in Viewpoint
VICE Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd), GCON, CFR, joined the Royal Nigerian Navy in 1963, trained in United Kingdom and returned to Nigeria in 1966, fought in the Nigeria-Biafra war.
In February 1976, he was appointed Governor of the newly formed Niger State. He became the Chief of Naval Staff in January 1990, the Deputy Chief of Defense Staff two years later and retired from the Service in September 1993.
Nyako entered politics in 2006 and was elected Governor of Adamawa State in April 2007. In February 2008 the Election Petition Appeal Tribunal upheld nullification of his election, and the House Speaker James Barka was sworn in as Acting Governor. A fresh election was run, and Nyako was re-elected and resumed office on April 29, 2008. Soon after, the House initiated moves to impeach him, but was dissuaded after the personal intervention of President Umaru Yar’Adua.
In 2012 after the first tenure, he ran for a second term and was re-elected. He is sole owner of one of the largest dairy farms in the country, Sebore (EPZ) Farms, and owns the largest mango farm in the country leading to him being known as Baba Mai Mangoro, BMM.He is the President of the Horticultural Crops Growers Association of Nigeria, the Practicing Farmers Association of Nigeria and the Apex Farmers Association of Nigeria. Nyako, is therefore an accomplished Naval Officer, a very rich farmer and politician. He should be taken very seriously when he speaks. To ignore the implications of his call to the North, will be to the peril of this nation.
Governor Nyako left the PDP last year to join the APC, and has subsequently changed his thoughts about Nigeria.
In a speech in March this year in Washington D C, he accused President GEJ and key government officials of supporting state terrorism by funding and arming terrorists, adding that “ there is simply no person(s) in the North Eastern zone rich enough to foot the financial and logistic bills on Borko Haram activities, and that “ it was clear there was unhindered coordination between the activities of Boko Haram cells and strategic commanders in Nigeria’s National Defense System”. What a damaging and discouraging accusation to his erstwhile constituency, and who says he cannot foot such bills? He can, of course!
But he continued: “The initial assumption was that Boko Haram was religiously motivated. Nobody now associates the group with any religion; their targets have largely been within Muslim communities. What therefore, are the motivating factors of the so-called Boko Haram ?” And he provides the answer: “The people in the North have also begun to suspect that the objective of all this is to create enough mayhem for an excuse to deny them their democratic right to vote by cancelling the forthcoming general elections in the region and also reduce the voting power of the people there now and in the future through mass killings of its populace, especially its youth.”
Is this man not fanning the embers of violence among the Northern youth? Nyako, by our Constitution, will benefit by remaining in office if there is no election in his state! But he queries: “Is Northern Nigeria facing another demonic agenda similar to that which wiped away its political and military leaders and killed a number from the Western Region in January 1966 ?” The conjuring up of the horror of 1966 is the biggest harm to the fragile unity of Nigeria at this time. Nyako is for a split Nigeria! His New Country is The North.
In his recent Memo to the Northern Governors Forum, he alleged the following: “The protection of life and property of innocent citizens in Northern Nigeria and recognising their Human rights and voting right in the forthcoming general elections is no longer a cardinal principle of the administration (GEJ’s)”.His verdict: “The victims of the administration’s evil-mindedness are substantially Northern Nigerians. The administration is bent on bringing wars in the North….
There have also been attempts to assassinate the Senate President (Northerner) in Imo State, two Executive Governors of States in the North (the Governor of Benue State and my humble self), two of our most prominent traditional leaders (Shehu of Borno and the Emir of Kano), Senators and others, all from Northern Nigeria. This is in line with the demonic policy of the evil-few in and around the administration that have advocated how Northerners, both Christians and Muslims, are to be so dealt with, ill-treated and oppressed!”
He echoed: “It is a well-known fact that virtually all the soldiers of Northern Nigerian origin recently recruited to fight Boko-Haram have been deceived in that aspect. Virtually all the Nigerian Army soldiers killed/murdered in these operations so far are of Northern Nigerian origin”, adding that: “The North-East is under occupation .The North-West is under assault. The North is under occupation.”
If this is not treasonable, then what else is ? When will the FG do something about this type of seditious, and treasonable, conduct? Terrorism has come to roost in the North East because of this type of mindset among their leaders!
He then goofed: “Nigerians, this is the first time we have collectively elected a citizen of this country from the former Eastern Nigeria as a President. Dear citizens of Eastern Nigerian origin please note that this Federal administration under your son is giving you a very bad name! …..
If you had condemned the cold-blooded murder of political and military leaders of Northern and Western Nigerian origins in the night of 15 January, 1966 by your sons it would not have led to the subsequent massacre of the innocent and the Nigerian Civil War….Northern Nigeria is on its own.”
It is unbelievable that Nyako labours shamelessly under the wrong impression, that GEJ is an Igbo man. No wonder! His types and party cannot live with the Igbo or Southern Presidency. Let’s wait till 2019. If indeed there are many Nyakos in the North, then the die is cast for Nigeria and the Igbo man once again! But will the Igbo man see?
CLEMENT UDEGBE, a legal
practitioner, wrote from Lagos.
practitioner, wrote from Lagos.
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