Buhari: The politics of lies, distortion, disinformation

“General Buhari… is a man of principle and moral absolutes who has made a name for probity and integrity. By every standard, Buhari has proved an extraordinary Nigerian in and out of uniform. He is a leader of rare qualities and even rarer attributes…
With his entry into the realm of partisan politics, he has, for some people become an enigma of sorts and it is in the nature and definition of an enigma to be misunder­stood. But being misunderstood is different from being maligned.”
The above is an excerpt from the Forward, written by General Abdulsalami A. Abuba­kar, GCFR, CSG, to my first book, “Who Really Is General Muhammadu Buhari” (2009). The same Forward, by the kind ap­proval of the great General, was also used for my second book, “The Sixteen ‘Sins’ of General Muhammadu Buhari” (2010).
The work, “Sixteen ‘Sins,’ “ is an elabora­tion of chapter 4 of the “Who Really Is Gen­eral Muhammadu Buhari.” The so-called ‘Sins’ are in fact “Lies” fed to the public over time by Buhari phobics.
The work debunks these “Lies,” seriatim, with facts and figures. It is, thus, dedicated to “all those who give primacy of place to truth and accuracy in public discourse or information dissemination…Truth liberates people. Falsehood enslaves.”
It was therefore most refreshing indeed when General Abubakar described my refutations of the “Lies” against Buhari as “painstaking and hard-hitting; and which, hopefully will not fail to shed a little more light on the issues for those concerned with accuracy in the search for the truth.”
Perhaps, I should add especially since some of us seem to be conveniently am­nesiatic, that General Abudulsalami A. Abubakar, was our 11th Head of State (June 8, 1998 to May 29, 1999). He is one of our greatest in or out of uniform. He is held in very high esteem even in the academia among students and teachers. He shares a number of characteristics and attributes with General Buhari in the areas of integrity, principle, focus, reliability, taciturnity and self-effacement.
One should have thought that after the above voluntary glowing tribute and posi­tive attestation to General Buhari’s char­acter by such an illustrious personality as General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the Buhari traducers or Buhari phobics will leave him severely alone to pursue the realization of his current wish to the Presidency especially in these dire times, being fueled as well as being propelled by the solid belief and un­shaken faith that he has what it takes to take us out of the gloom and impending doom to refreshing boom of national economic well-being. But most unfortunately, General Bu­hari’s phobics will have nothing of this. He must be stopped by whatever means even however foul.
In short, General Buhari must play out a disturbing national paradox id est. Nigerians condemn corruption, indiscipline, selfish­ness, dishonesty, weak, visionless leader­ship. Commendable. However, paradoxical­ly, we tend to be scared stiff of a national leadership whose defining attributes are in­corruptibility, integrity, discipline, robust vision and strong and focused purposeful leadership.
In his: “My fears for Buhari,” Romanus Okoye, “Integrity, honesty, account­ability, selfless service etc are rare positive qualities hardly found in Nigerian politi­cians and leaders. But these are the core vir­tues General Muhammadu Buhari, a former military head of state and the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has in abundance as he asks Nigeri­ans to let him fix the country in 2015.”
On my part, unlike the later subdued skepticism of the writer, I am solidly confi­dent that General Buhari will NEVER con­veniently shed these defining positive char­acter attributes. They are his second nature. Unshakeable.
The hurdle, I see is what I once called the Nigerian National Paradox. It was the subject of one of my Essays some years ago titled “The Paradox of Excellence.” Where virtues tend to disqualify instead of qualify for public approbation. Those people who are scared of the prospects of Buhari’s presidency are those corrupt Nigerians who are handsomely benefiting from the corrup­tion and the indiscipline of the status quo; because they are the causes of them. Thus any change at correction becomes a threat even if it ensures greater happiness for the greatest number.
I have suggested before that for corrupt Nigerians “the fear of Buhari is the begin­ning of political wisdom.” Chief Duro Onabule, in his characteristic scholarship, objectiveness, thoroughness and incisive­ness also captured this in his “Buhari scares the criminals.
