Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the coup attempt last Friday in Turkey by military officers in the country’s opposition.
A statement signed by presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, says that President Buhari is “deeply saddened by reports of a violent attempt to dismantle constitutional authority and disrupt the democratically elected government of Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey”.
“The removal of a democratic government by force is no longer acceptable. Violence can never solve any problem but only complicates them and sets back the progress of democratic societies.”
General Buhari, a coup-plotter, himself came into power the first time after toppling a democratically elected government in 1983. He went on to lead a brutal military dictatorship with was characterized by widespread human rights abuses and executive high-handedness.
About 2 years later, Buhari was toppled by officers under his command in another coup d’etat.
Buhari said that Turkey’s President Erdogan is one of Nigeria’s close international partners and sincere supporter in its current war against terrorism, adding that all should resist the “destabilization of democratic countries through coups d’état in the 21st century”.
According to the president, “democracy provides peaceful options of changing governments through the ballot box. The ballot box doesn’t require violence to remove any government perceived to have lost its popularity and public support. Despite its limitations, democracy is still better and more durable than a violent change of government.”
Buhari hailed the courage and immediate response of ordinary citizens who in face of guns and tanks defied the rebel soldiers and forced them to abandon their “mad quest for power”.
Over 6,000 military officers, judges, prosecutors, and others have been arrested in Turkey over their alleged involvement with the coup which was largely foiled with the use of social media.
