Some eminent Nigerians and political parties, Wednesday, picked holes in the Federal Government’s response to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s advice to President Muhammadu Buhari not seek re-election in 2019 on account of ill-health and poor performance among others.
In response to Obasanjo, the Federal Government in a statement by the Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described the letter and advice as distractions to the on-going move of the government to address the enormous challenges bequeathed by previous administrations, insisting the government is doing well and recorded many achievements in various sectors of governance.
Buhari will not listen to voice of reason – Tanko Yakassai
Responding to the Federal Government’s response, Elder Statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, said that President Buhari’s desperation for power would not allow him to listen to voice of reason at this critical period.
Yakasai, who noted that Obasanjo has not done anything new but only playing with emotions, said: “Obasanjo letter was an expression of disappointment in Buhari’s administration and it summarises the feelings of Nigerians and non-Nigerians. The Buhari that I know would certainly jettison the advice because of his desperation for power. He is after power and doesn’t see anything else.
“Buhari shares traits with three classes of people that make it difficult for him to see reason. A man looking for power doesn’t need advice, same thing applies to a man seeking for love, and the one seeking the hand of a woman.”
Obasanjo is sincere – ACPN
Also, the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria ACPN National Chairman, Alhaji Galadima said: “The advice of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Buhari not to contest in 2019 is apt and sincere.
“President Obasanjo is a former Nigerian president known for his truth and bluntness. He is different from other partisan Nigerian leaders who engage in macabre dance of shame and insincerity. He says his own not minding whose ox is gored.
“He is a patriotic and a detribalised Nigerian and the advice given should be taken in good faith. Whether anybody likes it or not, the health of President Buhari was an issue in 2015. The question is this, is he fit enough to be president again in 2019? If I am from the family of the President, I will advise him to retire on the ground of his deteriorating health so as to face his health challenge and be useful to his immediate family. Due to his Ill-health, President Buhari has been unable to grapple with the challenges of leadership. People have taken the advantage of his health condition to commit political brigandage that has rubbished his reputation while the president couldn’t take action.
“There is so much corruption, insecurity and lack of sincerity on the part of people working with the president. The President should shun the clarion call of political jobbers and sycophants parading the Presidency urging him to contest. Those people do not mean well for him.”
Buhari, not worthy of leading Nigerians – ADP
National Secretary of the Action Democratic Party ADP, James Okoroma, said Obasanjo was right in his submissions and “has set the stage for a new Nigeria. The damage caused by the Buhari Government is enormous and we must endeavour to rebuild our Country. The former President made it clear in his statement that the Buhari government is a monumental failure.”
He continued: “According to Obasanjo, Buhari cannot be credited with any achievement in any sector: Security, education, economy, national cohesion and infrastructural development. Never have we been as divided as we are today.
“Obasanjo’s description of Buhari as clannish and nepotistic is apt and appropriate. Buhari’s lopsided appointments in favour of his Fulani kinsmen, makes him unworthy of leading other Nigerians. Buhari remains a disappointment to the nation. His lack of capacity, vindictiveness, narrow mindedness and shallow understanding of global politics, make him a bad choice for the future of Nigeria.
Describing Obasanjo as a ‘political deity’, the ADP said, “he has thrown the challenge to all Nigerians. He has even volunteered to be part of a Coalition for a new Nigeria. This government is evil and must give way.”
Obasanjo spoke as a statesman – Ukweni, SAN
To Mr. Mba Ekpezu Ukweni, SAN, who criticised President Buhari over bad governance, Obasanjo spoke the minds of Nigerians and at the right time.
His words : “It was something that has been bordering him and a lot of Nigerians for a long time. The statement was apt, appropriate and direct to the point. 98 per cent of Nigerians know what is going on and any person who thinks that the statement is not appropriate in the circumstance, is misguiding himself…
“We welcome his statement. This is not something that the APC or the President should take as a careless statement. It is a statement that they need to reflect upon and know that Nigerians can no longer be taken for granted.”
Ukweni criticised President Buhari for not giving Nigerians the governance they expected. “It is the most barbaric and illegal act that a country and government should condone the killings of Nigerians by Fulani headsmen. “That is one of the things that the former President put in his statement and we have all been shouting. Was it not the same reason that was given for Jonathan not to continue, that they were killings in certain parts of the country and he did not visit them?
“But you see very clearly that the Federal Government was supporting what the herdsmen are doing, the mayhem they are causing in various communities. Obviously supporting them, they are trying to pass a bill through the National Assembly, that a private business of rearing cows has now become public that the various state governments have to allocate land for the private business.”
