTERS AND ALBINAWI: A SMEAR CAMPAIGN TAKEN TOO FAR. 

By Aniefiok Jacob
The agents of provocation, harassment and sponsors of inertia in Nigeria are at it again. 

The COAS, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai

This time, they want to hood wink undiscerning Nigerians and sell the garbage that the in spite of the huge success of the Nigerian Army under the selfless Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai is a fluke, else, in all honesty how can the man achieve such gargantuan and incisive victory over the insurgency menace, if he was not upright.

What is clear and vivid from the contraption from one Harun Elbinawi, is that the piece was packaged to sooth the ego of our enemies of progress, who detest any good coming Nigerian’s way. But they are dead wrong, as Nigerians now can no longer be fooled by such antics. These people always seek for means of destroying our efforts to build a united, egalitarian and progressive nation, rather they always cook up fables, half-truths and hiatus to thwart meaningful programmes in Nigeria. 

The veil of the contraption would fall apart when one critically views the caption of the write–up by insinuating a linkage of two issues, totally at variance. This portends that same source is bankrolling the hatchet job. 

In the craze to paint Lt Gen. Buratai in the worst of colours, they tagged him (with all manner of derogatory names) a “Butcher” and a “Boko Haram facilitator” while even the crassly-informed, is aware that Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai devoted the total means at his disposal to wage the anti-insurgency war to record the successes on ground. 

He succeeded where many have failed us. He has lived up to expectation and within 1 year, a similitude of peace is gradually coming to the affected zone. The piece tacitly imports that for want (lack) of anything worthwhile to hang on the unblemished officer, (and Spartan General), they want to use religious sentiment to whip up emotions and attract sympathy to their cause by blackmailing the Federal Government into removing their albatross.

What is shocking and unimaginable, is how some Nigerians still think they can use bogey schemes to cause chaos in the fabric of our public (national)  life, just to serve their nefarious interests and with scant regard to the damage such could inflict on the perception of our people and Government by foreigners.

It is totally unpatriotic and absurd to go to any length, unwittingly even to destroy what our forefathers fought so hard to leave as a legacy for us, simply because certain events did not happen as they had anticipated and calculated. But that is destiny for you.

The written-up   (write-up) was tardy and unpolished, because a lot of conflict of thoughts in their minds and mix up, manifested therein and rendered the argument incoherent and muddled and tardy while plotting the conspiracy.

The point we want to make here, is that any attack on Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai, citing what happened in Zaria that has been a subject of investigation and probe or his personal estate which he fully disclosed to the authorities and found to be within his legitimate earnings, can only but be a guise to undermine the President Buhari Administration.

The source of this tirade is not too hard to pinpoint. The jumbled flow of the contraption, wobbling from inciting baseless accusations on account of how the Nigerian Army thwarted a planned affront to rubbish its bravado, to playing the role of a supposedly whistle-blower, but fabricating muck transactions and distorting facts as if the readers are all uninformed is to say the least, the handiwork of a demented group, whose grudge is incurable, as their thirst for blood letting is unquenchable. 

The present Government no doubt must have incurred the wrath of many, who had been feeding fat on the misuse of public funds to pursue self-serving goals and interests detrimental to our nation cum collective wellbeing. So, we are not in any way bemused, only alarmed at the extent of their self delusion.

The account of how the COAS purportedly used Army funds to purchase properties in Dubai or acquire same in Nigeria did not add up, simply because it is not true. How can any sane person imagine that General  Buratai as commander of the Multi-National Joint Task Force on insurgency, could short-change in procurement of equipment like vehicles and motorcycles as claimed, whereas such matters are done strictly in accordance with laid down procedures of the International Agencies mandated by the funding countries.

To vividly depict their dishonesty and being economical with the truth, the notorious Sahara Reporters alleged that the COAS and his two wives paid about $419,000 for a property in Dubai in 2013, then shamelessly claimed sources in the Army said the money involved came from the contract awarded for the supply of vehicles and motorcycles, these are mere conjectures, as the COAS was never a Director of Procurement at the Army Headquarters. In fact it was to his credit that the Army now has one.  Contrary to the insinuation, he was the one that created the Procurement for the Nigerian Army on assumption of duty as Chief of Army Staff last year as part of the far-reaching re-organization that he initiated on assumption of office in July 2015.

It is therefore hollow, inane and sheer mischief which is favourite pastime of a set of people who detest  Nigeria’s progress with passion. They are the same funding all sorts of anti-people ploys in Nigeria, using diverse means of disguise but whose main objectives is to fan embers of hatred, stoke inter-ethnic conflicts, create intra-community discord and chiefly pursue inordinate faith-based agenda all in a bid to either have their way of muzzling Government or instigate a disintegration of our beloved father-land. May Allah forbid. 

