‘‘This is a sense of where we are: unparalleled treachery of the ruling class in Nigeria. Nigerians have been drilled and drilled by wicked leadership. The masses have seen brutal military regimes and the most vicious democratic savagery…This development is highly unfortunate and totally unacceptable to the downtrodden masses of this country. Today, the toiling masses are living with painful and unforgettable memories’’- Quoted in Nowinta’s book, 2009: Where We Are (pages 111/112
Pebbles with Igbotako Nowinta
General Patrick Owoye Azazi, the late National Security Adviser (NSA) to former President Goodluck Jonathan dared the consequence and told the whole world that those sponsoring the rag-tag militants, known as Boko Haram were (are) some of the factional leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
That specifically those Northern PDP elements who stood against Dr. Jonathan during the party’s Presidential primaries were bank rolling the insurgency in the North East.
For sticking out his neck to pronounce the abominable, General Azazi was never forgiven.
Those who felt he overstepped his boundary by what he did even as the then National Security Adviser made sure that he paid with his dear life when he was eventually wasted in an Helicopter crash.
By dying along with the former Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Ibrahim Yakowa (the first Christian Governor of that state) in that ill-fated Helicopter, I knew deep down in my mind that those who never wanted our country to breath a new lease of life perfected that heinous tragedy.
Now I consider Patrick Azazi a true national hero, because he saw innocent, law abiding and helpless citizens being crushed to untimely deaths on regular basis while the masterminds of the Boko Haram’s insanity were constantly visiting Aso Rock Presidential Palace.
Patrick Azazi searched his conscience and surprised his boss by his stunning revelations. Not long after he was removed from his juicy job by hook and crook, that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan played into the conspiratorial script of the enemies of Nigeria by appointing a retired Colonel, a former alleged coup plotter and son of the ex-Sultan of Sokoto, Sambo Dasuki, as the nation’s National Security Adviser.
By throwing up Sambo Dasuki instead of well qualified, experienced and patriotic character to man the nation’s national security ship, the forces at play stepped up their evil agenda as a spate of indiscriminate suicide bombings became the order of the day in the country.
I wondered why ex-President Goodluck Jonathan could not see between the lines until he was butted out of power on March 28th 2015 via the Presidential Election.
I am perplexed that Goodluck Jonathan who later appreciated the fact that supporters of Boko Haram infiltrated every sector of his government still went on to keep a guy like Col. Sambo Dasuki to the tilt.
No wonder a veteran columnist threw caution to the wind when he declared immediately after the Presidential Election that: “had Jonathan won the election Nigeria would have graduated into a bloody revolution.”
I am cock sure superior arguments that prevailed against pedestrian conclusions stopped the proponents of Boko Haram from wasting the life of Dr. Jonathan via an assassination attempt in office.
The kind of can of worms coming out from the on-going special investigation into the Arms Deal perpetuated by Col. Sambo Dasuki as National Security Adviser, shows clearly that the man was a Lord unto himself and capable of doing anything.
The Arms Deal Scandal leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. It is a seething example of gigantic abuse of institutional democratic process. It is a story of horror; a perfect minus for the Peoples Democratic Party in Nigeria.
It shows glaringly that Goodluck Jonathan was most incapable of handling the delicate affairs of Africa’s most populous black nation on earth.
The Arms Deal Scandal reminds me of the ignoble role an ordinary Major, like Hamzart Mustapha played during the dark sinister regime of late General Sani Abacha, where superior and well educated officers became pawns in the conspiratorial script of a wicked ambitious junior officer.
The Arms Deal supposedly meant to equip our nation’s Armed Forces fighting a ruthless monster in Boko Haram became a blatant tool for mind- boggling corruption. What a country! What a shame! What a betrayal!
The Arms Deal Scandal is a sad development that most of our public officers in military and civilian attires are worse than common bandits who have no iota of regards for the welfare of the people of Nigeria.
As the noose tightens on Col. Dasuki and other dishonorable men who mindlessly wasted our commonwealth and the precious lives of innocent civilians and heroic soldiers in the battle fronts, instead of equipping our armory with sophisticated weapons, President Buhari must hasten to reorganize and re-professionalize our Armed Forces.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) must similarly build institutions that will sustain our nascent democracy in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Nowinta wrote: Where We Are – A Call for Democratic Revolution in Nigeria
