Insecurity: Mind Your Language, Moghalu Tells Buhari

By Uche Mbah

“I saw war. War is terrible. It sounds romantic. But it is terrible

A former Presidential candidate in the 2019 elections, Kingsley Moghalu, has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s stance on the security situation, particularly in the South east, calling on Buhari to be careful the language he uses to address volatile situations.

President Buhari had, in a tweet, said that those   causing trouble are people who want him to fail, adding that those who are agitating in the South east are those who have not seen the civil war.

“Whoever wants the destruction of the system will soon have the shock of their lives. We’ve given them enough time. we will treat them in the language they understand”, he said.

But speaking on Channels Television, Moghalu said he was right up to the point he said that some who are agitating were not born during the civil war.

“I saw the war. I was a young child. I want to tell you that war is terrible. It may sound romantic, but it is not in reality. Therefore, we must avoid arms conflict and civil war in this country.

“But to the point he said ‘we will treat them in the language they understand’ I did not think it is a statement he should have made as a President of the country. Language matters when you are a leader and when you are facing a crisis.

“That language can be interpreted in so many ways. A lot of horrible things happened. It involved several violations of international humanitarian laws, a lot of war crimes were committed in that civil war mainly against citizens of one particular side of the war.

“So when you are saying we will treat them in the language they understand, you are bringing up invocations that are very unpleasant. You can say that you will create measures to protect the security of government institutions. That’s what the government is supposed to do”