By Adeniyi Faith Ayomide
If you’ve been following the media trajectory from the days of Tinubu’s campaigns, you would had stumbled across headlines like: “Buratai drums up support for APC”, “Buratai solicits support for Tinubu”,“Buratai Seeks Support For Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Bid”.
Recently, some political hookeys and misinformed simple minded horde have take over the social media to bemoan and disperse seeds of bitterness over Buratai’s ridgid support for President Tinubu.
It’s really disconcerting, to see and hear such disparagement about a man who literally transformed the narrative of Nigeria’s defence and fortified its standard in terms of operations and administrative prowess.
Sponsoring such views are antagonistic political venders chairing conspiracies and incessant backlash, cooking up tales and employing their limited sway to tilt some media publications to their bidding in public character defamation.
In some of the online dialogues, expressions like: “former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.) is looking for an appointment in Tinubu’s administration” And so many other misrepresenting fallacies does not communicate logicality.
With so numerous achievements under his belt laced with the bureaucratic capacities he has built over the years, Lt. Gen (Rtd.) Buratai doesn’t look for power.. power beckons to him from all sides. History and track record also strongly accentuate to his worthiness even to help chaperone an emerging administration.
Consider this: If the ex-president, Mohammadu Buhari had considered Buratai an asset to his administration by working together with him and the newly elected president is considering such move, then it’s clearly a revelatory validity.
Who then is this Buratai, some may demand ?
Here’s a walk down the memory lane. Not discounting the fact that he is a retired Military General, the former Chief of Army Staff, (COAS, Nigerian Army), Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, is a dedicated and celebrated Nigerian who distinguished himself in the selfless service of his motherland and humanity.
His ethicality and professionalism throughout his reign as the Chief of Army Staff snagged him an Ambassadorial office, after retirement, where he has advanced a mutual ongoing relationship between the Republic of Benin and Nigeria, and was also able to secured the once porous Nigerian/ Benin Republic border.
Buratai has a fine reputation as a military officer. Additionally, his efforts in the fight against terrorism and insurgency found its way into the archive of the history of Nigeria. Under his supervision, Nigeria conducted a successful 2019 general election with voters in the northeastern part of the country fully participating in the exercise. He decimated, degraded and technically defeated Boko Haram and Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Nigeria and made the northeast a safer zone for the residents.
In spite of his contributive stand in ensuring that Nigeria keeps charging ahead among communities of nations, some demeaning online news outlets like Sahara Reporters and other abettors are finding it almost a daily vocation to deride this icon of world peace. Constantly parading his person online in the negative light of balant lies, conspiracies and fallacies that holds no water.
What really amazes me with all this set up is that those that are bitter about Buratai and all that he represents have little or no remarkable footprint in terms of contributing to the growth and development of this nation rather, they find it convenient to defray time and resources in tearing down someone who has spent years constructing his reputation.
In case you’re no longer in the know as to what media and journalism entails, let me take you through learning. True journalism does not cave to political pressure neither does it support interests of sponsors and backers. It is objective and chronicles the reality. It doesn’t have fairytale in its lexicon.
At this point, it’s safe to mention that his accomplishment as the Chief of Army staff, has no parallel in the history of this nation. Of recent, I had opportunity of meeting some soldiers, we briefly talked about this epitome of security and all of them were praying God for more of Buratai’s type. They mentioned few among the numerous welfare packages he brought to the system while he was the head of the Army Staff in Nigeria.
Oh ! You have to recollect that, Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Tukur Yusufu Buratai is the only person thay has ever won the honour tagged “The Bearer of Security Torch” in the whole wide world.
For anyone who wishes to know more about Lt. Gen (Rtd.) Buratai, send me an email at adeniyifth@gmail.com and I’ll gladly send you his bio, which details his giant strides and unpublished accomplishment.
Adeniyi Faith Ayomide.
Graduated with a degree in English Education from Osun State University
Currently serving at Akwa Ibom State.
An Advocate of World Peace.