Buhari’s traducers having failed woefully to fault him on the desirable core virtues of integrity, incorruptibility, discipline, hon­esty etc shamelessly resorted to concocting lies about him calculated to tarnishing his positive rating by the public.
In this also they failed with the discerning public. My “The Sixteen ‘Sins’ of General Muhammadu Buhari” debunked these lies seriatim with facts figures and copious doc­umentation. I challenged the Buhari haters to a public debate. For over two years none has had the courage to pick up the gauntlet.
The next attempt at pulling Buhari down was the cheap and hollow reference to his age (that he is too old at 73 in 2015 to be president). They also resurrected the ster­ile Religious Fundamentalism issue. which addressed these issues exposing their hollowness, their silliness and their contemptible ignorance.
I can’t resist excerpting from Duro Onab­ule once again: “Even before General Mu­hammadu Buhari emerged as the presiden­tial candidate of All Progressive Congress (APC), prospect of his chances sent shivers among his political enemies who went all the way in a futile attempt to block him.
“The fears of the political enemies may not be misplaced. But majority of Nigerians agree that the present situation of brazen theft of public funds in the country cannot continue.
“When, therefore, General Buhari in cam­paign tours, pledges that criminals among public officer holders under his adminis­tration will go to jail, he is only expressing the views of seemingly helpless taxpayers and other responsible citizens. But there is a tiny minority feeding fat on our common­wealth and who feel threatened by Buhari’s pledge to cleanse the polity. Their reaction is to build controversies (most of them laughable) around Buhari.” (In his: “Buhari scares the criminals.” Ibid)
Therefore, the big national question star­ing on in the face as we troop to the polls is: “Should we allow the tiny corrupt Nigerians hold us, the majority, who prize integrity and probity especially among public office holders, hostage?”
The answer is clearly resounding and resonating capital No! No!! No!!! Let us, therefore, sanitize or fumigate the political space and the national space of filth with the potency of our votes, reflecting clean and clear unbuyable conscience. So help us God. Amen. Let there be paradigm shift: In­tegrity not bribery this time around. Besides, the money they use to bribe you is corrupt money they have looted from the common or national purse. If situation ethics force you to accept, still vote against these public thieves, enemies of the system.
“If Nigeria fails once again to elect the right man as president, it will be because the country has focused on the wrong priori­ties,” in Palladium, “Presidential Poll: It’s a question of character” (The Nation January 18, 2015. Back page).
The political enemies of General Buhari, who are necessarily the enemies of corpo­rate Nigeria, have not yet turned away from their evil or satanic ways. They have of re­cent pulled out more “laughable controver­sies” (Onabule) around the adorable Gen­eral. Like drowning men they reach out to even straws to float them out of impending disaster. They are clearly desperate over the continuing futility of their ploys, lies, dis­tortion and disinformation. It is sometimes inescapable to be desperate. However, to act in desperation could be counterproductive and very costly indeed.
“Desperate days in Abuja” by Olatunji Dare, The Nation January 20, 2015. Back page is apropos. In short, even in desperate situations we should not act in desperation. When one acts in desperation one cannot avoid making more and more mistakes or misdeed. I am confident that their recent vi­cious broadside and ad hominem attack on General Buhari will fail again to impress Ni­gerians, who are now very much alert than ever before in our national history.
Furthermore, only people who are emp­tied of substance in debate resort to ad ho­minem attacks or attacks on the opponent’s person. They can’t face the issues. But the public is not fooled.
This discourse on politics of lies, dis­tortion and disinformation, completes the trilogy of the “The Politics of” series put together to debunk the recent anti-Buhari campaign. It is only natural that I make ref­erence to some of the earlier so-called “Six­teen ‘Sins’ of General Buhari” in the course of addressing the impulsive mendacity of the Buhari traducers.
It amazes me that the anti-Buhari are so comfortable and equilibrate with lying that it seems that they are longer capable of dis­tinguishing between falsehood and veracity. If not how can one explain their obduracy to correction even in the face of copious au­thentic evidence countering their lies. This is sickness of the mind and the whole person.
To err is human. To be humble and human enough to admit and correct one’s error is honourable and noble. These Buhari pho­bics seem also to conveniently forget that lying is a moral sin, condemned throughout the history of mankind.
