- Obasanjo: “Nigeria Is Regressing, a failing State status Under Reign of Baba-go-Slow and Emolikan…”
- Presidency : “Stop Talking About Tinubu, He is Cleaning The Mess You Created…You Are Pretentious.”
By Abiola Olawale
A former two-term President of Nigeria, respected elderstatesman as well as a former military Head of State, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and the current administration are engaged in a fiery exchange of words regarding the current state of affairs in Nigeria.
Tensions have escalated after Obasanjo stated that Nigeria is speedily becoming a failing state under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to the former president who has the singular distinction of being the only Nigerian leader to have led Nigeria longest, Nigeria under Tinubu has been witnessing what he described as a wave of chaos and insecurity, where conflict and discord have taken root, fostering deep divisions and disunity among the people.
He made these assertions while delivering his keynote address at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum, Yale University New Haven Connecticut, USA.
His words: ”As we can see and understand, Nigeria’s situation is bad. The more the immorality and corruption of a nation, the more the nation sinks into chaos, insecurity, conflict, discord, division, disunity, depression, youth restiveness, confusion, violence, and underdevelopment. That’s the situation mostly in Nigeria in the reign of Baba-go-slow and Emilokan. The failing state status of Nigeria is confirmed and glaringly indicated and manifested for every honest person to see through the consequences of the level of our pervasive corruption, mediocrity, immorality, misconduct, mismanagement, perversion, injustice, incompetence and all other forms of iniquity. But yes, there is hope.’’
However, in a swift response,
Special Adviser to Tinubu on Public Communication and Orientation, Sunday Dare, criticised Obasanjo for his position.
The presidential aide stated that Nigeria’s democracy endured severe setbacks under the administration of Obasanjo.
In a statement issued on Monday, Dare claimed that successive administrations struggled to rectify the damage left by Obasanjo and that Tinubu is now making significant progress in addressing these issues.
The statement reads in part: “Democracy suffered mortal wounds under his watch, only exacerbated by his destructive obsession with an ill-fated third-term bid.
“He is a man with a tremendous capacity for mischief, and Nigerians know it.
“His journey down the path of delusion has always been apparent, as has his descent into distorting facts, forgetting that he presided over a presidency that was among the most corrupt in history. His recent comments at Yale University lack sincerity.
“It is laughable that Obasanjo’s pretensions about fighting corruption are failing to convince the general public.”
Dare pointed out that under Obasanjo’s leadership, no explanation was ever given for the $16bn wasted on generating “megawatts of darkness” across the nation.
“But that is not even the main issue. The Yoruba proverb, ‘A o ki n wo ariwo oja, eniti a anba na oja ni a n wo,’ teaches that we should not be distracted by the noise of the market. Instead, we should focus on the person with whom we are negotiating.
“This is an instructive lesson. In this market called Nigeria, the man with the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda is the one that matters – President Tinubu and, indeed, Nigerians.
“Everything else is just ‘ariwo oja’ (market noise). This administration will remain focused on bringing relief to Nigerians. Obasanjo’s remarks are a reflection of the childish nature of market noise.
“President Tinubu will stay the course in seeing through the reforms he has initiated for a better Nigeria,” he added.
He advised Obasanjo to refrain from constantly criticising his successors and to take time to reflect on how he has contributed to the parlous state of the Nigerian nation, which President Tinubu is now valiantly working to restore.
“We thank former President Obasanjo for acknowledging that ‘Yes, there is hope.’ That’s the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda that President Tinubu is advancing, and it’s well on track. We look forward to having that conversation with the former president.”
