Former Nigeria president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has lashed out at
the Peoples Democratic Party and the ruling All Progressives Congress
(APC), after his Coalition of Nigeria Movement (CNM) fused into the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Thursday.
Obasanjo speaking to journalists in Abeokuta, Ogun state, said APC is “taking Nigerians for fools”.
He criticised the ruling party over its “arrant arrogance,” saying it
is “revelling in its unrepentant misgovernance” of the country.
Obasanjo also argued that neither “the leprous hand of PDP” can save Nigeria.
“The country is more divided than ever before because the leadership
is playing the ethnic and religious game which is very unfortunate. And
the country is more insecure and unsafe for everybody. It is a political
party with two classes of membership.
“Before I leave this point, it is pertinent to make the point that
PDP and APC are not actually made of men and women who are totally evil.
There are sprinkles of good men and women out there and among them. But
as political parties and the government they led or they are leading in
the last 11 years, they have failed, and failure should neither be
hoisted for embracement nor reinforced.
“What must be done is to take what is best from all to come together
on a new alliance platform that will take us to the promised land. There
must be basic and fundamental ground for change and for people to
change. What is not desirable is to take the leprous hand of either PDP
or APC as the instrument to clean Nigeria up.
“The clean fingers in either of them can and must be grafted to the
clean hands of new entrants and participants to move up and move on, and
that is what I understand the reinvigorated party platform is all about
– change, new order, and progress. Nigerians must keep their eyes wide
open, their ears quite attentive, their minds very clear, their hands
very clean and must not remain dumb in the face of atrocities and
impunities of the governors against the governed.
“Those who govern us at all levels must be made to realise that it is
our collective rights and sovereignty that they hold in trust for us
and to be used for the good of all of us and with all of us having
interest and having a stake in how we are governed. It is our God-given
right, and we must not allow the abuse of it,” he said.