On his appointment on July 13th last year, there was spontaneous joyous celebration in all Army formations, because all and sundry attested that President Muhammadu Buhari indeed made a wise choice of putting an impeccable and astute officer to direct the affairs of the Nigerian Army at a very critical time like then.

Soldiers Wining the War in Northeast Under The Command
Lieutenant General Buratai

True to their attestation, Nigerians from all the nooks and crannies of our great country, have expressed confidence in him and the manner he has transformed our Army into a potent strike force, well motivated and able to hold it’s own in the quest of protecting our territorial integrity. He has restored respect and dignity to the soldiering which hitherto was not there.

We feel that by now any Nigerian worthy of that appellation, should desist from supporting those whose agenda is to do us in. The country can only develop, survive and flourish if as citizens we put the genuine interests of the country first and above parochial interests.

It is utopian to expect elements from Mars to come and rule us, or become subservient to other nations as Albinawi and his co-travellers want us to. We cannot make head-way in our affairs if we continue to disparage even individuals who have demonstrated the rare and uncommon knack to sort out our problems, simply because incomprehensible reason. It is absolute trash to question the position of the Nigerian Army over the baseless allegations.

 Gen. Buratai has the right to own property anywhere, so long as the sources of such investment are found to be legitimate. It is sheer tomfoolery and totally ridiculous to try computing the earnings of an officer commissioned some 33 years ago, as if such money must remain static, where the person can only deplete such but not use same to add value as being insinuated.

The picture is clear; these agents of retrogression have been having it rosy in Nigeria. Due to a twist of fate, they now found themselves holding the short end of the stick and are bent on subverting this Government by all means.

What is mind boggling is how do they expect Nigerians to be so easily deceived again, after passing through hell in the hands of those saddled with leadership positions but are lily-hearted and dim-witted hence plunged us into the misfortune of the recent past.

If there is any iota of truth in the allegations or any inclination on the part of Lt. Gen. Buratai to self-help in the manner of discharging his responsibilities, he could not have been absolved of having a hand in the infamous Dasuki-Arms deal scam, but the fact remains that all those holding sway then, were implicated in that scam, which invariably translates to the COAS not being in the thick of things to the extent of cornering such bogus juicy contracts as alleged.

Nigeria has suffered enough in the hands of its detractors, who feel the country should not come out of the woods. So the game plan is to use whatever means to put a spanner in the works, and this nefarious ploy is to railroad or force President Buhari to ditch the COAS in order to halt the momentum being gained in quelling the insurgency menace on the one part, and also portray him as a weak leader who can stab his staunch lieutenants in back after using them to achieve set objectives.

Little did they reckon with the vibrancy of the Presidency with a mind set to focus on solving the teething problems of the country and refusing to be swayed by the subterfuge, innuendoes and charade of the dislocated bunch, who mean evil to the nation and would stop at nothing to achieve their selfish retrogressive agenda.

In the light of the foregoing, we wish to use this medium to implore Nigerians to discountenance such blatant lies from self-serving elements like Harun Elbinawi and his ilk, whose pay masters are now left in the lurch, after wrecking our economy, leaving the ordinary Nigerians in the throes of extinction and yet abhor the current measures being taken by the Buhari Administration to put it back on track. 

The objective of the onslaught is beyond Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, rather the COAS is being witch hunted for daring the hitherto sacred cows and spoiling their fun, hence must be scarified in the quest to ultimately undermine the Buhari Administration’s hold Plans to put the country on a part of irreversible development. 

We therefore see this senseless ploy as a potent affront on our psyche, where our detractors would want to take the wind out of our sail but tacitly using the convert mechanism deftly. Nigerians must as a people stoutly resist such elements where ever they should rear their heads.

We should be extra alert as they would devise diverse ways to pursue their inglorious schemes, but we should not be disillusioned, taking comfort in the fact that posterity would always be on the side of the just.Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai has served this country diligently and brought a sigh of relief to millions of Nigerian families. The least he deserves is a pat on the back for a job well done, not being maligned and blackmailed for nothing to serve selfish interest of a despicable lot.

The COAS is a professional to the core, an astute officer who has immensely taken welfare of his soldiers to an all time high, thus raising their morale to accomplish so much, within his brief stint. While we are not in a position to hold brief for Gen. Buratai, as discerning analysts of Nigeria’s public affairs, it would amount to being foolhardy to keep mute, while this doyen of the military is being unjustly accused for daring to serve our common interest to the best of his ability, hence this rejoinder to the likes of Harun Elbinawi. 

- Jacob is with the Concern Nigerian Youth.