Former President Olusegun Obasanjo lampooned President Muhammadu
Buhari’s administration, describing it as an incompetent, ineffective
and non-performing government.
While speaking at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta
in Ogun State, when he played host to the New Nigeria 2019 Group, former
President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday, called on President Muhammadu
Buhari to stop giving Nigerians excuses, adding that the attitude was
why he had not achieved results
Reacting to President Obasanjo’s assertions, the All Progressives Congress, APC urged him to always put things in perspective, noting that someone could also negatively assess his first term between 1999 and 2003 because of the challenges he faced at that time.
Obasanjo, who reiterated his earlier declaration that the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, cannot take the nation to the promised land, urged Nigerians not to be deceived by the reforms promised by the APC or accept the recent apology tendered by the PDP.
His declaration was amplified by Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, and elder statesman, Tanko Yakassai, who said the former President had merely stated the obvious.
Obasanjo said: “What those I call power addicts would want to do is to divide you based on gender, age, tribe, religion and region. You have one commonality, the interest of Nigeria and it doesn’t matter where you come from. We had that interest.
“The truth is this: When you have an ineffective and incompetent government, we are all victims. And don’t let anybody deceive you. Those of you who are in business, your business could have been better today if we have a competent and effective and performing government.
“As I said, stop giving excuses; we met challenges. If there are no challenges, then we wouldn’t need you to come. You came in because you know there are challenges and then giving us excuse that you have many challenges, that is why you haven’t achieved results. And then you still want to go for second term. Don’t reinforce failure
“The first lesson I learned in my military training is to never reinforce failure. What we have now is failure. Never reinforce failure; let failure be failure. And if you do not see what you should see, you will then be a victim of what you don’t like because it’s only when you see what you should see and you do what you should do that you put away what you do not like.
“If you don’t see what you should see and you don’t do what you should do, you will be a victim of what you don’t like.
“What those I call power addicts would want to do is to divide you based on gender, age, tribe, religion and region. You have one commonality- interest of Nigeria.
“This time, for us to make it, we need all hands on deck. You see, I have publicly said and I mean it, that as a party, neither PDP nor APC can get us there as they have been. Never mind reforms and apology and all that. And yet we have to get there.
“I asked one of the foundation members of PDP, that when we started, was it a grassroots party? He said it was an elitist party. Really, we have never had the so-called grassroots party. Even NEPU which we could say is the nearest was not grassroot enough. Grassroots movement
“I believe strongly that we must have a strong popular grassroots movement to bring about the change, sustainability and stability that we need in our democracy and development. “But let us bring together all these movements because we are pursuing the same thing. If we allow ourselves to be taken piecemeal, it is finished.
“Yes, I said you cannot take PDP as it is and APC as it is; but they are not all made of evil people. There are good people among them. I said PDP is leprous hand, APC is leprous hand, but there are some clean fingers in them.
“So, let’s take those clean fingers in them and graft the clean fingers in our own. That is the way to go and if we go that way, we will get there, we will move together, and we will move fast and we will move far.”