On the moral scale lie cannot be quan­titated. There is no small lie or big lie. Lie is lie simpliciter. For instance, the Code of Hammurabi (1728-1686 B.C) and the Mo­saic Code or The Decalogue specifically pronounced against Lying.
The Code of Hammurabi even prescribed capital punishment to liars. The 9th Com­mandment of the Decalogue pronounced against lying. And even though the Holy Bible, unlike the Code of Hammurabi had no specific punishment for liars, liars can­not escape divine sanction for violating the categorical demands of the Decalogue. I am told that the Holy Quran also prescribes against lying.
Furthermore, there is a correlation be­tween lying, stealing and killing.
Essay No. 68 of my “Philosophical Es­says” (1980) addressed this. I argued that lying is the constant to all these ills. Stealing and killing are also prohibited in the Deca­logue Commandment No. 8 and Command­ment No. 6 respectively. The same is true of all religious faiths.
Those so-called big shots (Social Regis­ter or decorations for intellectualism) who make it their political occupation to regular­ly lie against General Buhari tend to believe that their social status or standing could necessarily sanctify their mendacity and the unsuspecting public will necessarily follow them like the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Not true; even despicable swank. They also tend to believe like the Nazi super propagandist, Paul Josef Goebbels, that lie told so many times over time will transmute to truth. Grand delusion.
Truth is truth simpliciter. It can’t be de­stroyed however hard we try to mangle it. Winston Churchill said that much when he said that truth can be twisted and turned round and round but it remains defiantly truth.
On my humble part I’ve always held that truth like cork cannot sink. It can’t be sunk. It must always float out to the surface. In other words, the Buhari traducers cannot, however they try, deface his defining posi­tive attributes with their shameless and de­spicable lying. Their orchestrated campaign of calumny can even have a backlash effect in his favour.
Time is definitely against liars; since no normal human being can afford to live in darkness all the time. Truth is light. False­hood is darkness.
Falsehood is in itself mean and culpable, and truth is noble and full of praise – Aris­totle.
I once (in Washington D. C. June, 1990) bought a book titled “LYING” by Sissela Bok, a very engaging 315-page book, de­tailed discourse on lying.
Some extracts:
“Every lie is a moral sin. Therefore, no lie is a venial sin.” (Thomas Aquinas).
As I also stated earlier on the moral scale, lie cannot be quantitated. No small lie or big lie. Lie is lie simpliciter.
“Those in government and other posi­tions of trust should be held to the highest standards. Their lies are not ennobled by their positions.” (Sissela Bok).
Some recent lies, distortion, disinfor­mation against General Buhari
Mike Ozekhome, SAN, OFR and his Lie over Nigerian Security Organisation (NSO) (New Telegraph Nov. 23, 2014 page 60).
Buhari “founded a secret Police Force, the Nigerian Security Organisation (sic) NSO.” Blatant shameless lie. Embarrass­ing laziness to research. I don’t ever suffer fools gladly; and I am always impatient with liars and their stock-in-trade, lying.I, there­fore, hold very strongly that lies, distortion or disinformation should be corrected with the relevant truth, facts and figures. This is clearly good for society and also good for the liar, because the reasoned confrontation or clash between lie and truth is likely to af­ford the liar a better perspective of lie and truth.
I agree with Abraham Lincoln, that:
“It is not entirely safe to allow a misrepre­sentation to go uncontradicted.”
“Truth is generally the best vindication against slander.”
“If you yield to even one false charge, you may open yourself up to other unjust attacks.”
On NSO what are the facts: the truth?
First, NSO is National Security Organisa­tion and not Nigerian Security Organisation (as by Ezekhome). I have the facts. How­ever, I still crosschecked with a top National Security Officer. NSO was formed in 1976 (good eight years before Buhari became Head of State. It was by General Obasanjo.
“The National Security Organisation (NSO) of the Muhammed-Obasanjo admin­istration” (In: “An Introduction to Nigerian Government and Politics” by Billy Dudley, page 103). In 1986 Babangida split the NSO into three formations: The SSS (State Secu­rity Service); The DMI (Directorate of Mili­tary Intelligence) and the NIA (National In­telligence Agency.” – External Intelligence.
