The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Saturday, described the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari or any high-powered Federal Government delegation at the burial of officers and men of the 157 Task Force slain by Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists in Metele, Borno State, as “sad and totally unacceptable.”
This is just as the presidency has reacted to the criticism saying that it smacked of hypocrisy, noting that Atiku and his then principal, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, failed to pay tribute to the 19 soldiers who were abducted and killed in Zaki Biam in 2001.
Atiku had in a statement commiserated with the families of the fallen soldiers and the armed forces, praying God to grant them the fortitude to bear the losses.
He, however, carpeted President Buhari for failing to honour the “men of honour and valour” by taking a day to attend their funeral and fulfil his role as head of state, saying that the president by hosting Nollywood stars at the Villa a day before but refused to attend the funeral did not send the right signals.
“I appreciate Nollywood and I have personally done a lot, both in my private capacity and when I was vice president, to promote that vitally important industry. However, it does not send a right message to the men and women who are fighting for Nigeria if you can attend a get together of entertainers but you cannot find the time to honour those who make the peace we are benefitting from possible.
“I urge President Muhammadu Buhari to learn from French President, Emmanuel Macron, who on March 28, 2018 took a whole day off to attend the funeral of Lt Col Arnaud Beltrame, who was killed by a terrorist after a March 24, 2018 terror attack in the South of France.
“I am in deep mourning and my grief is further compounded by the fact that the Federal Government ignored my advice to them to declare a few days of national mourning so that the nation could pay its respects to these men who gave so much that we may have peace. But it is never too late to honour those who died for Nigeria,” Atiku said.
In its reaction, a presidency source who did not want to be named said: “The loss of the gallant soldiers, as President Buhari has said is a national loss, on account of which he went to Maiduguri where he condoled the government and people of Borno State, addressed the troops at Maimalari Barracks as well as visited the convalescing gallant soldiers.
“This was a clear case of sensitive and responsible leadership.
“On the other hand however, when a similar number of troops (19 soldiers) were abducted and killed in October, 2001, neither he (AtikuAbubakar) or his boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo paid any tributes, not to talk of visiting the grieving family members of the martyred soldiers.
“Instead, they sent additional troops who rounded up the people of the town, and authorised an indiscriminate shooting as reprisal.
“As reported by the BBC at that time, “In four ethnic-Tiv villages in Benue, soldiers rounded up and killed over 200 unarmed civilians. ZakiBiam, a town of about 20,000 people, was completely destroyed.
“According to eyewitnesses, the military team came in eight armoured cars. They came to Anyiin first where they were said to have summoned all the villagers to Gbeji public square, claiming that they had an urgent message for them.”
“As soon as the villagers were gathered, the troops asked all the women and children to leave and then opened fire on the men, killing 100. At another village, the village head, a blind old man who is uncle to the former army chief, General Victor Malu, was killed alongside his wife. Their bodies were burnt inside the house.”
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