…….Stop inciting Nigerians with your utterances, CSO tells Obasanjo, Soyinka
A Coalition of Northern Youths under the umbrella of Arewa Youths Parliament, has criticised former President Olusegun Obasanjo, for declaring Nigeria a failed state and trying to discredit President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr Abdurrahman Umar, the secretary of the coalition said this while briefing newsmen on Thursday in Sokoto, that Obasanjo’s criticisms were his usual attacks on governments that failed to succumb to his self centered manipulations.
”We view the recent attacks by Obasanjo on Buhari’s leadership as another attempt to bring out his previous government failures.
”There was nothing tangible done by Obasanjo as a President then that was not self serving and disadvantageous to national interests as he could not corroborate his allegations with facts.
”Obasanjo has many things unto himself, his recent contributions to political discourse wherein he alleged that Nigeria is divided under the leadership of Buhari is an indication that he suffers from exceedingly faulty memory.
”He made fiery allegations against Buhari and did not offer corroborating evidences as he only presented reams of words portraying his past misconducts,” Umar said.
He said that Obasanjo should ordinarily be the last to complain about state of the nation, because his past administration perpetrated unalloyed miscarriage of justice and best aspirations of the Nigerian people.
The coalition advised the former president to position himself to be the father of the nation.
”The global economy wanted to fuel Nigeria’s growth, everybody wanted Nigeria to succeed after emerging from years of obnoxious military rule.
”Instead of being a unifying figure as the Commander-in-Chief, he lowered himself to be divisive, vindictive conniver as there was no one who came to his company for a period with whom he did not fall out if he expressed divergent issue contrary to his mind.
”Obasanjo’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) boasted that it will rule for 60 years, never did they boasted to govern Nigeria well during even one year.
”He could have placed the economy on the path of durable growth and shared prosperity through diversification, industrialisation and creation of a societal safety to the benefit of the poor as being done by the present government,” he added.
He urged Nigerians to be wary of the former president and his fake love and patriotism for the country, stressing that Nigeria’s redemption from the past inherited from Obasanjo and his cronies was still very much on course.
”We shall not allow these yesterday’s men to distract the journey to a greater Nigeria,”Umar said.
Also A Civil Society Organisation (CSO), Citizens Action for Good Governance (CAGG) on Thursday in Abuja condemned a statement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on the state of the nation that Nigeria had become a failed state.
The statement had discredited the Muhammadu Buhari led government as leading the nation to extinction.
Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka also supported Obasanjo that the country had moved closer to extinction.
It would be recalled that Obasanjo on Sept. 13 claimed that Nigeria under Buhari had become a failed state, while Soyinka supported his claim that the country was near extinction.
Addressing newsmen on the issue, CAGG National Coordinator Mr Nazir Galadanchi, said Obasanjo’s outburst stemmed from his inability to tele-guide President Muhammadu Buhari to do his bidding and accede to his self-serving request.
“Obasanjo has been unrelenting, even compulsive and pathological in his attacks, sometimes throwing decency and civility to the dogs and portraying himself as one driven by extreme and unchecked malice and bitterness.
“His most recent utterances and wild claims that Nigeria under Buhari is a failing state is unfortunate, unreasonable, patently false and made against rhyme and reason.
“The irony of it all is that the person making the claim is Olusegun Obasanjo, whose alleged misdeeds and atrocities while in power are legion,” Galadanchi said.
He alleged that Obasanjo among other things arrogantly and illegally withheld payment of statutory allocations to Lagos State government just because of political differences with then Gov. Bola Tinubu
Galadanchi also alleged that Obasanjo made spirited attempts to get the 1999 constitution amended to perpetuate himself in power; in the process, he resorted to the “settlement” tactics, and turning against real perceived opponents of his ignoble bid.
“He unleashed EFCC on his opponents and turned the anti-graft agency into his personal attack dog and allegedly coerced state Houses of Assembly in Plateau, Bayelsa and Oyo to illegally impeach their governors, sometimes at the wee hours, without quorum.
“He unleashed the military on the hapless people of Odi Bayelsa State) and Zaki-Biam (Benue State) in an orgy of genocidal killings.
“Under him, fuel pump price was increased six times, and about all workers unions went on endless strike actions; in particular, the federal universities were closed for the longest period in the country’s history.
“Obasanjo privatised our common patrimony and till date, nothing is to show for billions of naira raked out of them neither are they functional, rather caused pain in the lives of Nigerians who were laid off, and many have died prematurely,” he added.
Galadanchi noted that Obasanjo allegedly injured the unity of the country and also ran down the economy which had now created unprecedented poverty.
According to him, Obasanjo has no moral justification to speak on the present situation of the country’s economy having contributed to its downfall.
He urged the former president to always show good example and refrain from talking or acting in unbecoming ways.
The CAGG coordinator also advised Soyinka not to make unfounded statements that are unpopular as the country would never go into extinction under the present government.
Galadanchi pointed out that the enormous resources committed by the present government to fight terrorists were glaring enough for all to see and that it was yielding positive results.
“Nigeria is not in state of disarray nor extinction because the Buhari-led administration has done what other administrations could not do for the past 21 years of democracy in Nigeria.
“The Buhari-led administration has fought corruption to a level that the international community is applauding the efforts of the government; those that made themselves untouchable while they were neck-deep in corruption have been made to face the wrath of the law,”he said. (NAN)