I am fairly familiar with Chief (he so in­sists) Mike Ozekhome. He is a brilliant ac­tivist lawyer. He is now one of Jonathan’s lawyers and constant apologists. Both of us had some rather unpleasant encounter in the 1980’s in Lagos. He was the defence coun­sel in a libel case I instituted against his cli­ent in a Lagos High Court. In the course of the trial he sent to the court a new statement of defence in which he cited a said NSO document, which he claimed had to do with me. I reported (objected) this to the Chief National Security Adviser, The Chief Judge and the trial judge, Justice Balogun. He tried to make a case of contempt of court against me. He failed. Ozehome’s chamber was searched by the Security Agency. He was detained briefly. The chamber was locked up for some one week.
However, I continue to respect him as a counsel. I did not lose the case.
“On the 31st of December, 1983, Buhari overthrew the democratically elected Gov­ernment of Alhaji Shehu Shagari” (Oze­khome: New Telegraph November, 23, 2014 page 60) Distortion. Disinformation. Shagari was overthrown by the Nigerian Army, not by Buhari as a person/officer. The Armed Forces later selected him to be the Head of State – against other officers who were also interested to be the Head of State.
Decree No. 3 of 1984 (Recovery of Pub­lic Property) was promulgated by The Su­preme Military Council to try politicians of the Shagari’s regime who were charged of corruption. Fasehun recently stated that the charges and imprisonment of those found guilty were selectively against Southern pol­iticians who were given long sentences. Not true. Disinformation. For instance: Alhaji Barkin Zuwo, former Governor, Kano Sate; 300 years jail sentence. Alhaji Aba Musa Rimi, former governor old Kaduna State, 88 years Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, former gover­nor old Kano State 300 years. Dr. Garba Na­dama former governor old Sokoto State 88 years. Alhaji Tatari Ali, former governor old Bauchi state 88 years. Chief Solomon Lar former governor Plateau State 88 years. Mr. Aper Aku former governor old Benue State 88 years. Peter Obasa former Director of NYSC 88 years for abuse of office.
On analysis, it is clear that Northerners who were found guilty received heavier jail sentences than those of the South; unlike the shameless disinformation by Fasehun. Facts are indeed sacred.
Thanks to Okoi O. Obono-Obla ESq for input.
“…there was no ethnic pattern in them. The target was a political class that had messed up the country” Olatunji Dare The Nation January 20, 2015. Back page.
“The Shagari regime personified corrup­tion in the third World” (In The Metal Men by Corpetas page 119).
The “democratic process was thoroughly corrupted by Shehu Shagari and his National Party of Nigeria” Wole Soyinka, in his opus, “You Must Set Forth at Dawn” page 269.
So why was the Army or Buhari not jus­tified to overthrow that government? Was there no mass demonstration throughout the country to celebrate the overthrow of the Shagari government? I know of some big-mouthed so-called activists who begged Buhari for job. Some even approached me. They should not push me too far or else.
“Lying is in itself wrong, and the discov­ery of a lie always impugns the liar – indeed, a single lie can destroy a whole reputation for integrity” (A. C. Grayling). I hope the Buhari traducers who lie even with curious swank and audacity are listening.
General Buhari VS. Papa Awolowo
One of the numerous handsomely-fi­nanced faceless, cheap pro-Jonathan pro­pagandist groups so-called “Independent Campaign Group” in a full page advert in 0 January 15, 2015 page 5 tried to dramatize the said break into Papa Awolowo’s house at Apapa, Lagos by soldiers soon after Bu­hari came to power. They then went on to ask Yorubas not to vote for Buhari because he “dislikes” their (Yoruba) “father.” They were conveniently ignorant of the true ac­count of the Papa Awolowo house siege. General Buhari has explained on at least three occasions (printed) that he knew noth­ing about the unfortunate incident.
