The Spiritual Director, Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Uke, Anambra
State, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Obimma, popularly known as Ebubemonso, has
asked President Muhammadu Buhari to resign.
DAILY POST reports that the cleric based his call on Buhari’s alleged inability to take charge of happenings in the country.
Ebubemonso, who spoke as part of activities marking his 7th year
Priestly ordination at his Umudioka residence, also demanded unreserved
apology from the Federal Government to Ndigbo, particularly members of
the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
He accused Buhari’s government of proscribing the group and branding
them terrorists, “whereas terror groups like the Fulani herdsmen and
Boko Haram killing people are handled with kid gloves.”
His speech read: “As you can see, there is crisis in the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari is not in control of this country. People are
dying on daily basis and I am not happy with it at all.
“There is indeed crisis in the country. I pray that our good Lord
will salvage this country, Nigeria. There is crisis, even though those
in authority are denying that there is political unrest in the country. I
thank God, that God is answering our prayers. I believe that very soon,
all these frictions, fracas and crisis will come to an end, because
there is God.
“Well, my message for Muhammadu Buhari is let him resign since he
cannot control the country. I said let him resign honourably because as
you can see, he is not in control of the country, not only that, he is a
sectional leader, a tribalistic leader.
“So, my stand is let him resign, as you can see his strength could no
longer carry him. I am envisaging a situation where he will not be
alive to complete the second term, if he comes out to campaign again.
Let him resign honourably and find people who have the strength and
capacity of managing the nation to carry on the baton. Nigeria is a big
country and needs experts who have perfected in the political field to
take control of the affairs of the nation. President Buhari is not that
man.
On the controversies over the INEC’s 2019 election budget, he said:
“the issue of INEC, the Senate and the Presidency, there are so many
interests; they are saying so many things that we don’t know what to
believe. I can’t say for sure but what I have to say is that you can see
the inclination of political interests in the entire episode.
“Mark my words, APC groups are warming up to rig the election, as you
can see the evidences are there. If by vote counting, APC can never win
any election. If it is by counting of votes, there is no way this
government will return because it is a government that is built on
selfishness, nepotism, injustice. Government that is killing people,
people are not happy with this government, so they knew that they under
performed. What of those promises that Muhammadu Buhari made to the
Nation before the election, none was accomplished, that, for me is a
government of deception, running a government with deceit, it is very
very bad.”
He added that “after the promises Buhari gave Nigerians before he was
elected, nothing has changed. As you can see, many of our youths are
unemployed, many a times when I pass or walk around the universities on
mission, I see our young men, you know undergraduates, battalions of
them, I ask myself what plans has the federal government have but as you
can see, they don’t have any plan for them, that is why you will see
somebody after being a graduate, the person will engage in one business
or the other for him to survive.
“The hope of every average young man in other countries, their
efforts in entering the university, studying very very hard and
struggling to survive, trying to get degrees is for them to get a good
job, but in our country Nigeria nothing is sure. You are a graduate, you
have a wonderful certificate and that certificate is barren,
certificate without satisfaction and government has no plan. It’s a
pity.
“You know it has been my greatest worry. Go over there at the
university and you will see people, you will see men and women, you will
see our young undergraduates, sons and daughters, you know they are
studying, but I am telling you that government has no plans for them,
especially this government of President Buhari. Nigeria has never
experience such a government, let Buhari stand up and tell us his
achievements so far, let him say what he has achieved so far.
“This government has really under performed, really they came with
the ideology of change but they didn’t change anything, so we are
praying for another change, this one is real change that will upturn
Buhari’s change that choked us. He came to power on false change
promises which many believed; even a prophet of God prayed for him
because everybody wanted change that will lead to a prosperous nation
but here we are from frying pan to fire. Buhari is a huge disappointment
to Nigeria.”
The Priest did not spare the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, who he said were not speaking out.
He said, “well, for me, Ohanaeze Ndigbo should know that Igbos are
being marginalized and their voices are not felt, the voices of Ohanaeze
Ndigbo is not felt. You know they are representing Igbos, let them come
out and stand for Igbos and let the world and Igbos know they are
standing for them, they can’t be answering Ohanaeze Ndigbo for nothing.
“I am not trying to say that they have not been making efforts but
their efforts are not enough. Now IPOB came up as a result of poor
governance and they are agitating that the federal government is
marginalizing them. Igbos have been undergoing marginalization, that was
the crusade of Nnamdi Kanu and Nnamdi Kanu was suppressed and
intimidated, but I want to tell the Federal Republic of Nigeria that you
can never kill an ideology.
“Let there be a strong dialogue between Ohaneze Ndigbo and IPOB to
have one voice for Ndigbo. I advise the IPOB to go for peace even in
their agitations, let there be love. I stand here to tell the country
that their agitations are right. The agitations about the sovereign
state of Biafra, about intimidation and suppression, they are right, so
let the federal government look into it.
“If really Igbos are being marginalized, let them do something, we
can’t be answering one Nigeria for mouth, just mere camouflage, one
Nigeria on a table of sabotage. When you stifle what is meant for
general consumption, that is economic sabotage, when you strangle what
you supposed to give to brothers, that is wickedness.
“Let the federal government look into these agitations; it won’t end
by shooting them, killing them on daily basis. Buhari should register an
apology to Ndigbo for that kind of thing, how can innocent people who
are agitating be proscribed? They are freedom fighters and Buhari
proscribed them, branded them as terrorists whereas Boko Haram are
killing people and nobody has ever proscribed them or branded them as
terrorists. Fulani herdsmen are killing people on daily basis and nobody
has ever proscribed and branded them terrorists. But agitating youths
in the South East, my dear brothers were branded terrorists by their
country Nigeria. Is this not outright intimidation?”