Does President Buhari Have A Conscience?

By Femi Fani-Kayode

''Aside the 105 soldiers killed by Boko Haram, additional 34 soldiers were killed 2 days ago but it wasn't in the news''- Deji Adeyanju.

I concur with Mr. Deji Adeyanju. The most heartless and reprehensible thing that our government could have done is to cover-up the fact that 105 of our soldiers were killed by Boko Haram a few days ago. To do such a thing is simply evil.

A soldier ought to be honored in death and this is especially so if he dies in the course of doing his duty and fighting for his nation.

The government has not only dishonored them by not acknowledging their sacrifice but they have also buried them in the wilderness like rabid dogs.

This is wickedness of the highest order and President Buhari, his Chief of Army Staff and his Minister of Defense should bury their heads in shame.

Anyone that buys the lie and propaganda that the 105 soldiers never died and that they are still alive is a compound fool or village idiot.

Will the military also deny the fact that a few days ago 34 of our soldiers were killed by Boko Haram? These boys died for their country. Why deny them?

I am outraged by the fact that a soldier will sacrifice his life for his country yet the citizens and authorities of that country don't even appreciate it.

Pictures of the dead bodies were posted on social media. Everyone in the military knows that those soldiers are dead. It is an open secret. Yet because government denies it so many people just choose to believe them.

The truth is that Boko Haram must have used chemical weapons in the attack.When you look at the pictures of the dead bodies this is obvious. It was probably mustard gas.

All we want from the military is the truth. If 105 soldiers were not killed then how many actually were?

The whole episode happened last week in Borno state and the military authorities are denying it. I am sickened by that.

If others cannot appreciate the importance of honoring our dead soldiers, I can. I will not be intimidated and I will not remain silent.

Tell us where our boys are buried and if you refuse to do so we will keep asking. There must be accountability and respect for those that have made the supreme sacrifice just to keep the rest of us safe. Our soldiers deserve that much.

Finally let it be said loud and clear that since President Buhari came to power he has not bought one bullet for the military. Considering the fact that we are in the middle of a protracted and very bloody war I believe that this is utterly shameful. If you say you want to fight and defeat Boko Haram then why are you not buying arms for your troops?

This brings me to other matters and raises other questions about our President's sincerity of purposes and commitment.

You say that you are fighting Boko Haram yet you are travelling the world drinking tea with world leaders whilst your soldiers are secretly being slaughtered.

You say you are fighting Boko Haram yet you were nominated as their spokesman and chief negotiator 2 years ago in proposed peace talks with the Federal Government.

You say you are fighting Boko Haram but the man you appointed as your National Security Adviser was retired from the army a few years ago for ordering the release of Boko Haram terrorists under suspicious circumstances.

You say you are fighting Boko Haram but the first thing you did when u came to power was to remove military checkpoints.This guaranteed Boko Haram free movement and access to the entire country.

You say you are fighting Boko Haram yet last year you told the world that an attack on Boko Haram is an attack on the north.

You say you are fighting terror yet since you came to power Boko Haram has grown in strength, has regained lost territory and has been declared the ''worlds number one most deadly terror group'' by the Global Terror Index.

You say you are fighting terror yet since you came to power Nigeria, according to the Global Terror Index, has been declared as not just having ''the first most deadly terror group in the world'' which is Boko Haram but also of having ''the fourth most deadly terror group in the world'' which is a group that the Index describe as the ''Fulani militants'' and that we call the Fulani herdsmen.

You say you are fighting Boko Haram yet since you came to power Nigeria has been declared the world's ''third most terrorised country'' by the Global Terror Index after Iraq and Afghanistan which were declared first and second respectively whilst Syria and Pakistan were declared fourth and fifth.

You say you are a ''born again democrat'' yet you voted against the protection of human rights at the United Nations alongside Iran, Zimbabwe and North Korea.

You say you respect human rights yet you barricade Colonel Sambo Dasuki, the former National Security Adviser, in his home, endanger his life, deny him medical attention, flout court orders and make him critically ill.

You say you respect human rights yet you arrest Governor Boni Haruna simply for standing as surety for Dasuki and you try to force him to abandon his friend.

You say you respect human rights yet you raid Governor Attahiru Bafarawa's home and arrest and detain his son simply because he is friends with Dasuki.

You say you respect freedom of speech and human rights yet you lock up Nnamdi Kanu indefinitely and your security agents shoot two unarmed and harmless pro-Biafra youths to death in Enugu simply because they were involved in a peaceful demonstration.

You say that you are a believer in the rule of law yet you ordered your secret police to storm a sitting governors official home in Akwa Ibom knowing that he enjoys immunity from such matters.

You say you love Nigeria yet a bomb goes off in Kano killing over 21 people and instead of coming back home to mourn with your people you continue junketing around the world.

You say you know how to run Nigeria but according to Paul Wallace and Michael Cohen of the United States magazine known as Bloomberg Business your ''bounce has become bust'', your ''policies irk investors'', you have ''destroyed Nigeria's economy'' and you ''do not have the capacity to move the country forward''.

You say that you know how to manage the economy yet stocks and shares have crashed, small businesses are folding up, our foreign currency has dried up, industries are collapsing, agricultural output has decreased, our foreign reserves have been spent and the value of the naira has depreciated since you came to power and it continues to fall.

You say you know what you are doing and how to manage Nigeria's affairs yet the U.S,-based Washington Times newspaper says that you lied to America about your so-called good intentions for Nigeria and that you have ''duped the United States of America'' with your false promises and empty words.

*Fani-Kayode is Nigerian's former Aviation Minister