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Buhari goofed in Lekki massacre, says Onovo

Martin Onovo, a trained Petroleum Engineer and presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP) in the 2015 general election speaks, in this interview with BIYI ADEGOROYE on the #EndSARS protest and the killing of several youths

 

 

How do you see the protest embarked on by some youths in the past two weeks?

 

Well, we supported Revolution Now and we also supported #EndSARS. First, let us look at morality. The demands are justified even to the point the government admitted that the demands are justified. Secondly, the constitution guarantees their rights to protest. So, we supported them for moral and legal authenticity.

 

But we are also not surprised because there is the mental laziness that is prevalent in Nigeria. It was predictable that the Army will shoot them. While we supported them, if they had been a threat, we would have asked the youths to withdraw from the streets earlier than now.

 

But it was kind of sudden because the curfew had not taken effect and the Army cannot just arrive and start shooting. So you have seed some deliberate genocidal or blood thirsty tendency in their reaction. Let me tell you why we are not surprised. Hundreds of unarmed Shiites were shot and Nigeria tolerated it because of corruption. Hundreds of IPOB people were shot and Nigeria tolerated it.

 

So, we were very sure that if the protest continues, this stone age dictatorship will resort to brute force. And then, do not forget what Pro. Itse Sagay said. He was the first person to say that if the youths did not leave the street, government will use the military to disperse them. Itse Sagay is just a committee chairman in government and I think many people think he is senile and they don’t take him seriously. So he was ignored. What happened next?

 

Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information said that the situation has become volatile and the government will take very firm steps. All of a sudden, we were expecting a build up before it gets to that point so that we can intervene. He made the statement on Monday, the Army arrived on Tuesday and started shooting. The curfew was supposed to take effect at 9 pm but, the Army arrived before 7 pm.

 

Also, we must not let the Nigeria Army get away with it. This is one massacre too many. The Army has a culture of concealing evidence of its atrocities. They are trying to conceal an evidence of this atrocity.

 

So, we must all focus on preserving the evidence of the atrocities committed by the Nigerian Army because we must hold people accountable even if it takes 90 years. So, we are not surprised, we have seen what has happened.

 

In terms of holding them accountable, do you support the current move by SERAP to petition the International Criminal Court?

 

It is not only SERAP that should petition. SERAP should go ahead with its petition and we support it. We support the families to petition. We support the #EndSARS group to petition.

 

In fact, I’ll suggest to our leadership in the Movement for Fundamental Change to petition, especially now that the government has been exposed internationally.

 

The government has been exposed because they got away with the massacre of Shiite in Kaduna; they got away with the massacre of protesters in the South-East; they got away with the bombing of IDPs.

 

It is blood all over the country; it is blood everywhere flowing like a river. The iniquity of the toll gate massacre was that these young people thought it was their own National Army, they thought that they would protect them. They knelt down with the Nigerian flag and were singing the National Anthem and their own National Army fired at them.

 

 

It is not by addressing the nation, President Muhammadu Buhari needs to step down now not tomorrow. This is because even we who claim we stand with what is right were even worse than Buhari. There is only one Commander-in-Chief. Bola Ahmed Tinubu does not command the Nigerian Army, Governor Jide Sanwo- Olu does not command the Nigerian Army.

 

Let me tell you, the Chief of Defense Staff cannot command what happened in toll gate if you don’t know. The only one person that can command what happened in toll gate is President Buhari. Buhari needs to step down today, now.

 

As far as the protest was peaceful, it was also said that the youth failed to provide a leadership which could have engaged the government in discussion. How do you see this?

 

You can’t teach them their strategy. Why don’t you do your own protest and provide your own leadership. They believed that the government had no credibility, rightly so. They believed that the government had no integrity, rightly so.

 

They believed that the government is deceitful, rightly so. So, they want the government to come and deceive everybody? Now, let me tell you. The Enugu State governor went to the protest ground with a list of actions to be taken by government. That was an attempt.

 

Now, many other governors went to the protest grounds, they were not violent, none of the governors were attacked. Forget the story in Osun State, none of the governors were attacked. What stops the Chief of Staff to the President because Buhari is too old and too weak to come address the youths?

 

We must tell ourselves a few truth. You don’t expect him to come and address them in Lekki toll gate. What stops the Chief of Staff to the President or the Secretary to the Federal Government to come to Lagos? Immediately Davido went to see IGP, the people said he doesn’t represent us.

 

So, that is the point. Since they didn’t want any group to go and negotiate on their behalf, you come there, meet them and negotiate, especially when government officials have gone and there was no violence. And you know that they were campaigning very loudly that they were peaceful.

 

And when you are talking about hoodlums, you cannot hold innocent young people for the activities of hoodlums, you hold government responsible. Buhari is responsible for the activities of hoodlums. He is the Commander-in- Chief, he should know his responsibility.

 

Why did you say so?

 

If an armed robber comes to your house, who would you call? Will you call me Onovo to come and defend your house? Who are you supposed to call?

 

You will call law enforcement. Who is their Commander-in-Chief? It is Buhari.

 

In other words, he should have deployed military to protect public assets?

 

I’m not saying he should deploy military to protect public assets.

 

But the police were the ones under attack too so to speak?

 

No, it’s SARS. Don’t forget, #EndSARS is saying increase the salary of the police which is a position that the Movement of Fundamental Change took three years ago. We said a national legislator cost us over 300 times the cost of a policeman.

 

We said it does not make sense that it is inhuman. Let me tell you, there is no political party that can rule us without our consent. This evil happened because many of us consented. They consented not because they didn’t know it was wrong, they consented because they wanted selfish pecuniary benefits.

 

What do think is the way forward now?

 

The way forward is that you can’t heal this, Buhari needs to leave. It is not the first time we’re saying it but we are going to continue repeating it even though the Nigerian people seem deaf. For each extra day Buhari spends in office, the Nigeria situation will only be aggravated. Security wise, corruption wise, economy wise, it will only get worse.

 

Buhari needs to be stopped. He should have been stopped several years ago. And we attempted to stop him in 2019 and he broke the barricade. He announced himself President when we know he didn’t win. He started by removing the Chief Justice of the Federation and we let him get away with it. Why? Because a few of us were bribed. We are here, everybody will suffer the cost.

 

What do you make of the infiltration of the rank of demonstrators involved in the protest, particularly in Abuja?

 

That’s not infiltration, but a clear attack. We have evidence that it was done by government, it’s clear in the public domain. We saw the movement of security vehicles. Some of them who were captured said they’re paid. It was obvious. We cannot continue to cover up for this people when we are perishing as a people.

 

Ethically, this country is gone, democratically, the country is gone, nationally, the country is gone, economically, the country is gone. All this was preventable. In religious perspective, you will know that what is happening to us is very clear. If you look at Isaiah 5 v 20, it says “woe to those who call evil good.” In Nigeria, many people have been calling evil good and the woe has come onto us. The woe is here. On

 

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