By Engr. Auwal Rabiu Dansharif
At the time the incumbent Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Yusuf Buratai was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari to steer the affairs of the Nigeria Army, it was clearly on record that his appointment to the most exalted and challenging position was never effected on the premise of nepotism or primordial considerations.
The three star General according to feelers, was not even known to the President given the fact that he was at the infant stage of his military career at the time President Muhammadu Buhari was a military Head of state in 1983.
His rise to stardom, was as a result of his impeccable record as a gallant and selfless military officer, whose professional effrontery in facing every challenge is what was believed to have motivated the President to perused his sterling and impressive record of service to appoint him to head the Nigerian Army.
He came on board as Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff at the time the insurgency offensive rocking the North-eastern part of the country was taking an abysmal toll on the nation, leading to the huge loss of tens of thousands of innocent lives and properties worth billions of Naira.
The President was buoyed and inspired by the fact that with Buratai’s unrivalled courage, commitment and professional acumen, he stood the ample chance of defeating the insurgents which are threatening to destabilize the peace Nigerians have been enjoying for decades.
With the miraculous capture of Sambisa Forest which had proven Buratai’s temerity and efficacy in military warfare and combat situations, even the doubting Thomases were fully convinced that , normalcy had been returning to the war ravaged enclaves with the Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs) returning to their town and villages.
Even the most cynical and conservative American press like the Washington Post and the New York Times had in the wake of the Sambisa capture, positively commented and commended Buratai for spearheading the offensive which sent the so-called Boko Haram jihadists packing
With such a stunning feat, he had undoubtedly put to shame his shameless critics and notable gadflies who are reeling in the ropes of credibility deficit, having completely lost touch with the realities on ground.
They have woefully failed to discern the logic of appointing people like Buratai to a challenging position of authority like the Nigerian Army
Ayo Fayose, can rightly be said to have belong to the chorus of those whose myopic permutations had beclouded their sense of judgement and inability to see things beyond their noses and by craftily engaging in mudslinging and smear tactics to impugn the credibility of Buratai despite his impeccable record.
By his antecedents and questionable pedigree, he has no moral credentials to rubbish and snub the hard earned reputation of General Buratai, having been rendering a supreme sacrifice to protect the country from the atrocious onslaught of blood spilling rogues who lacked every legitimacy to kill innocent people.
Attacking Buratai as Fayose is fondly doing, is akin to lending credence to the atrocities of those who with levity murdered sleep in the North-eastern part of the country with no justifiable premise and should be seen and treated as one of the greatest enemies of Nigeria corporate entity.
As a sitting governor, Fayose is supposed to have shown leadership by example, a trait he is presently lacking, and that as a leader, he is a spitting image of a spectacular failure.
Fayose should also know that no amount of propaganda stunt and smear campaign could ever dent the image of General Buratai at present, since the people of the country and all peace-loving citizens now see him as one who had liberated tens of thousands of people from Boko Haram endless bondage and carnage.
He should also take into cognizance the fact that his superfluous vituperative comment on General Buratai would fizzle out in a jiffy, in the face of the inescapable fact that a man like him suffering from chronic credibility deficit would no longer be trusted to hold position of authority in future.
