…Says President Buhari is Committed to Nation Building, Unity of Nigeria

…Advise the Elder Statesman to Get Involved in Problem Solving

…Nigeria is Fast Drifting to a Failed State…Obasanjo

…He Lacks Moral Justifications to Lament Country’s Growing Political Decadence…APC

…Buhari Presidency Bereft of Fundamentals of Governance…APC

The Presidency has camo down hard on former President Olusegun Obasanjo, accusing him  of dividing Nigeria, insisting that President Muhammadu Buhari has continued to promote nation-building and the unity of Nigeria and maintained that the difference between the two leaders is clear.

A scathing statement on Sunday signed by the President’s’ Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu and made available to newsmen on Sunday alleged that a recent statement by Obasanjo that Nigeria was slowly becoming a failed state and a basket case that urgently needs to be pulled from the brink of collapse, was an attempt to put the nation asunder.

 “The difference is clear. From the lofty heights of Commander-in-Chief, General Obasanjo has descended to the lowly level of Divider-in-Chief (to adapt the coinage of Time).

Tenure Elongation

“Before responding further to the unfair attacks on President Buhari and his administration by the former President, it is important that we categorically state that contrary to the assertions by a few analysts, the recent speech in which President Buhari advised West African Presidents against tenure elongation beyond constitutional limits has been consistent with his long-held views on the need to adhere to the rule of law.

“Even though he tried it and failed, the recent uptick in the number of such leaders proposing to do, or actually carrying on in office beyond term limits is sufficient to cause concern among democrats in the sub-region given its prospects of destabilizing the states and the region.

“President Buhari’s advocacy is consistent with his principles and in line with the current policies of his administration and indeed that of the ECOWAS Charter which is that term limits must be respected and that the change of government is only permissible through the ballot box.

“Having cleared this misperception, we hope that Chief Obasanjo would once again sheath the sword and rest the pretentiousness about the Messiah that has (mis)led him to pronounce often wrongly, as he disastrously did in the 2019 elections, about the life and death of Nigerian governments.

Problem Solving

“As some commentators are already suggesting, Chief Obasanjo should, in accordance with his mantra as a statesman, get involved with problems solving, when and where they exist instead of helping the mushrooming of a poisonous atmosphere of ethnic and religious nationalism.

“Surely, he must have disappointed many of his local and foreign admirers by showering commendations on a few extremist groups who have vowed to shun the invitation to the National Assembly to participate in the process of a constitutional amendment.

“No doubt, he must have left those admirers confused in announcing the support for the boycott of a democratic process of changing the constitution, at the same time calling for dialogue and engagement.

Waste of Resources

“The fact that the process he ushered in under his administration with the dubious intention of amendments that sought tenure elongation failed-as did two other attempts by the successor administrations of the same political party- does not in any way justify his dismissal of the exercise by the 9th Assembly as another waste of time and resources.

“To the credit of the All Progressives Congress-led 8th Assembly, the process of a constitutional amendment was kick started and carried through, paving the way for, among other benefits, the financial independence of local government councils, States Houses of Assembly and the country’s Judiciary. These changes have already been signed into laws by the President as mandated by the constitution.

Subsidy Withdrawal

“The recent decisions by the administration as they relate to subsidy withdrawal, helping to plug some of the most horrendous notorious holes and release of scarce resources for the more pressing needs of the people has also not escaped the ire of the former President.

“It’s a known fact that the withdrawal of subsidies had been on the wish list of the Obasanjo-led Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. They failed in achieving these measures because there was shared greed. They plundered the treasury as much as anyone could in the name of either subsidy or waiver with reckless impunity.

“Two, is to say it takes courage and rare statesmanship on the part of a leader to do as President Buhari to shun populism and seek the best interest of the people and the state, providing the kind of reform and development that Nigeria urgently needs.

“This President has run an administration focused on infrastructure and development. He has repaired our damaged relations with neighbours and our traditional allies such as the UK, US, China, Russia, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and the others with lots of benefits to the country.

A Pro-Business Administration

“It is a pro-business administration that has used diplomacy to unlock bilateral trade and investment.

