The former Chief Security Officer to the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, and the 2023 presidential candidate of the Action Alliance, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, has condemned agitations for a military takeover in the country stressing that military coup is a thing of the past that no longer has a place in Nigeria.
Al-Mustapha stated this on Wednesday in Abuja while addressing select journalists on the hardship being faced by many citizens occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government.
He described the call for a military takeover as a misplaced priority stressing that there was no longer room for military intervention in Nigeria’s political affairs.
He noted that democracy has come to stay in Nigeria and advised that Nigeria pick a system of government best suitable for her people rather than being a copycat and adopting America or Britain’s system of government which were chosen because they were best suitable for them.
He also advised those calling for a military takeover to channel their energies into investing in military subordination to democracy, adding that military rule was no longer fashionable the world over.
He said he was now a democrat and would not subscribe to any insubordination to democracy in whatever guise, asking those calling for a coup to drop the idea and rather work to deepen the nation’s democracy.
“I am by definition today, a politician, I am looking at this country today from a democratic sense. We have invested in it and we are investing in it. Our researches are all towards the investment of democratic excellence in Nigeria.
“Military subordination to democracy is a clear direction as the world is today. But when you have democracy, the type that we are operating -presidential system,” he said.
He added, “In a debate, in our presentation in the past, I said I am against the presidential system in Nigeria and the examples I gave is the fact that two close countries, the closest to us, the United Kingdom and the United States, one is operating parliamentary system and the other is operating presidential system, all has to do with their historical backgrounds, with conveniences of the people and Nigeria is simply a copy cat.
“We copied the parliamentary system, we changed it to the presidential system! All the two are strange to our culture, to our history, to our background, to our understanding as a people. How can you bring the same system and adopt it as yours? It would not work, it would be repulsive.
“Some politicians came to me and said you need not say that in the open, allow us to continue to operate the way we are’, but I cannot form part of cheating.
“What did I say? I said the United States is a country where immigrants who became citizens, have laws protecting them and the question I asked was, in Nigeria, who is an immigrant and who is an indigene? How can you have more laws and a system of governance that is protective of immigrants? Who is an immigrant in Nigeria? We are all citizens. So, we need to chart our own course, we have to have a domestic type of democracy that will suit us and suit our future. That is what I am calling for but the issue of military is a no.”
Speaking further he urged the coup agitators to channel their energies towards military professionalism for the country.
“My advice to them is that military professionalism is what they should canvas for. Military subordination to democracy is what they should invest in and put all their energies there for,” he stated.