We, the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), are disappointed by the turn of events since the declaration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the February 25th presidential election. Instead of taking the outcome of the election like sportsmen and either move on or follow constitutional means to challenge the outcome if they feel so strongly that the process was flawed, some contestants and their supporters have resorted to a dangerous strategy of calling for the termination of the democratic governance.
Nigeria’s democracy is easily the largest in Africa and one of the largest in the world. Those who are working towards terminating this hard-earned democracy must be seen as enemies of the nation and their subversive intent must be nipped in the bud before they plunge the country into the darkness of dictatorship once again.
The entire world witnessed the conduct of election and the emergence of a clear winner in the person of Asiwaju Tinubu. Some politicians were aggrieved over the outcome of the election, and they are rightly entitled to their grouse in any normal democracy like ours. But instead of availing themselves of the constitutionally allowed channels of seeking redress, they have resorted to all sorts of extra-constitutional advocacies, including mooting the idea of an archaic and undemocratic interim government, and other unconstitutional means of terminating the well-planned and carefully executed democratic process that all well-meaning Nigerians are hoping would lead to power hand-over to the winner in about two months’ time on May 29th.
Some people even took the inglorious action of demonstrating at the premises of the Defence Headquarters in Abuja to practically canvass for a military coup!
These people who are bent on scuttling this transition programme should be arrested and prosecuted for treasonable felony!
MUSWEN condemns all these unpatriotic acts in very strong terms.
Now that the DSS has confirmed that some people are bent on terminating the country’s 24 year-long democratic rule, concerted efforts should be made to close in on these enemies of the country and bring them to book.
Coming from the familiar quarters of the same group that scuttled the First Republic in 1966 and aborted the nascent Third Republic in 1993, complete with similar approach and the same entrenched interest, this extant threat to our democracy should not be taken lightly.
Security agencies should not treat them with kid gloves.
The president should demonstrate his commitment to the scheduled hand-over by ordering the arrest of the Defence Headquarters demonstrators and their sponsors.
We should not allow the agony that we went through between 1966 and 1999 to be rekindled by these anti- democratic elements.
Those calling for an alternative to peaceful transition on May 29 this year should be regarded as enemies of the people and should be so treated.
Also, the Western world, especially the US, should demonstrate their interest in and commitment to the survival of democracy in Nigeria and the rest of Africa by identifying these anti- democratic agitators and their sponsors and imposing comprehensive visa bans on all of them without exception.
Professor Muslih Tayo Yahya
Executive Secretary
