The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Opadokun

  • Opadokun urges govt to address marginalisation of Ilaje

    Opadokun urges govt to address marginalisation of Ilaje

    A chieftain of the National Democratic Coalition(NADECO), Chief Ayo Opadokun, has urged the Federal Government to consider the Ilaje for the job of the headship of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).

    The erstwhile National Secretary of Afenifere spoke at his investiture and Lukmon Olumoh as grand patron of APC Ilaje Support Group (AISG)Lagos chapter and launching of GovernorLucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Movement.

    He berated the alleged marginalisation of the Ilaje,stressing that Ondo State, where the tribe is from, is the fifth largest producer of oil in the country.

    Opadokun thanked the  Ilaje for considering him worthy of the honour, pledging to work for the betterment of the race and humanity.

    “Ondo is the fifth largest producer of oil in Nigeria.

     “I told the then Vice President Prof. Yemi  Osinbajo that an Ilaje person should head the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).  Ilaje is marginalised. He gave assurance that Ilaje will be given consideration.

    “I thank the Ilaje support group for the honor. And I am happy to be the grand patron of Ilaje in Lagos.

    Read Also: UNGA: Nigeria reaffirms commitment to Pelindaba Treaty

    I am patron to help you have voice. With your 700,000 voters, nobody can undermine you,be united.  Come together and be a united force. Don’t waste your votes anymore. Anyone who needs your votes should also be ready to give back.  You are worth more in my view than corrupt leaders. I accept to be patron humbly to work for the better of Ilaje and the human race,” he said.

    Chairman AISG, Bode Ojabogun said while most of other ethnic groups voted in different directions during the presidential and governorship elections, the group  voted en masse for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

    He the group’s votes were very significant to the successes recorded at the polls by the party in the state.

    Explaining that the Ilaje have a significant presence in Lagos, he said their population is around 1-2 million people, and with a total of 700,000 registered voters.

    “The idea of AISG  was conceptualised in year 2019, which metamorphosed from Ilaje Community, formed in 2015, with the sole aim of galvanizing the support of majority of ilaje residents in Lagos for political aspirations and activities.

    We have achieved the objective of founding the group with our performance at various elections since 2015 till date. It was further established with results from our locations in the last general election,” he added.

    Olumo, thanked the AISG for the honour, adding that he will impact the group and take it to enviable heights.

  • Opadokun blames fuel crisis on importation

    Opadokun blames fuel crisis on importation

    Former Secretary of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) Ayo Opadokun yesterday decried the fuel scarcity in the country.

    He blamed it on over dependence on importation of the premium motor spirit (PMS) into the country.

    Opadokun spoke in Offa, Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State at a colloquium organised by the Galaxy Clique in honour of late Chief Josiah Sunday olawoyin.

    The lecture was titled “Offa in Yoruba History”.

    He suggested outright ban on importation of fuel into the country to put an end to perennial fuel crisis in the country.

    Said he: “I must confess to you, I am extremely sad, weakened but I know it to be a cumulative effect of the prolonged misrule of the military over Nigeria. When Buhari was there as the military Head of State, the refineries that were built none has been since the one he built. The population was not as large as this, the vehicular movement was not  as large and wide as this. Since then what has happened, those who took over from him had totally ravaged Nigeria. What they needed do, they did not do. How on earth will a sane people in government construct the policy on home construction of domestic fuel on importation,.

    “I was part of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) team that did sufficient research, we went abroad to Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Venezuela to fund out how much it costs to mine one litre of crude oil. Nigeria’s own is the most costly in the  world and then what are they doing now.

    “Each time, the independent marketers go ahead to buy at world market so Nigerians are subjected to the vagaries of world market crude oil prices. What  has happened in the last three, four months, is that because the government was not willing to add more money to their profit, they said  they will not import.

    “So the NNPC has been importing the totality of fuel being used in Nigeria. But because we have been used to a system where fuel tanks are being built independent marketers, they  made that unavailable and impossible for the distribution to go seamless. That is the cause of the crisis.”

     

  • Opadokun, Atilade make case for persons with disabilities

    A former secretary of the defunct National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, Elder Ayo Opadokun, has called on the federal government to initiate enabling laws to address the plights of all Persons with Disability (PWDs).

    He said PWDs are joint stakeholders in the national project and deserve all the attention as well as support they can get.

    He spoke at the 5th national conference, album launch and fund raising for creativity centre for the disabled organised by Christian Welfare Initiative (CWI) in conjunction with Cherish Victory and Jesus People’ Enabled in Lagos.

    Opadokun lamented there are about 19 million Nigerians with diverse forms of disabilities, pointing out that they have been largely ignored by government and other critical stakeholders.

    According to him: “Good governance demands enforceable laws and rights be passed and assented to release the innate and latent potential and energies  inherent in one PWDs so that they can fully participate in the building of the Nigerian project as equal stakeholders.”

    He added: “Nigeria cannot justify its destined leadership position nor strategically enjoy the great benefit of the potential hidden in 19 million PWDs  until we resolve  to accord them equal status with other Nigerians and go further to empower them with what technology  has generated for many of them to excel.”

    He noted the rights PWDs like others are enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, stating “it is apparent that in spite of the pious declaration in the Constitution, there appears to be a palpable apathy on the path of successive administrations towards the plight of these vulnerable groups.”

