By Amos Badeh,
Let me begin by extending my heart-felt sympathy to the family of former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (rtd), who was in December 2018 gunned down by the bullets of suspected assassins on the Keffi-Kaduna road while returning from his farm. I also commiserate with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and Nigerians over the unfortunate and sad demise of the former Air Chief, a brilliant officer.
Ordinarily, the death of anyone is sad enough regardless of the circumstance leading to his death. It is not supposed to become part of public polemics, discourse or analysis. But we are in partisan era and the proclivity to politicize every matter or incident and even, twist its facts is very prevalent especially by members of the opposition PDP in the country.
In PDP’s reaction to the assassination of Alex Badeh, very inciting innuendos have been adopted to point accusing fingers at the FGN led by President Muhammadu Buhari as responsible for the brutal murder of the Air Chief. PDP has dropped a masked hint that it knows the killers of Badeh even before security agencies could conduct investigations to unravel the truth.
PDP’s National Publicity Secretary and Director, Media & Publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Organization, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan excitedly trumpeted that the death of the Alex Badeh occurred, just weeks before he was scheduled to open his defence, in the N3.9 billion alleged fraud preferred against him by the FGN. It is insinuated unambiguously that the government could have been responsible for his assassination.
Other PDP apologists like former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani Kayode (FFK) also scribbled a lengthy, but meaningless treatise also reinforcing the extrapolation that Alex Badeh could possibly have been murdered to by government to cover up some “hot” revelations of the arms probe case against him in court. I couldn’t get the nexus as preached by PDP minions and prophets.
Alex Badeh is standing trial over alleged corruption, which was committed under the expired government of the PDP. So, how could the ‘dreary” facts in the custody of Badeh implicate President Buhari to the extent of seeking to terminate the life of the former CDS?
There is no plausible connection in this bemusing theory; outside its propaganda value played in public domain against the incumbent government by PDP over the Air Chief’s assassination.
But PDP is pushing this veiled narrative with gusto and venom in its illusion to weaken the rival camp. I cannot expect anything less from an association and assemblage of unconscionable men.
So, PDP has become both a political party and criminal investigators of high profile crimes. Therefore, they are also offering possible “clues” to high profile assassinations. The party has usurped the official responsibilities of the Police; the DSS and other arms of security agencies.
The manner PDP members celebrate the unfortunate deaths of Nigerians, with stylish the comments is indication that there is something beneath the coating. Its not mere coincidence to me listening to them vomit such implicating gibberish each time a tragedy or dark clouds hovers on Nigeria. The message the party and its members are circulating clearly is that they are happier when Nigeria boils or mourns.
These vituperations from the PDP’s supposed leaders over any calamity which bedevils Nigeria at any time is not strange. It gives me the impression that these band of power mongers plot and knows the target of what they want to achieve.
Last December, the 2019 PDP’s Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar came to the fore with what the demigods in his party have been perpetrating against Nigeria. It was like an exam “expo.” Atiku shamelessly declared that herdsmen killings would continue if Nigerians fail to vote out President Buhari or the APC government in 2019.
What such outbursts means to a lot of Nigerians is open to varying dimensions of interpretations. But what I have not found sufficient grounds to dispute is its bad intentions. What followed Atiku’s repulsive comments were the resurgence of the herdsmen attacks or armed banditry attacks in Zamfara, Katsina, Plateau, Kaduna, Adamawa, Taraba, Benue and scores of other states.
The PDP presidential candidate’s utterances blends with the renewed actions of enemies of Nigeria or the killers, who have sworn an oath to make the country ungovernable for President Buhari. It is designed to portray him as incompetent and helpless in order to bargain for 2019 electoral victory in favour of PDP. No leader who truly loves his country would speak in the manner Atiku articulated no matter the persuasion.
There is every need for all Nigerians to begin to ask the PDP some basic questions. As discernible from their dispositions’, its clear they work behind the scenes and know why Nigerians cannot have respite from herdsmen terrorists, kidnappers, assassinations, armed banditry, armed robbers terrorizing us on our highways; the other façades of killings and violence across the land.
The PDP knows why Nigeria cannot have peace from union strikes. If President Buhari decides to increase the pay of civil servants by introducing a new national minimum wage, I find it difficult to reconcile NLC’s threats of industrial action to compel its implementation.
The same national leadership of NLC has not called for strike to enforce full payment of the old minimum wage in states that have refused to adopt or opted for strikes to compel State Governors indebted to workers and pensioners by months of unpaid salaries to do so. When I analyzed and rationalized these actions, it told me clearly that PDP is the shadows behind every restiveness in Nigeria.
An African adage says, if the owl, (the evil bird) cries at dawn and a little baby dies at break of day, you do not need to search far for the killer, (paraphrased). PDP leaders and members know exactly what is happening to Nigeria; I have every reason to believe they are the veiled instigators and sponsors of the violence, attacks, carnages and massacres of innocent and defenseless Nigerians for political reasons.
And lastly, since the PDP knows the killers of Alex Badeh, let them be bold enough to publish the identities of the assassins and their sponsors. Anyone who is sure of his facts or armed with the truth does not hide his mouth to speak. I challenge PDP to redeem its name now or stop speaking in parables and allow security agents do their job.
Badeh wrote from Mubi, Adamawa State.