“He leads a government that has liberalized the investment climate and market access by achieving reforms that have placed the country in the list of the world’s top reforming economies.

“Nigeria, which other nations had mocked and ridiculed for so many things that were wrong is today progressing at a pace reflecting its size and potential.

“With so much to show and many more coming, it is little surprise that President Buhari would be the object of envy and harsh unfair challenges by politicians who failed to deliver, but continue to nurse ambitions of delighting the audience long after their curtain has been drawn.”

Nigeria Becoming Failed State

Former President Obasanjo says Nigeria is slowly becoming a failed state and a basket case that urgently needs to be pulled from the brink of collapse.

Delivering a speech titled, ‘Moving Nigeria Away from Tipping Over’ at a consultative dialogue held in Abuja on Thursday and attended by various socio-cultural groups including Afenifere, Middle Belt Forum, Northern Elders Forum, Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo and Pan Niger Delta Forum, Obasanjo, who played an active role in the Nigerian Civil War, said he had never seen Nigeria so divided, adding that many of the problems plaguing the country today were due to the recent mismanagement of Nigeria’s diversity.

The former President said, “I do appreciate that you all feel sad and embarrassed as most of us feel as Nigerians with the situation we find ourselves in. Today, Nigeria is fast drifting to a failed and badly divided state; economically our country is becoming a basket case and poverty capital of the world, and socially, we are firming up as an unwholesome and insecure country.

“And these manifestations are the products of recent mismanagement of diversity and socio-economic development of our country. Old fault lines that were disappearing have opened up in greater fissures and with drums of hatred, disintegration and separation and accompanying choruses being heard loud and clear almost everywhere.”

Obasanjo said those beating drums of war and calling for secession must remember that were Nigeria to break into several countries, the citizens would still be neighbours and would need to interact with one another.

He stated that if Nigeria was to successfully tackle its challenges, it must first address the problem of disunity because a house divided could not achieve much success.

Socio-Cultural Groups

The former President, therefore, commended all socio-cultural groups present at the meeting, describing their agreement to come together as a good sign.

He added, “With what I have seen, read and heard from the rapprochement that you are forging together, I see a ray of hope that Nigeria can be saved from disintegration.

“If we are ready to live together in understanding, mutual respect and love with equity, justice, inclusiveness while engendering sense of belonging and unity of purpose and all hands on deck, we can deal with internal issues of terrorism, organised crimes, banditry, kidnapping, human trafficking, drug, money laundering and corruption. We will then be able to deal successfully with any incoming attack of terrorism, organised crimes, etc; from outside.”

Obasanjo described the National Assembly’s fresh constitutional review exercise as a waste of time and resources.

He subsequently praised socio-cultural groups like NEF and Yoruba Summit Group for describing it as such.

Obasanjo said, “That ray of hope was somewhat manifested in the last 10 days or so when the Northern Elders Forum and Yoruba Summit Group complemented each other in their separate press releases on the Senate’s idea of inviting submissions from Nigerian public for constitution amendment which had been regular money-gulping activity by every National Assembly session since 1999, a veritable source of waste without end.

“I believe one of our major problems in the past was that we did not dialogue enough, we talk at ourselves and selfishly keep old prejudices and biases. If we show understanding, give-and-take, love of one another and commitment and love of the country, we will do what is right and stand firmly together for the good of all.”

He said he was optimistic that the consultation among the several groups would enlarge the circle from the mini-dialogue group bit by bit until a national dialogue that could save Nigeria from disintegration was reached. When that is done, he said the initiative would come to an end.

All Is not Well

The former President said only self-deluded people would claim that all is well in Nigeria.

He said, “I believe Nigeria is worth saving on the basis of mutuality and reciprocity and I also believe it can be done through the process of dialogues rather than talking at each other or resorting to violence. It will amount to dangerous and destructive self-delusion for anybody to claim that all is well in Nigeria today.”

He stated that rather than work on fixing the country and ensuring that grievances among several units within the country are addressed, some are fixated on the 2023 Presidential election.