A Fifth Columnist in his administration, who regularly clashed with him on the ques­tion of integrity was responsible for the Papa Awolowo’s house incident. The same mis­chievous Fifth Columnist did similar things to the houses of Alhaji Gumi, a leading Is­lamic cleric, Alhaji Shehu Musa, secretary to the Shagari government.
“There was orchestrated plan by some mischievous insider of the administration to discredit me through certain actions which brought unwarranted embarrassment to some highly placed citizens” – General Bu­hari in The Week November 3, 1997 page 11).
Ebenezer Babatope once a “super- Awoist” also recounted this in his “Between Buhari and Yoruba Leaders” (Sunday SUN January 14, 2007 page 15).
It is also popularly held that it was the very Fifth Columnist, who tipped off the British government on the Umaru Dikko affair. Ref: “The Sixteen ‘Sins’ of General Buhari” page 78. The said advert in ques­tion is both hypocritical and somehow also fraudulent about Yorubas in general and Papa Awolowo.
For instance, when Papa was decorated with the befitting title, “Leader of Yorubas” some eminent Yorubas including Chief Richard Akinjide frowned at it (in a pub­lished press interview). Copy in my collec­tions.
Furthermore, when Ebenezer Babatope became Jonathan’s man he unbashfully stat­ed categorically that Jonathan is so good; he is equal to “Awolowo plus Zik plus Sardua­na.” No Yoruba to the best of my knowledge rose up to object to this desecration of the great Papa’s person and memory. I, an Ijaw (a full Ijaw not ‘patch’-‘patch’ Ijaw) wrote to register my disgust. I thank The Sun for publishing it.
Lastly, General Buhari’s running mate (Vice-President) is Professor Yemi Osinba­jo, SAN; a top – eminent Yoruba son, (also a great son of Nigeria) and an intellectual gi­ant; and also a great human being.
He is also a son-in-law of the great Papa Awolowo. Few weeks ago Mama H.I.D Awolowo prayed for him and blessed him for the forth-coming election. Can these faceless heavily paid pro-Jonathan stom­ach infrastructure mercenaries claim to love Papa Awolowo more than his most loved jewel of inestimable value, and his faithful sons and daughters and eminent son-in-law? In other words, can they be more Roman Catholic than the Pope? Never. Impossible.
Let me round up with my familiar mantra: It’s all rubbish, tommyrot, poppycock. Silly.
Buhari and PTF
Writing under Petroleum Trust Fund in my “The Sixteen ‘Sins’ of General Muham­madu Buhari” (2010) I stated:
“The Buhari haters with their obsession­al Buhari phobia have demonstrated their characteristic laziness to research but sim­ply depending on their swank, their preju­dice, their bias, their pull him down by all means and at all costs propensity…the strat­egy and stratagem remains the same: create a ‘devil’ called Buhari. Then go on to search every nook and cranny for evidence. And if none is found, create, concoct, fabricate and besmear him with the cooked up devilish brow. The PTF story is paradigmatic of this evil tendency.”
This was the position in 2010. It has not changed even in 2014 by these lazy, silly, ig­norant, dishonourable anti-Buhari liars.
 It was a beautiful journalistic setting by Our source when the paper immediately below Obasanjo’s discharge and acquittal of Buhari over PTF had the following: “Bu­hari not corrupt, says Lamido.” Lamido, is one of the few intelligent and serious men around Jonathan. Decampee-Returnee.
Now, what was the reaction of the bunch of lazy sycophants and mercenaries around Jonathan to the Obasanjo testimony on PTF? They accused Obasanjo for covering up Buhari. They claimed without any shred of evidence that some PTF money (up to N25 billion was lost). Arrant nonsense, tom­myrot. Rubbish. Stupid.
They are obviously pathetically igno­rant of the historical background to the Dr. Haroun Adamu’s probe setup by President Obasanjo to probe the Buhari PTF.
Soon after Obasanjo ‘defeated’ Buhari in the presidential election Obasanjo was natu­rally guest of many congratulatory parties. It was reported that in one of such parties (in Lagos?) someone started to make very posi­tive remarks on Buhari’s integrity. However, Obasanjo in characteristic admirable blunt­ness was reported to have interjected that he was yet to probe the PTF under Buhari.