Yoruba socio-cultural organisation Afenifere has commended Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for rising in defence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against the scathing remarks by Mr. Peter Obi at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States last month.
Afenifere, in a statement by its National Organising Secretary, Chief Kole Omololu, praised Sanwo-Olu for defending Tinubu and the nation against opposition politicians’ incendiary calumny campaign.
It noted that certain political elements with the intention to undermine cohesion and discrediting the government were conducting increasingly calculated manoeuvres.
It stated that the orchestrated campaigns, often cloaked in the rhetoric of democratic dissent, were crossing the fine line between legitimate political opposition and a harmful assault on the nation’s global reputation.
“In a period marked by multifaceted challenges and strains on national cohesion, the burden of leadership must encompass preserving our homeland’s integrity; remaining tacit in the face of concerted calumny is tantamount to complicity.
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“His Excellency, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who spoke up in defence of the President and the nation, we say well done.”
Afenifere referenced Obi’s criticism in the U.S. university as a grievous affront to the values that underpinned national aspiration.
Sanwo-Olu berated Obi for undermining the nation’s economic interests. He stated that the former LP presidential candidate lacked the moral authority to criticise the president’s administration’s record because he underperformed during his tenure as the Anambra State governor.
Afenifere praised Sanwo-Olu for setting the record straight and called on other governors to follow in his footsteps. “We specifically call upon members of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and the South-West Governors’ Forum to rise to the occasion and speak with a unified and resolute voice. A principled and vigorous defence of Nigeria’s democratic institutions and international esteem is both apposite and imperative.”