Ebun Francis|
Elder statesman and former president Olusegun Obasanjo on Sunday said Nigeria is back to the Abacha era when state institutions were used to fight perceived enemies of government.
The otta based former president who is strongly opposed to the re-election efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari stated this in an open letter titled ‘Points for Concern and Action’. It was distributed to journalists at a press conference held on Sunday at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun state.
Obasanjo said: “Today, another Abacha Era is here. The security institutions are being misused to fight all critics and opponents of Buhari and to derail our fledgling democracy. EFCC, Police and Code of Conduct Tribunal are also being equally misused to deal with those Buhari sees as enemies for criticising him or as those who may not do his bidding in manipulating election results.
“Criticism, choice and being different are inherent trade mark of democracy. If democracy is derailed or aborted, anarchy and authoritarianism will automatically follow.
“Today, as in the day of Abacha, Nigerians must rise up and do what they did in the time of Abacha. Churches and Mosques prayed. International community stood by us Nigerians. I was a beneficiary and my life was saved. Well-meaning Nigerians took appropriate actions and made sacrifices, some supreme, some less than supreme but God had the final say and He took the ultimate action.
The former president also expressed “serious concern” over the integrity, impartiality and competence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a credible election.
Citing the Osun state gubernatorial election, Obasanjo said, the forthcoming polls may have “incidences of deliberately contrived, broken or non-working voting machines or card readers, confusion of voters as to their voting stations, inadequate supply of voting materials to designated places, long line to discourage voters and turning blind eyes to favour the blue-eye political party of INEC because the Commission’s hands will be tied to enable hatchet men and women to perform their unwholesome assignment”.
According to him, the transmission and collation of results are subject to interference, manipulation and meddling while noting that Amina Zakari has become too controversial to take part in the elections.
He urged Zakari to “stay out” and “not be seen as a source of contamination of the elections”.
He also accused the All Progressives Congress of “recruiting collation officers who are already awarding results based on their projects to actualise the perpetuation agenda in which the people will not matter and the votes will not count”.
According to him, the alleged recruitment is the “sole reason” the president refused to sign the revised Electoral Reform Bill into law.
Obasanjo also has harsh words for Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo over the “suspect timing” of the implementation of the Trader Moni scheme.
He said: “What an act by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria lawyer, number 2 man in the Executive hierarchy; and what is more, a pastor of one of the Christian movements led by a revered, respected and upright church leader, Pastor E. A. Adeboye. Osinbajo must have gone for, “if you can’t beat them, join them”.
“A great pity indeed and which makes people ask the questions, “Any hope?” Yes, for me, there is hope.
“Osinbajo has shown the human weakness and proved the saying that the corruption of the best is the worst form of corruption. His explanation that it was their government programme can only be construed to be very shallow and lopsided, if not an outrightly idiotic programme.
“Those who criticise the action are called evil but they are not evil as they know what they are doing and saying, and they love Nigeria and Nigerians not less than the likes of Osinbajo. They are not devils incarnate; they are patriots.
“What is the connection between taking the number of PVC (Permanent Voters Card) of the recipient of the N10,000 doled out to ‘traders’ and the forthcoming election? There is something sinister about it, and Professor Osinbajo, of all people, should know that.”