Retired Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer of the late Gen. Sani Abacha, has condemned calls for a military coup in response to the country’s economic hardships following the removal of fuel subsidies.
Al-Mustapha dismissed the call for military intervention as a misguided priority.
He said Nigeria has no room for military involvement in politics, and democracy is now an entrenched part of the country’s fabric.
To this end, he advised the agitators to channel their energies into investing in military subordination to democracy, adding that military rule was no longer fashionable the world over.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, the 2023 presidential aspirant of the Action Alliance (AA) said: “My advice to them (coup agitators) is that military professionalism is what they should canvass for.
“Military subordination to democracy is what they should invest in and put all their energies into.”
Al-Mustapha expressed his disapproval of both the parliamentary and presidential systems of government currently in use in Nigeria, citing their incompatibility with the country’s cultural heritage.
He professed his commitment to democracy, stating that he would not support any actions that subvert democratic principles, and encouraged those clamouring for a coup to drop the idea and focus on deepening Nigeria’s democratic culture.
He said: “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 in 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—a presidential system.
“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, have one operating a parliamentary system and the other is operating a presidential system.
“All this has to do with their historical backgrounds and the conveniences of the people, and Nigeria is simply a copy card.
“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, and 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 course; we have to have the domestic type of democracy that will suit us and suit our future. That is what I am calling for, but the issue of the military, No.”
He continued:”My advice to them is that military professionalism is what they should canvass for. Military subordination to democracy is what they should invest in and put all their energies there for.”
“Remember, before the protest, Nigeria was enveloped, the military was overstretched, trying to provide solutions or to contend with Boko Haram, contend banditry, contend other numerous abuses, kidnapping, and the rest of it, and all the other social vices that have bedevilled Nigeria.
“The problems are more than the police, and today, the military is overstretched, and these things have continued to linger.
“If you care to investigate to see the scale of the crime rate in Nigeria, you would realize that there is a buildup rather than a decline, and that is most disturbing.
“That is to say, the capacity of our military has been overstretched. So what is expected of Nigeria and Nigerians is to first help the military to either increase in strength and then give them tasks that are scientifically proven in numerous other countries that have faced insecurity.
“Remember, Nigeria, with her resources, is an enemy in the eyes of many in international politics, and if we are not conscious of that, then it is certain that we are blinded and we will continue to go into this unfortunate merry-go-round that is pushing us into the rock.
“We must adjust; we have to do it, and it doesn’t matter who it pains, those who are investing in it and feeding fat should understand that is the role of the enemy of the state.
“So such enemies of the state should be fished out without doubt and then tell them to stay away, and then professionalism in our military and subordinating the military to democracy that is the direction.”
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