Elder
statesman and Political Adviser to ex-President Shehu Shagari in the Second
Republic, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai has berated former President Olusegun Obasanjo
over comments credited to him in Dutse on Democracy Day calling for a change of
leadership and describing President Ggoodluck Jonathan’s government as a
failure.
Obasanjo who delivered
a key-note address during the opening ceremony of the first Jigawa Investment
and Economic Summit threw jibes at Jonathan’s administration and made comments
suggesting his endorsement of Governor Sule Lamido come 2015 Presidential
Election.
The
Presidency is angry with Chief Obasanjo not only because he shunned the
Democracy Day celebration in Aso Rock and chose to spend the day in Dutse
Jigawa state, but because the former President used the occasion to vent his
anger on President Jonathan who of late have been keeping arms length from
Obasanjo. However, some eminent Nigerians have continued to condemn Obasanjo’s
statement against President Jonathan on Democracy Day and among them is
Yakasai.
Yakasai in a PressStatement made available to our correspondent in Kano Quoted Obasanjo’sill-conceived comment against Jonathan thus: “you can help someone to get a job but you can’thelp that person do the job,” and wondered why Obasanjo should use such“unpalatable utterances” against President Jonathan.
“The
disagreeable utterances of our former President, General Olusegun Obasanjo
ostensibly directed on President Goodluck Jonathan which he made in the cause
of his speech as special guest of honour at D’dutse, where he was reported to
have said ‘you can help someone to get a job but you can’t
help that person do the job.’ He also used the occasion to underrate the
achievements of the Jonathan administration especially in the area of
macro-economic growth.
“The
former President who was himself in office for eight years was also reported to
have said that the road that leads into Dutse is better than the Lagos-Ibadan
express way, forgetting that the two roads he referred to are all federal
roads, as if that blame should go to the present federal
administration, which has only been in office for two years.
“General
Obasanjo being a former President and high-ranking leader of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) which is the party in power at the Federal level in the
country has every opportunity to seek audience with President Goodluck Jonathan
and either offer him whatever advice he has to offer or criticize any policy of
his administration that he has cause to disagree with. I think that is what is
expected of any statesman, particularly people of the caliber of General
Obasanjo.
“People
close to him say when ever General Obasanjo disagrees with a person, he will
carry the fight to his place of worship, to his dining table and sometimes, he
will even be fighting the person in his dream. He is reported to be unforgiving
and his method of disagreement with people is sometimes regarded as a matter of
life and death.
“To
me as a patriotic Nigerian, a democracy day celebration is hardly a suitable
occasion for any citizen to make a personal attack on his country’s leader.
Whatever differences exist between them, such should have been solved amicably.
General Obasanjo and I enjoy tremendous goodwill and mutual respect.
“I respect him as the former President of my country, and he accords me some measure of respect as his elder. It is in this spirit that I would like to appeal to the former President to pursue political differences with some decency and decorum. That is what normally is expected of a man of General Obasanjo’s caliber.
“Despite
our difference with NPC leaders during the First Republic, we NEPU leaders as
members of the opposition to the NPC never took our political differences with
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa or Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto to the
level of attacking their personalities. In the light of this and as a veteran
politician, I would appeal to President Obasanjo to adopt decorum, tolerance
and statesmanship standard in the pursuit of his political differences with
others. This is the most honourable path for a man of his stature,” Yakasai
concluded.
No comments:
Post a Comment