The allegedly controversial letter written by second republic
President of Nigeria, Alhaji Shehu Shagari had continued to cause scare
within the political gladiators in the North West. Sources within the
Presidency had given the Leadership of Igbo Mandate Congress (IMC) a
copy of Shagari’s alleged letter to the Presidential Candidate of the
opposition party, General Muhammadu Buhari on the 12th of January, 2015,
the day Igbo leaders under Ohanaeze sneaked into Aso Rock for the first
batch of endorsement of Jonathan’s re-election bid. However, efforts
by IMC leaders in Sokoto to get Shagari’s views on the circulating
letter proved abortive as his aides pleaded that the old man be left off
the hate filled Buhari-Jonathan campaigns. However, events at Shagari’s
90th Birthday where he reportedly endorsed Jonathan in secret and the
grumblings of APC members in Sokoto State who accuses him of working
against Northern interests may have lent credence to the letter.
This letter being circulated among few northern elites as a ground
for Jonathan’s re-election bid is gradually gaining acceptance in
Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi axis. However, those opposed to Shagari’s
views as expressed in the alleged letter pointed at the constant
humiliation of the Sokoto born Speaker of Nigeria’s Parliament Alhaji
Aminu Tambuwal by President Jonathan and the strong rumors that a
Jonathan second tenure will dethrone Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar as the Sultan
of Sokoto and replace him with the current NSA, Sambo Dasuki. However,
APC Chieftains in Sokoto told the leadership of IMC that the elder
statesman can never write such letter and that the vengeance in the said
letter is not in line with the spirit of Islam.
Shagari had earlier indicated his support for Jonathan in his
forward to a book titled “Jonathan-A Photographic Rise to The
Presidency’ being circulated among PDP faithful where he said that “I
sincerely could never have imagined that in my life time, under
constitutional rule, with a deep and broad mandate, a zoologist from
Bayelsa, one of our youngest states, could rise to become
Commander-in-Chief.
“There is no better indicator that, while much remains to be
achieved, our beloved Nigeria is slowly but surely maturing politically.
Almost unwittingly, we are strengthening our democratic practice. And
we must acknowledge and be thankful of the fact that Jonathan has taken
it upon himself to diligently promote one Nigeria not only in words but
in action.”
Below is Shagari’s Alleged Letter to Muhammadu Buhari Causing Stir among Political Elites in Sokoto
My brother, you have contested the Presidential elections 3 times
in this country and in all these times, you have never asked me or my
people at Shagari village to support your bid. It is very obvious
why you can’t do that. You don’t have the courage after what you did to me.
You truncated democracy with a dastardly coup and took away power
from me. You humiliated me and made me to suffer, and you took away my
opportunity to RULE Nigeria. You said you do not want democracy in
Nigeria. The same democracy you truncated, you are fighting hard to get
with desperation and diabolical power.
You have entered into unholy alliance with some known elements of
disunity in the south but let me warn you. You will suffer hard in the
hands of Tinubu and his political merchants who will use and dump you as
they did to Nuhu. In 2011, you cried publicly when you lost election,
and you made provocative and inciting statements that plunged this
country into untoward unrest.
You provoked our hot- blooded youths with war cries which erupted
into post-election violence, that brought Boko Haram into existence,
over 500 innocent Nigerians died instantly, most of them youth corpers
deployed from one of the unifying agencies of this country.
Personally, I do not have a problem with your ambition. It is your
arrogance that bothers me. If you cannot summon the courage to ask me
and my family to vote for you because you know we would not, why do you
think Nigerians would look kindly on your past record of destroying a
progressing democratic institutions painfully put in place by some
respected fathers of this nations like Awolowo and Azikiwe. No my
brother. It is time to wake up from your delusion and do the needful if
you still have some conscience. I am not writing this to you with
vengeance intention.
I am a practicing Muslim and we leave matters of vengeance to
Allah. I write to you as a Nigerian, your brother and a statesman who is
deeply concerned. Quit the presidential race now and save this country
from the dangling sword of Damocles being menacingly wield by the crooks
that surround you.
This elections is not about you or President Goodluck Jonathan. It
is about the unity of Nigeria which can only be assured by being fair.
By this I mean, being fair to the people of Niger Delta. We can only do
this by either re-electing Goodluck or substitute him with any of his
kinsmen from the South-South as that can only count fair for a people
who are entitled to 8 years in the office of the President.
For the elders council in the north, we have come to the conclusion
to work towards realizing that fairness. 4 years more is not eternity.
It is not too much of a concession for us to make to move Nigeria
forward as one indivisible and united country under one God. May Allah
open your mind to see reason. God bless Nigeria
Alhaji Shehu Shagari (GCFR)
0 comments:
Post a Comment