Obasanjo added, “Some people are obsessed with 2023, I believe that with death, destruction, debt, disease, deceit, disbelief, disenchantment, doubt and suspicion around, we need to see our way through to 2023 and beyond in some form of unity of purpose, reasonable security, shared values, true democratic practice, inclusiveness and shared society. That is why we are here. No constitution is even permanent; it is dynamic with time and experience.”

But the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has criticised Obasanjo, for describing the country under the APC-led administration of President Buhari as a near failed and divided country.

Obasanjo Lacks Moral Justification

The APC in a statement issued on Sunday said that the former President lacks the moral justifications to lament the country’s growing political and social decadence since his administration also contributed greatly to the problems.

“It is baffling that the same political actors that midwife and institutionalised the national rot, corruption, impunity and eroding of our value systems are the same characters posing as voices on the way forward in our national life. How ironic!

“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo could start with telling us where the electricity is despite the $16billion he spent on the power sector,” the party fired, calling on the former President and his deputy, Atiku Abubakar, to account for the privatisation of Nigeria’s assets allegedly sold to friends of the PDP-led administration.”

The APC also dismissed the ex-President’s familiar concerns as a mere extension of his “skewed letters, spew empty, hypocritical, tongue-in-cheek and two-faced economic magic models in line with their Dubai meeting strategies” which cannot compete with President Muhammadu Buhari’s alleged “verifiable projects and people-centered interventions that is uplifting Nigerians.”

Election Malpractices

Despite the evidence of violence and election malpractices recorded by both foreign and local observer groups in the country’s recent elections, the APC deputy national spokesperson, Mr Yekini Nabena, while reeling out the achievements of the Mr Buhari-led administration, insisted that “votes are beginning to count as our elections improve steadily.”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has however urged President Buhari to come down from his high horse and listen to advice from eminent Nigerians, who are advising him against allowing the nation to tumble from the cliff under his watch.

In a statement on Sunday by its spokesman, Mr Kola Ologbodiyan, the party accused the Buhari Presidency of worsening the woes of the country.

Hauling Insults

Rather than a predilection to haul insults on Nigerians, including former President  Obasanjo which it noted is now fashionable, the party called on the Buhari administration to end its divisive, suppressive and insensitive style of leadership that has ruined the nation.

The statement reads: “From its reactions to patriotic counsel, it is clear that the Buhari Presidency has become bereft of the fundamentals of governance as well as overwhelmed by its own failures and burden of guilt for the disunity, bloodletting and anguish that have enveloped our nation in the last five years.”

The party echoed Obasanjo’s claim that Nigeria was sliding into a failed state, where citizens are not guaranteed of their safety and cannot afford the basic necessities of life, among others.

The PDP said: “Under Buhari, all sectors of our national life are in shambles; the productive sectors have been crippled; the nation has been pushed into the reverse gear; bandits, insurgents and marauders are freely ravaging communities and our citizens live in constant fear and extreme poverty.

Indeed, never in the history of our nation has the situation been this pathetic.

Country Being Pushed to Fringes

“While President Buhari recedes in the comfort and safety of the Presidential Villa and reneged in his promise to lead from the front, Nigeria is being pushed to the fringes by marauders who are pillaging our citizens in various parts of our country…”

“Furthermore, it smacks of shamelessness for the Buhari administration to be talking about corruption in PDP’s subsidy regime, when it has been caught neck-deep in unprecedented oil corruption that had ruined our economy, turned our nation into the poverty capital of the world and put our citizens in a dire strait.”

The PDP alleged that life has become more traumatising for Nigerians under the present administration.

“Today, life has become resources from the sale of crude oil have either been wasted or stolen by officials of the Buhari administration,” Ologbodiyan said in the statement.

Broken Promises

He claimed the Buhari administration has not done enough to sustain a credible electoral process, which enhanced his elector victory in 2015 over a sitting government.

The statement further reads: “It therefore amounts to pretending to sanctimony for President Buhari to be preaching on term limit, whereas, his administration has done everything possible, broken all known democratic norms and rules to debase credibility in our elections.

“Our party implores President Buhari to pause, think of Nigeria and its people and heed wise counsel to save our nation from an imminent collapse, which this idling administration has foisted on all our people,” he said.