Reuben Abati, a former Special Adviser to President Jonathan on Media
and Publicity shared his thoughts on a statement written by former
president, Olusegun Obasanjo, in which he criticised the performance of
President Muhammadu Buhari.
Abati who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on
Tuesday night said the statement reflects certain levels of consensus
within society. He, however, noted that the only thing that was not
mentioned was an apology to Nigerians especially as the former president
was one of those who voted for the ‘change’ administration.
He also said the there was no better time for him to respond to the state of the polity than now.
“It’s probably the most important subject of the day. Its been
the main subject that everyone is discussing and that should be
understandable considering the stature, the capacity, the influence of
the author of the letter. Before now, many Nigerians had been waiting on
the former president Olusegun Obasanjo to say something about this
administration and he has chosen his time very well to come out and do a
full assessment of the administration so far” Abati said.
“If you look at that letter it drips with frustration,
disappointment, even regret. The only thing president Obasanjo does not
do in that letter is to apologise to Nigerians but he admitted that he
was part of the efforts to bring about change in 2015 and he not only
supported the incumbent president, he also voted for him and now he says
he is disappointed.
“The letter probably reflects certain levels of consensus within
society because you know of late, a lot of people have been saying some
of the things that president Obasanjo said in that letter but coming
from Obasanjo, those statements acquire a special significance and
resonance both locally and I believe, internationally” he said.