Downtrodden Nigerians can hardly wait for Monday 29th May 2023 to bid good riddance to the last of all the military merchants who have overstayed their welcome! For 57 years (1966-2023), they practically turned the country into a beggar nation through mismanagement of all natural endowments and deliberate failure to develop Human Capital into full potential!

According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization(UNESCO) Statistics, OUT-OF-SCHOOL- CHILDREN IN NIGERIA has hit the 20 million mark in the first quarter; January-March!
Literacy figure in Nigeria according to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics is 77.62% of the population as at 2021. The figure grew by 13.9% between 2010-2021 and at the rate of 0.13% year-on-year since then!
With the advantage and benefit of hindsight it could be articulately posited that the majority of Nigerian Electorate are illiterate because in 63 years of Independence, budgetary allocation for education is only SIX PER CENT in spite of UNESCO recommendation of 15-20 per cent of annual budgetary allocation of developing countries!

And that accounts for the quadrennial election of the same political marauders who delight to trample upon the illiterate Citizens' inalienable/fundamental rights having discarded Khakis for "Babanrigas"! In 1999 the brainwashed electorate voted en-masse for retired Soldier, Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo instead of Chief Olu Falae, a tested, erudite and accomplished technocrat!

And the same crowd of nincompoops voted for his surrogate, Late Umaru Yar 'Adua whom he imposed and threatened that Nigeria would be conflagrated with fire and brimstones if the 2007 General Elections which he tagged as "do or die", did not favor his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)!

Obasanjo bulldozed his way with military precision in that election which threw up Yar'adua and his deputy Goodluck Jonathan who eventually handed over in 2015 to another old military General in the person of the incumbent Muhammadu Buhari instead of a diligent civilian who would have fulfilled democratic norms in a socio-cultural environment.

AND BUHARI DECIDED TO PERPETUATE HIS CHIEF SECURITY OFFICERS IN OFFICE CONTRARY TO THE CONSTITUTION!

According to official reports, the incumbent Inspector general of police Usman Baba Ali who attained the age of 35 years in service on 1st March 2023 had been granted an extension of tenure of office for 3 years by Major General Muhammadu Buhari.
The retired General is said to be acting on Section 7 (6) of the Police Act 2020, which states that, "The person appointed to the office of the Inspector General of Police shall hold office for 4 years,"

But this Section must not be read in isolation of Section 18 ( which states that, "Every police officer shall on recruitment or appointment serve in the Nigeria Police Force for a period of 35 years or until he attains the age of 60 years whichever is earlier."Alkali clocked 35 years in service on 1st March 2023, but the President in his usual brazen executive impunity DECREED THAT HE SHOULD REMAIN IN OFFICE TILL MARCH 2026!

He vetoed the Police Act in 2021 when he extended the tenure of a retired Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Adamu, who attained the mandatory retirement service period of 35 years on 1st February 2021 for three months!

It took almost two years of public outcry to force President Buhari to retire his service chiefs who were unable to restore peace to Nigeria when they should have retired 18 months earlier from the service in spite of the fact that the citizens suffered degradation and insecurity through atrocities by Boko Haram terrorists in all those periods of his administration from 2015-2021!
Also on the list of those whose tenures were extended included an Accountant-General of the Federation a Commandant-General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Service Corps (NSCDC), Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), and a host of others!

It is also on record that ex-President Obasanjo extended the tenure of an Inspector General of Police Sunday Ehindero for ONE YEAR to achieve a THIRD TERM ELONGATION of his presidency which was vehemently resisted by the masses and died a natural death! In THREE weeks from the date of this publication (29th May 2023), Buhari would have bowed out of office in shame because he woefully failed to function as the expected Messiah just like Obasanjo!

THE TWO OLD GENERALS HAVE COMPOUNDED THE DEMOCRATIC ADMINISTRATIONS THROUGH SHEER GREED!

During the military interregnum of almost 30 years the TWO GENERALS served as Heads of State at different times and yet they were still bent on ruining the Nigerian nation which they claim to love and would defend with their blood through exhibition of mindless display of IMPUNITY at their highly-exalted level of office! Nigerians have been deceived enough it is better for all the soldiers in government to resign and allow civil administration to foster through THE PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT WHICH BUHARI TRUNCATED when he overthrew the government of Shehu Shagari in a military coup December 1984!

Enough is enough! Nigerians have been worse off because of the military from Independence - 1960 to 2023!
Not less than 85 million Nigerians collected their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), to fulfill their franchise during the last 2023 General Elections and from all indications that had been the trend since 1999 to date! They always carried the day in the game of numbers!

BUT had they ever voted for the right reasons or for the right candidates? NO!
With that kind of attitude access to government and governance at all levels have been denied to competent Nigerians just as the old soldier has thrown up his surrogates; ‘‘Mr Emilokan’’ Ahmed Bola Tinubu!!!

[WATCH OUT FOR A NIGERIAN PRIME MINISTER – NOT A PRESIDENT IN 2023!]



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, 08130669886, 08080243066. g-mail-dvdolufon@gmail.