“Re-elect Jonathan for United Nigeria“: Shagari’s Alleged Letter to Muhammadu Buhari

                                                Written by Obinna Akukwe
                The allegedly controversial letter written by second republic President of Nigeria, Alhaji Shehu Shagari had continued to cause scare within the political gladiators in the North West. Sources within the Presidency had given the Leadership of Igbo Mandate Congress (IMC) a copy of Shagari’s alleged letter to the Presidential Candidate of the opposition party, General Muhammadu Buhari on the 12th of January, 2015,
the day Igbo leaders under Ohanaeze sneaked into Aso Rock for the first batch of endorsement of Jonathan’s re-election bid. However, efforts by IMC leaders in Sokoto to get Shagari’s views on the circulating letter proved abortive as his aides pleaded that the old man be left off the hate filled Buhari-Jonathan campaigns. However, events at Shagari’s 90th Birthday where he reportedly endorsed Jonathan in secret and the grumblings of APC members in Sokoto State who accuses him of working against Northern interests may have lent credence to the letter.

This letter being circulated among few northern elites as a ground for Jonathan’s re-election bid is gradually gaining acceptance in Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi axis. However, those opposed to Shagari’s views as expressed in the alleged letter pointed at the constant humiliation of the Sokoto born Speaker of Nigeria’s Parliament Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal by President Jonathan and the strong rumors that a Jonathan second tenure will dethrone Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar as the Sultan of Sokoto and replace him with the current NSA, Sambo Dasuki. However, APC Chieftains in Sokoto told the leadership of IMC that the elder statesman can never write such letter and that the vengeance in the said letter is not in line with the spirit of Islam.

Shagari had earlier indicated his support for Jonathan in his forward to a book titled "Jonathan-A Photographic Rise to The Presidency’ being circulated among PDP faithful where he said that “I sincerely could never have imagined that in my life time, under constitutional rule, with a deep and broad mandate, a zoologist from Bayelsa, one of our youngest states, could rise to become Commander-in-Chief.

“There is no better indicator that, while much remains to be achieved, our beloved Nigeria is slowly but surely maturing politically. Almost unwittingly, we are strengthening our democratic practice. And we must acknowledge and be thankful of the fact that Jonathan has taken it upon himself to diligently promote one Nigeria not only in words but in action.”

Below is Shagari’s Alleged Letter to Muhammadu Buhari Causing Stir among Political Elites in Sokoto

My brother, you have contested the Presidential elections 3 times in this country and in all these times, you have never asked me or my people at Shagari village to support your bid. It is very obvious
why you can't do that. You don't have the courage after what you did to me.

You truncated democracy with a dastardly coup and took away power from me. You humiliated me and made me to suffer, and you took away my opportunity to RULE Nigeria. You said you do not want democracy in Nigeria. The same democracy you truncated, you are fighting hard to get with desperation and diabolical power.

You have entered into unholy alliance with some known elements of disunity in the south but let me warn you. You will suffer hard in the hands of Tinubu and his political merchants who will use and dump you as they did to Nuhu. In 2011, you cried publicly when you lost election, and you made provocative and inciting statements that plunged this country into untoward unrest.

You provoked our hot- blooded youths with war cries which erupted into post-election violence, that brought Boko Haram into existence, over 500 innocent Nigerians died instantly, most of them youth corpers deployed from one of the unifying agencies of this country.

Personally, I do not have a problem with your ambition. It is your arrogance that bothers me. If you cannot summon the courage to ask me and my family to vote for you because you know we would not, why do you think Nigerians would look kindly on your past record of destroying a progressing democratic institutions painfully put in place by some respected fathers of this nations like Awolowo and Azikiwe. No my brother. It is time to wake up from your delusion and do the needful if you still have some conscience. I am not writing this to you with vengeance intention.

I am a practicing Muslim and we leave matters of vengeance to Allah. I write to you as a Nigerian, your brother and a statesman who is deeply concerned. Quit the presidential race now and save this country from the dangling sword of Damocles being menacingly wield by the crooks that surround you.

This elections is not about you or President Goodluck Jonathan. It is about the unity of Nigeria which can only be assured by being fair. By this I mean, being fair to the people of Niger Delta. We can only do this by either re-electing Goodluck or substitute him with any of his kinsmen from the South-South as that can only count fair for a people who are entitled to 8 years in the office of the President.

For the elders council in the north, we have come to the conclusion to work towards realizing that fairness. 4 years more is not eternity. It is not too much of a concession for us to make to move Nigeria forward as one indivisible and united country under one God. May Allah open your mind to see reason. God bless Nigeria

Alhaji Shehu Shagari (GCFR)