An organisation identified as the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF) shocked the nation on June 21 with a claim that top Nigerian Army officers had approached Niger Delta militants to step up their bombing of oil installations to create justification for a coup d’etat against the elected government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
A statement signed by a “General” Akotebe Darikoro and others noted that the militants are constrained to alert President Buhari to be wary of some military top brass who were making moves to oust him.
The militants said they declined the proposal of the military officers because it was not in tune with their objective. They also stressed that the Niger Delta issue was political and can only be resolved politically.
With Nigeria’s inglorious history of coups and counter-coups, the nation cannot afford to take any talk about coups lightly. There can be no doubt that the increasing economic difficulties occasioned by the crash in the price of crude oil in the international market and the unending bombing of pipelines, which led to the cutting back of oil production by a third, are threatening the economy of the country. The resultant inability of many state governments to meet their financial obligations, including payment of their workers’ salaries, and the growing agitation for self-determination in some parts of the country are also threatening Nigeria’s stability. But, these are challenges that the nation can overcome if we are all committed to the stability of our democracy and our country. A coup, at this time, will be a dangerous step backward. It does not at all have any redeeming feature and we admonish anyone having such adventurist inclinations to perish the thought.
That is why we heartily welcome the reassurance of the Nigerian Army that its officers are not plotting to overthrow the Buhari government. In a statement signed by the Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman, the Army said the allegation that its officers were plotting to overthrow the president was a baseless, unfortunate and dangerous distraction from its fight against insurgency in the country. Pledging its “unalloyed loyalty to the President and Commander-in-Chief” and “unconditional support and obedience to civil authority,” the Army said it would never “contemplate any anti-democratic misadventure.” It further promised to track and find out those behind the coup allegation and bring them to justice. President Buhari has been silent on this troubling issue.
We appreciate the denials and assurances of loyalty by the Army. They are regular military responses to coup rumours and insinuations. We urge the Army to fulfill its promise to fish out the elements spreading the rumours. That is the only way to reassure Nigerians that there is nothing to the rumours.
The changing of governments through coups is anathema throughout the civilised world. Nigerians have had enough of coups and have come to the realisation that the worst civilian government is much better than the best military dictatorship. One of the worst things that could happen in the country today is to have a coup that will return Nigeria to military rule. The world has outlawed coups, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has banned it. Experience has shown that it is almost always a setback to any nation .
After many successful and partly successful changes of government by force in our history, Nigerians are fully aware of the game of “coup baiting.” Disaffected politicians and military officers will go about telling tales about the impending collapse of the country and the need to do “something” to save the country. But Nigerians, 50 years after 1966, now know better than to trust their liberty, freedom and progress to a military officer.
We urge the Buhari administration to do more to reassure Nigerians of their security and welfare, to pursue the fight against corruption with greater vigour and sincerity, and to address the challenges of poor electricity supply, inflation and unemployment. It should do more to create jobs, give every Nigerian a sense of belonging with its appointments of persons into offices, end the insurgency in the North-East and address the restiveness and bombing of oil facilities in the Niger Delta area of the country. It should also address the demand for self-determination by the pro-Biafra groups in the South-East and ensure equity in its dealings with all the geo-political zones of the country. We join all well-meaning Nigerians in saying no to a coup and we advise the government to administer the country in a way that will make such a despicable development unnecessary and impossible.
