By Tobi Soniyi in Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has joined other world leaders in vehemently condemning the abortive coup attempt in Turkey by a group of rebel army officers and men, which resulted in the reported death of more than 100 people.
Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, said he was “deeply saddened by reports of a violent attempt to dismantle constitutional authority and disrupt the democratically elected government of Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey.”
The president said that the removal of a democratic government by force was no longer acceptable.
He said: “Violence can never solve any problem but only complicates them and sets back the progress of democratic societies.”
Buhari also noted that President Erdogan of Turkey was one of Nigeria’s close international partners and sincere supporters 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.
He said: “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.”
The president praised the courage and immediate response of ordinary citizens who in face of guns and tanks defied the soldiers and forced them to abandon their mad quest for power.
Buhari however, called on the President of Turkey to pursue reconciliation even as he offered Nigeria’s support to the government and people of Turkey in their hour of trial.
