#EndSARS Clampdown: Buhari Junta under threat after Biden win

Wall Street journal’s Africa bureau chief, Joe Parkinson has disclosed that the Biden win was not what the Buhari led Junta had hoped for.

Parkinson tweeted confirming that Buhari’s cabal and associates preferred a Trump win because of the ongoing abuse of human rights and disobedience of the constitution being witnessed across Nigeria.

Unlike Trump and the Republicans who remained mute about the tragic events in Nigeria, Biden and other top democrats like Hillary Clinton had prior to the election spoken out against the extra judicial killing of #EndSARS protesters in Nigeria and had called for the president to take responsibility.

I’m calling on @mbuhari and the @hqnigerianarmy to stop killing young #EndSARS protesters. #StopNigeriaGovernment

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 20, 2020

Joe Biden also sent out a statement on the issue.

“I urge President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian military to cease the violent crackdown on protesters in Nigeria, which has already resulted in several deaths. My heart goes out to all those who have lost a loved one in the violence. The United States must stand with Nigerians who are peacefully demonstrating for police reform and seeking an end to corruption in their democracy. I encourage the government to engage in a good-faith dialogue with civil society to address these long-standing grievances and work together for a more just and inclusive Nigeria.” – US President Elect, Joe Biden

See Joe Parkinson Tweets:

Nigeria’s president was one of the first African leaders to congratulate Biden but privately, some of his key advisors were hoping for a Trump victory and are worried. The reasons are quite simple and are linked — human rights, the #EndSARS protests, and weapon sales. THREAD https://t.co/ZuRaiiY928

— Joe Parkinson (@JoeWSJ) November 8, 2020

In those meetings Obama promised the Nigerians a bunch of fresh military aid to fight the war & find the Chibok girls (some was made public, much of it not). BUT the US stopped short of giving the Nigerians what they really wanted—attack aircraft—because of human rights concerns

— Joe Parkinson (@JoeWSJ) November 8, 2020

It was the Trump administration—considerably less bothered by human rights issues—who agreed to sell Super Tucanos for $600m and later, attack helicopters, that Nigeria has long hoped would be the game changer in the fight against Boko Haram.

— Joe Parkinson (@JoeWSJ) November 8, 2020

That sale—while mostly paid for—is not yet complete. Ironically, senior State Department officials were staying at the Abuja Hilton in October to finalise the details while #EndSARS protesters were on the streets in Nigerian cities. And therein lies the problem for Buhari…

— Joe Parkinson (@JoeWSJ) November 8, 2020

The heady days of 2015 when Buhari was seen by Obama & Biden as the man who would fight a quick and victorious war against Boko Haram are long gone. The war has metastasised. Northeast Nigeria has become the base of one of Islamic State’s most successful regional franchises—ISWAP

— Joe Parkinson (@JoeWSJ) November 8, 2020