Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday drew the ire of some citizens after he threatened to clamp down on individuals perpetrating violence in the southeast region of the country.
Buhari’s threat was in reaction to the security reports he received from Southeast – where secessionist agitations have been heightened in the last six months.
At least about 11 offices of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and ten police stations have been set ablaze by assailants. Police officers have also been killed in the southeast.
What did Buhari say?
Buhari warned those who want to destroy the country through the promotion of insurrection and burning down national assets that a rude shock awaits them.
“Whoever wants the destruction of the system will soon have the shock of their lives. We’ve given them enough time,” Buhari said during a meeting with INEC officials in Abuja.
“These attacks are totally unacceptable, and we will not allow those behind them to achieve their evil objectives.”
Buhari said those behind the violence in the Southeast were too young to understand the pains of the Nigerian civil war.
“There must be zero tolerance for all those bent on destroying our country by promoting crime and insurrection,” Buhari said.
‘Threat to the southeast is unpresidential’
The president’s statement has since elicited varying reactions from Nigerians who questioned Buhari’s commitment to dealing with national issues with fairness and keeping Nigeria united.
Some of Buhari’s critics claimed that the president’s statement is an expression of the bias nature of his government since its inception in 2015, citing Buhari’s pleas to Boko Haram, bandits, and killer herdsmen who have killed hundreds and displaced thousands in the country.
Former presidential candidate Kingsley Moghalu said Buhari’s threat to the southeast “is not the kind of word he should say as the president.”
“I think (your) language matters when you are a leader and when you are facing many crises because that language can be interpreted in many ways,” Moghalu said during a television interview.
Moghalu accused Buhari of “bringing up evocations that are very unpleasant” but said the president should have assured Nigerians that his government will continue to work to ensure the safety of lives and properties.
Many Nigerians on Twitter share Moghalu’s views.
They were killing Boko Haram during GEJ admin & Pantami cried out that the admin was killing Muslims. Today, Buhari threatens to use Civil War tactics on a region & u're saying he is referring to IPOB/ESN. If he was that gladiatorial, why was he appealing to islamist terrorists?
— FS Yusuf (@FS_Yusuf_) June 2, 2021
They kept hiding and pretending but Buhari yanked off the veils yesterday.
Drop your certificates and join the Nnamdi Kanu army 🤡🤡🤡
— Adamu Hayatu® (@AHayatu) June 2, 2021
Ndi Igbo had a history before Buhari and we will have a future after him. We will not fear him.
He is irrelevant to our progress as people!Pass it on pic.twitter.com/b1vSRflYjZ
— Chiby (@ChibuzoEzendu) June 2, 2021
A leader who performs as woefully as Buhari, should be impeached (after all, the British let go of Chamberlain when WW2 began), but Buhari still has millions of fanatical followers who will commit unspeakable violence if that is even suggested.
But 2 years is a long time to wait
— Onye Nkuzi (@cchukudebelu) June 2, 2021
Nigerian soldiers shot unarmed protesters at Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, then Buhari gave a national address on October 23 and threatened more violence on protesters.
It’s becoming clear who ordered the shooting.
— A Field Marshal of the Han Dynasty⚡️ (@General_Oluchi) June 2, 2021
When Buhari speaks to bandits,
He begs them. He appeals to them.
But when Buhari speaks to the so called Nigerian citizens,
He threatens them. He uses language that can be used to justify harm, violence and massacre against the same people he swore to protect.#EndNigeriaNow pic.twitter.com/rB75glj5QI— Fearless Biafran👩🏽✈️👩🏽🚒🧑🏽🎨💯🌍💯💥 (@fearlesssoski) June 2, 2021
The video of Buhari saying those words confirms what Alhaji Buba Galadima told me when I visited him; he said that contrary to what most people think, Buhari is aware of all the atrocities in his government. He sanctions it and hides behind someone. Idiagbon? Kyari?
Makes sense?— Somto Onuchukwu (@chosensomto) June 2, 2021
Before the Lekki massacre happened, Buhari issued a foreboding threat, most of us didn't take it to heart but he followed it up by murdering citizens before the watching cameras
His current threat against Igbos must not be taken lightly.
He is a maniac and a roving one at that.
— DEMAGOGUE PhD.💘senior advocat (@von_Bismack) June 2, 2021
https://twitter.com/_IgbohoSunday/status/1399941215387279360?s=20
You'd find folks making a case for Buhari by saying that he only mentioned criminals not the entire region. So the 3 million people that perished in the 30 month war were all criminals? Can you hear yourselves?
— fred4U (@frediecruze) June 2, 2021
There is a planned campaign to blame that tweet on Buhari's aides. Please don't fall for that. Take that tweet very seriously. There is an institutionalised #Igbophobia
— FS Yusuf (@FS_Yusuf_) June 2, 2021
https://twitter.com/Mazigburugburu1/status/1399831589849337859?s=20
Exactly a month ago, General @MBuhari was “appealing” to herdsmen and bandits to stop their acts of terror. A month later, another Buhari is threatening the Southeast with Nigerian Civil War 2
How can one man have strikingly different reactions to similar events? #TableShaker
— Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) June 1, 2021
https://twitter.com/Danny_Walterr/status/1399828732454465536?s=20
