BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU.
Special & Exclusive to USAfrica [Houston] and USAfricaonline.com
As Nigerians go to vote on Saturday, February 16, 2019, amidst the threat and reality of the radical jihadist, terror group Boko Haram, a Nigerian monarch from Osun state, the Olowu of Owu-Kuta, Oba Adekunle Oyelude Makama [Tegbesun III] is “appealing to our political parties, as we go into the next general election, to leave the armed forces out of their build-up. Without any fear of contradiction, the armed forces is not only the symbol of our national unity and cohesion, it is also the defenders of our territorial integrity as its personnel sacrifice their comfort for our peace.”
Makama also challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) “to be fair in their conduct of the forth coming general elections.”
Also, he called on “members of the international community to continuously support the Nigerian armed forces in fighting Boko Haram.”
He emphasized that ending the menace of terrorism in the country requires such international experience..
The monarch also warned “politicians not to drag the Nigerian military into partisan politics because it overheats the polity.”
Speaking to this reporter, King Makama from south-west Nigeria said he believed in the abilities of Nigeria’s Chief of Army staff Lt.Gen. Tukur Buratai and Chief of Air staff Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar for “sustaining a continuous battle against terrorists’ activities in North eastern part of the nation.”
He appealed to every Nigerian irrespective of religious, political and ethnic leanings to support the military in the fight against insurgency. “As I have said before now, our troops need our individual and concerted support through prayers and positive comments. A situation whereby their efforts are greeted with scornful remarks would naturally kill their morale and also incapacitate their spirit to fight and get desired results.” •George Elijah Otumu, a contributor to USAfrica [Houston] and USAfricaonline.com, is an award winning journalist whose work has appeared in publications in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, United Arab Emirates (UAE); United Kingdom and the United States.
