The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has criticised former military head of state, General AbdulSalami Abubakar, for declaring that the economic hardship in Nigeria is getting out of control.
Abubakar, in some reports, had said the situation was “getting out of control” while also saying people could demonstrate but not engage in violence.
MURIC, in a statement by its Founder/Executive Director, Prof Ishaq Akintola, urged the former Head of State to guard his utterances.
Akintola said the tone of Abubakar’s statement is an extreme language.
He said: “Of course, we all know that things are hard but to describe them as getting out of control is to expect people to also go out of control. There is a milder way to put it and the retired general knows it, having been trained in the use of diplomatic language before, at least while in Aso Rock himself.
“Undiplomatic and unparliamentary languages are capable of inflaming the populace. The retired general could have done better. As a former head of state and an elder statesman, the retired general has a duty to act in loco parentis. He is still one of our fathers. He could have reminded his immediate audience (a delegation of the Campaign for Democracy) of the global nature of the economic hardship which Nigerians are facing.
“Every right-thinking Nigerian knows that there is nothing like peaceful conduct in the vocabulary of Nigerian demonstrators of this age. General AbdulSalami Abubakar (rtd) himself saw the irrational behaviours exhibited by demonstrators during their last outing. How could he have encouraged another of such outings so soon?
“His belated advice to the government is unnecessary because both the federal and state governments have been implementing all of them even before he mentioned them. It is however sad that he could come out publicly to condemn the sharing of palliatives which, in actual fact, has saved the lives of many poor Nigerians.”
The group said Abubakar should endeavour as much as possible to remain neutral, particularly in his position as leader of the Nigerian Peace Committee.
He said: “Nigerians still respect General Abubakar as the only former military head of state who promised to hand over to civilians within one year and kept his words. He did not allow the perquisites of office to sway him. This is one of the reasons he remains relevant in the Nigerian political scene.”
