Members of the South East Senate Caucus said in Abuja yesterday
the scathing remarks of former President Olusegun Obasanjo about
President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration are clear vindications of
their position on the lopsided nature of the Federal Government.
This is even as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) said the letter
to the President by Obasanjo was a clear endorsement of the philosophy
of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, of cluelessness and visionless
leadership of the Buhari’s administration.
Leader of the caucus, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said it had labeled
Nigeria, “Buhari’s country”, following president’s line of appointments.
He disclosed that they had warned against the danger of “the nepotic
nature of the administration, but unfortunately many Nigerians looked
the other way.
“The government will come to an end one day and with every indication the government has come to end.
“What Obasanjo said is what we have said and predicted long ago.
“To be fair to him (Buhari), the President made himself clear during his
visit to the United States of America, with his now unfortunate theory
of 95 percent and five percent reward for support.
Abaribe noted that they also said “it could be the style of the ruling
All Progressive Congress (APC). That is to say, that the party may have
chosen as a style, to run a government that encourages alienation of a
sizeable portion of its people, as well as one that promotes
exclusivity.
“Every political party has its style, like the People’s Democratic Party
(PDP) that adopted its own style of running an inclusive national
government, which reflected the true character and national outlook of
the Nigerian people.
“PDP’s style was inclusivity not minding the voting pattern of any section of the country or where its support base was derived.
“For any party, there should not be any political barrier or alienation
of any constituent part, because after elections the President is the
President and father of all Nigerians irrespective of political leaning.
“My hunch is that the appointments so far, which have surreptitiously
thrown up the prevailing circumstance, failed to encourage our people’s
hunger and quest to build a nation state out of a heterogeneous Nigeria.
The appointments as it were, do not also support the effort to weave a
more cohesive country that would metamorphose into a nation where unity
and love will prevail.
“The founding fathers of our nation had this in mind when the notion of
‘Federal Character’ was inscribed in the constitution and a commission
created for that purpose.
“That a President of elder statesman status would willfully breach this
fibre that holds this country together is highly regrettable.
“My take is that, ‘it is a Buhari country’, it is the reality, so he can
play around with his choice as his mind and conscience direct him.
After all he did not win election in the South East and South-South and
yet he became President, therefore, the South should be orphaned for not
voting for him.”
IPOB on its part said Obasanjo’s statement was a slap on the faces of
the Igbo leaders who recently endorsed Buhari for second tenure for
their selfish interest against the interest of poor masses and majority
of the country.
Media and Publicity Secretary of IPOB, Emma Powerful, said Buhari had
nothing to offer apart from alleged ‘misery and premature death’
stressing that those who, out of ignorance opposed the ideology of
freedom as espoused by IPOB could see that, “we are visionaries who
should be praised not labeled terrorists.
“We support Obasanjo for his timely intervention because at a time of
national crisis and with people losing their lives all across the Middle
Belt and Southern Nigeria, anybody discussing partisan politics under
such an atmosphere of mass misery is not fit to be regarded as a human
being let alone a leader.
“What Obasanjo said is the clearest endorsement of the philosophy of our
leader and prophet of our time Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, that the only way to
reign in a dictatorship is by confronting it head on with the truth.
“Obasanjo has spoken the truth and should be applauded for it. Those
hungry and insatiable APC yes men that visited Aso Rock to endorse
Buhari for 2019 under the banner of Igbo leaders should cover their
faces in shame.
“We also commend Chief Ben Nwabueze and Chief Mbazuluike Amaechi who
have been speaking in this direction without fear or favour for some
time now. They are the real Igbo leaders the world should look up to,
not the collection of failures.
“The timing couldn’t have been more apt. It is crystal clear from
analysis of Obasanjo’s statement that the new coalition he is calling
for is something similar to what IPOB is doing, but on broader all
encompassing scale that will include all ethnicities in Nigeria rather
than one restricted to Biafra alone.”
Meanwhile, the Movement for Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra
(MASSOB), insisted that Buhari remained the last president of the
geographical expression called Nigeria.
Its leader, Uchenna Madu said: “The recent outburst of former president
Obasanjo against the president Buhari is very thoughtful and widely
accepted by well meaning citizens of the country. Though Obasanjo is
right in his castigation and open letter to Buhari, MASSOB and the
people of Biafra do not need a soothsayer or a spiritualist to tell us
that the days of president Buhari in Aso Rock Villa are numbered.
“Buhari’s system of implementing and executing government’s policies and
running of government affairs has opened the eyes and consciousness of
the citizens that the foundation of Nigeria is faulty with so much
damages that can never be repaired or redeemed again.
“The consciousness of ethnic, religious and regional survival,
emancipation and independence have grown eloquently and dipped deeper
into the consciousness of the citizens of ethnic nationalities in
Nigeria.”