By Lloyd Ukwu
Prelude:
The problem with dictatorship is that it
usually lacks the capacity and patience to understand the meaning of the rule
of law and due process. Both doctrines are often slow and therefore require
patience. Dictators don’t have patience, they want it here, now and by any
means necessary.
In 1984, Muhammadu Buhari overthrew the
democratically elected government of President Shehu Shagari. It is true that
every coup plotter is guilty of breaching the Nigerian constitution and
shooting his way into power. But arguably, unlike Ibrahim Babangida that
overthrew a military junta, Buhari’s offense was more egregious because he
overthrew a democratically elected government – an expression of the collective
will of Nigerians. In his false feeling of importance, Buhari has always
believed in his messianic mission. He thinks that he knows it all, and that,
unlike any other Nigerian, he knows what is best for Nigeria. His twisted sense of
superiority and inordinate craving for power found expression in his 1984 coup
and his subsequent, repeated run for the presidency. Before he finally won in
2015, he had been defeated in three earlier presidential elections.
On his third defeat, he broke down and
wept in public, an action that would have ended his political career if he were
an American politician. Politicians hardly weep in America. To me, that unrestrained
public effusion of tears signified his utter desperation for power. His
frequent threats to Nigerians were also indicative of his excessive hunger for
power.
After he lost the 2011 presidential election, he made his threats;
vowing to make Nigeria
ungovernable. And true to his word, he attempted to make Nigeria
ungovernable. Through his Boko Haram connection, he unleashed terror on Nigeria. Some
say that if Buhari had no relationship with Boko Haram, why did the terrorist
group nominate him as one of its negotiators? And before the 2015 election, he
threatened to spill blood and cause mayhem if he loses the election.
Unfortunately, in 2015, Nigerians buckled under Buhari’s threats and
shenanigans, and elected a dictator-president.
