Protesting Nigerian youths have profiled their president’s speech as traitorous and failing to acknowledge savage military and police killings at Lekki and the endemic rot of his sectionalist government

EndSARS: Nigeria president writes his name in dustbin of history

by Chin Ce

Aside from the criminal apathy over what has been reported widely as the #LekkiMassacre which never got a mention, the much awaited speech by Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari lacked empathy and, by ordering a stop to all forms of protest, fell squarely within the abusive state symptom of draconian dictatorship.

The speech begins on a note reminiscent of the dark days of his military dictatorship and the savage brutality with which he and his hero and mentor Sani Abacha of accursed memory visited upon the people and many sections of  Nigerian media and groups who dared to call them out on their human rights records.

“I must warn those who have hijacked and misdirected the initial, genuine and well-intended protest of some of our youths in parts of the country, against the excesses of some members of the now disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

“On Monday 12th October, I acknowledged the genuine concerns and agitations of members of the public regarding the excessive use of force by some members of SARS.”

The underhand verbal sleight of hand that sees him insist on using the term “some members” reveals that Buhari does not believe that the entire contraption called SARS has been a monstrous shame on Nigerian humanity. SARS was a creation of the military elite for the protection of their families and cronies against the fallouts from their rape and exploitation of the wealth and resources of the Nigerian people. Unlike his more empathic and enlightened vice president Yemi Osinbajo, Buhari is not on the side of the Nigerian youths in their #EndSARS campaign. His accession to dismantling of SARS was reluctant. He also interpreted it as weakness. The promise of bringing perpetrators to justice was another lip service as Nigerian youths had rightly surmised.

As usual in his cloned repetition of his mental habits, Buhari diverted his speech to itemise his boring, inefficient mantra which regale of his regime’s non existent achievements over past regimes – being a leader of unusual inferiority complex. Lacking sound or qualitative education, Buhari is even not ashamed of his “policies” –  policies that have had no discernible impact on Nigerian youths for the past six years of his increasingly obnoxious regime. Policies mired in official corruption and sectionalist executions.

“a. paying three months salaries of the staff of 100,000 micro, small – and medium – enterprises,

“”b. paying for the registration of 250,000 businesses at the Corporate Affairs Commission,

“c. giving a grant of N30,000 to 100,000 artisans; and

“d. guaranteeing market for the products of traders.” et cetera

Quite predictably Buhari’s next step is to blame the failure of his clueless government not on himself or his corrupt protégés in the Army, Police, and cabal handlers in his ethnicity infested ministries and departments. Rather, Buhari blames “subversive elements” exactly in the same language of the dastardly cult of military brigandage that tutors and sustains his diabolical politics of hate, division, and endemic corruption in the country he has insisted upon polarising.

“I would like to appeal to protesters to note and take advantage of the various well-thought-out initiatives of this administration designed to make their lives better and more meaningful, and resist the temptation of being used by some subversive elements to cause chaos with the aim of truncating our nascent democracy.”

Empty speeches by an empty president. Little wonder the protesting youths have promptly replied his speech with another trending hash tag :

#BuhariResign