Speaking at plenary on Tuesday, Bruce said the tension in the country is nothing compared to the tension in 1983. He said this while contributing to a matter of urgent public importance raised by Suleiman Adokwe, a senator from Nasarawa state.
A coup led by some senior military officers in 1983 had led to the overthrow of the civilian government of Shehu Shagari, and ushered in Muhammadu Buhari, a major general, as the military head of state. While telling his colleagues that “people are dying” in the country as a result of continued violence, the senator lamented that “the leadership we are providing is total failure”.
“Let it be on record that the way we have conducted ourselves, it is guaranteed that democracy will not survive,” he said.
He added that “the tension in Nigeria in 1983 is nothing compared to what we have today. Everybody is looking at t e context of who will die faster; which criminal will attack faster. The people who voted us into office did not vote to hear who is killing who; they voted for us to provide leadership for our country. Instead, we are engaging in debate about criminals, killings, maiming, looters and so on. Let nobody be surprised, if the same agreement presented in 1983 for military to take over is presented, and if they do, a lot of these people will be unemployed, and who would need to find a source of income. I am worried about the security of our people. People are dying, people are losing their jobs, democracy is being destroyed and we are all watching; riots all over the streets. I guarantee you that if we do not stop and fix our problem, they (people) will strike.”
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