Group warns against military coup, tackles Fayose over inciting statements

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) on Monday urged the rank and file of the Nigerian Army to jettison the alleged inciting statements credited to Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State against President Muhammadu Buhari.

Ishaq Akintola, MURIC director, in a statement titled: ‘Caveat Emptor: MURIC warns military against coup,’ made available to BusinessDay, described Fayose’s opposition against ongoing investigation into the $2.1 billion arms purchase scandal as ‘provocative.’

“Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State yesterday (Sunday) cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari on the investigation ordered into the involvement of immediate past military chiefs in scams in the purchase of arms. Fayose euphemistically referred to the likelihood of the military resisting such investigation by toppling Buhari’s government,” he noted.

“MURIC advises the rank and file of the Nigerian Army to ignore Fayose’s euphemism. The army should not allow itself to be incited to mutiny by a man who is still licking the wounds of defeat, a man who had built castles in the air believing that his rigging abracadabra would save his principal, a man facing damning indictment for election rigging. If there is any governor the inmates of Kirikiri are waiting for to join them today, it is Ayodele Fayose. Here is a frustrated man looking for ways of sinking the whole ship.

“We remind the Nigerian Army that military rule has become an anachronism. Any involvement of the military in politics is a misadventure. Nigerians have not only breathed the air of democracy, they have tasted its delicious juice. They have bitten, chewed and swallowed its fulfilling morsels. There is no going back. Let no frustrated politician deceive our soldiers. Nigerians have long declared a caveat emptor: military rule must not come back again.

“We cherish our gallant soldiers in their professional role. They are the defenders of our territorial integrity. They have put Boko Haram to shame though the war is not completely over yet. They are our heroes so long as they remain in their professions without venturing into politics. They must remain vigilant as new roles continue to emerge when unscrupulous elements become cogs in the wheel of peace, law and order.

“We warn that only thieves and corrupt elements in the military will contemplate mutiny at a time when the Nigerian people, the academic, civil society, and the professionals have declared their unalloyed support for the war against corruption. Discipline is the hallmark of the military and the height of military discipline is the readiness to submit to constituted authority. We therefore remind Nigerian soldiers of the need to be ready to submit to civil authorities who are currently in power. Failure to do so is rebellion and every Nigerian soldier knows the implication of this,” Akintola warned.