By Eyitayo Oyepitan
Since Premium Times, a reputable online news outlet, released the names of individuals allegedly involved in the reported coup plot against the current administration, one can safely infer that the rumour of a failed coup was not entirely unfounded. Premium Times has, over the years, earned a reputation for credible and fact-based journalism.
The Federal Government must therefore investigate thoroughly to uncover every person or group complicit in the idea of overthrowing a democratically elected president. This is not about whether the election that brought him into office was perfect or otherwise that argument has been settled in the courts.
I came across an update yesterday where someone tried to justify the alleged coup attempt on the grounds that the President “stole” the mandate he currently enjoys. That reasoning is dangerously flawed. Once a competent court has pronounced a winner, it is only reasonable for the nation to move forward in the spirit of democracy and stability.
However, from the names published by Premium Times, it appears that most, if not all, of those linked to the alleged plot hail from the northern region. This raises a crucial question: where were these same individuals during the rudderless and pain-laden administration of the late Muhammadu Buhari? Where were they when hundreds of members of the El-Zakzaky-led Shiite group were massacred?
Where were they when thousands perished in Southern Kaduna, or when military operations like Python Dance and Crocodile Smile were unleashed in the South, even as terrorists and bandits overran Katsina, Kebbi, Borno, Benue, and other states killing and kidnapping at will?
For clarity, I am not a diehard supporter of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I have never harboured any personal grudge against him either. I have applauded certain sound policies of his administration and equally criticised the ones I consider ill-conceived. As at this moment, I remain a card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in my village, Idobilayo.
That said, since I first learned to recite the alphabet and count from one to a hundred, I have never witnessed a government as anti-people as the immediate past one. The economy was strangled into submission, and the masses were left gasping for breath. Where were these supposed patriots in uniform then? Were things truly better than they are now?
If a revolution is ever to happen in Nigeria, it will not be orchestrated by these self-serving “Judases.” When the time is ripe, the people themselves will rise not through the barrel of a gun, but through a collective awakening. With the support of patriotic elements in the Army, the will of the people will be asserted, and they will define the kind of leadership that truly represents them.
In the meantime, President Tinubu must sit up, reassess, and refine his policies. Many of the glossy statistics shared in the media do not mirror the actual condition of ordinary Nigerians. There is an urgent need for restructuring particularly in critical sectors such as the economy, education, healthcare, security, and policing.
The Nigerian Constitution itself should be revisited to reflect current realities and the aspirations of all ethnic nationalities. Above all, youth unemployment must be treated as a national emergency.
It is imperative that the President moves swiftly and decisively to address the numerous socio-economic challenges confronting the nation. The constitution places upon him the solemn duty to ensure good governance and the welfare of the people.
Only through sincere reform and visionary leadership can Nigeria avert unnecessary instability and march toward true national renewal
