Politics
Ex-generals rally round Obasanjo, plot Buhari downfall
There are strong indications that some retired powerful generals have formed a strong coalition against the second term bid of President Muhammadu Buhari.
National Daily gathered from reliable sources that former President Olusegun Obasanjo is the rallying point for these generals whom sources listed to include Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma, former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, former Head of State Abdulsalam Abubakar, General Zamani Lekwot and General Joshua Dongoyaro, among others.
Obasanjo, who has accepted the daunting task of being the brain-box and face of the coalition, has been harping on the economic performances of the current administration, declaring them as appalling.
The plot, according to sources, is spearheaded by Obasanjo, who on January 23 wrote Buhari to put his reelection bid on hold, accusing him of non-performance.
Part of the plot, National Daily, is to mount a campaign of non-performance, highlighting the many weaknesses and drawbacks of the current administration with a view to discrediting it.
The insecurity challenge, especially the herdsmen attacks, also offers the coalition a massive outlet to bark at the administration.
The allegation of collusion by the military in the recent killings across the nation by Danjuma last March was also part of the well-planned strategy to expose the current administration to public outcry.
Danjuma’s outburst on alleged ethnic cleansing sat well with many in the northcentral who consider him a cult-figure in political and security affairs.
It was gathered that the coalition has compiled a list of weaknesses or drawbacks of the current administration, which would be highlighted at different fora from time to time.
Another well-articulated ploy by the group, National Daily gathered, is to mount a campaign against the administration at the international scene to sell to world powers the idea of defeating Buhari.
This strategy, which was also well-deployed against former President Goodluck Jonathan, is directly coordinated by Obasanjo using his vast network and connections in the international scene.
Also coordinated directly by Obasanjo, the political strategy has taken off with the adoption of African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the platform for the former President’s Coalition for Nigerian Movement (CNM).
ADC, which is working towards the fusion of other parties like the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Peoples Democratic Movement, as well as 23 smaller ones, has reportedly started building consensus on a northern presidential candidate to stop Buhari.
The choice of the candidate, it was learnt, has however been a thorny issue among the ex-generals with many of them failing to reach an agreement.
While Obasanjo is said to be disposed to backing Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo, some of the ex-generals are rooting for Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso or former Kaduna State Governor Ahmed Makarfi.
The ex-generals are reportedly working on the theory that a strong northern candidate will share votes from the region with Buhari while getting support from the northcentral, south-south and southeast. This permutation, it was learnt, is why they are considering a vice presidential candidate from the southeast or southwest.
Some of the ex-generals are said to be toying with the idea of backing the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) should it present an “acceptable” presidential candidate they could work with in 2019.
But it was learnt many have serious misgivings about supporting PDP because of its perception challenges, making the ADC option a more reasonable path for the ex-generals.
Our correspondent gathered last week that Buhari is however not unawares of the plot against him by some members of his former constituency.
A presidential aide, who spoke under strict conditions of anonymity, told our correspondent: “These things are there to see. We know what they are up to. It is all because their economic interests have been badly affected by this administration.