    President of CWI, Archbishop Magnus Atilade, said the conference was aimed at bringing topical issues such on health, education and welfare of PWDs to the front burners for discourse.

    Atilade said: “The neglect of the physically-challenged remains a spiritual challenge to the conscience of the nation.

    “Let us give them a voice in governance and space in everyday life and living, by making provisions to accommodate their special and peculiar needs. We all must provide succour for the weak in our society,” he pleaded.

  • I’ll sue Al-Mustapha, says Opadokun

    A former Secretary of defunct National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Mr Ayo Opadokun, yesterday said he will take legal action over “a false allegation” by a former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Major Hamzat Al-Mustapha, made against him.

    He said: “I am asking my lawyer to write him to retract the statement. If he fails to do so, we will meet in court. My lawyer will write Al-Mustapha to produce the tape within seven days. Otherwise, I will sue him for libel.”

    Opadokun said he had been inundated with complaints by admirers, associates and relations, who believed that the former CSO peddled falsehood against him.

    The former Afenifere secretary said he owed it a duty to departed Yoruba leaders, who had been defamed by Al-Mustapha’s alleged falsehood, to debunk his claims.

    Chiding the former SCO for alleged fabrication and twisting of facts, Opadokun said: “Al-Mustapha suffers from a measure of hallucination; he may need a psychiatric test. The state of his mind is unstable.”

    He added: “In August 2011, while Al-Mustapha was being tried for the (alleged) murder of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola, he said Yoruba leaders had been compromised. I reacted in the media. Two days later, Al-Mustapha recounted, saying Yoruba leaders did not collect money from Gen. Abubakar. I don’t know what has got into his head that he wants to use Yoruba leaders to whitewash himself.

    “He was a veritable instrument for the oppression and humiliation of democratic leaders. He is exploiting the benefits of the freedom we fought for to malign us. In a decent society, Al-Mustapha should be consigned to the dustbin of history.”

    Opadokun regretted that Al-Mustapha allegedly cooked up lies to dent his image before Nigerians, despite his services to the pro-democracy crusade since the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

    The former NADECO secretary also denied taking bribe from former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, to stop talking about the controversial death of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, winner of the annulled poll.

    He said: “Al-Mustapha, who played a role in the incarceration of the custodian of the mandate, is twisting facts and maligning people. He is reeling out a tissue of lies. He has tried to malign me. That’s why I am asking my lawyer to write him. I will seek redress in court. This blackmail, as it failed in 2011, has failed again.”

    The activist shed light on the mission of NADECO’s delegation to Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.

    He said the pro-democracy group went to Gen. Abubakar to advise him on the need to set up a Government of National Unity to be headed by Abiola.

    Opadokun said: “I was in Ikoyi Prisons when Abacha died. Gen. Abubakar released me. The second day after my release, NADECO Leader Senator Abraham Adesanya said the group had been invited for consultation by the government. It was not a Yoruba group that went to see Gen. Abubakar. It was NADECO, led by Adesanya. In the delegation were Senator Francis Okposo, Bola Ige, Chancellor Arthur Nwankwo and myself. It was not true that we visited Aso Villa the day Abiola died. Al-Mustapha was just lying.

    “When we were invited, we suggested that Gen. Abubakar should form a Government of National Unity headed by MKO Abiola. We said the first duty was to set up a National Conference to discuss the national question. He nearly bought our suggestion, but for the negative intervention of his deputy, Mike Akhigbe. The meeting was held at Gen. Abubakar’s office. Apart from the Head of State, Akhigbe and the NADECO delegation, only the Staff Officer, Gen. Leo Ajiborisa, was present.

    “We were neither offered bribe nor given any money; there was no basis for it. We said no NADECO member would receive ministerial appointment from the military. From Aso Villa, we went straight to the airport.

    “Al-Mustapha is a liar and enemy of the Yoruba nation. I am a child of God. Godliness and contentment are a great gain. That has been my principle. Worldliness has no place with me.”

    Opadokun said Al-Mustapha overestimated himself by saying he was still in control of Aso Villa after Abacha’s death.

    The former NADECO chief recalled that the ex-CSO was redeployed to Enugu because of his insubordination to his superiors.

    He described Abiola’s death as a disaster, saying it was painful because he was the custodian of a pan-Nigerian mandate given to a Southerner.

    Opadokun promised to release a book soon on the activities of NADECO.

    He said: “We made sacrifices as NADECO leaders, lost our liberty and businesses; some even lost their lives. We are not part of the thieving group which plays politics to make money.”

  • Opadokun, others know Abiola’s killers, says Al-Mustapha

    Opadokun, others know Abiola’s killers, says Al-Mustapha

    Ex-NADECO Secretary: he is a pathological liar

    Former National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) and Afenifere Secretary Mr. Ayo Opadokun yesterday denied receiving bribe from former military Head of Sate Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar to maintain a sealed lip over the death of Chief M.K.O. Abiola.
    He was reacting to the allegation by the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, that he and some Yoruba leaders were bribed, following the controversial death of the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
    Opadokun, who spoke with The Nation on phone, described Mustapha as a pathological liar, urging Nigerians to ignore his falsehood.
    He said: “Mustapha is a pathological liar seeking for attention. Sensible people should ignore people with low self-esteem and character. Two years ago, when he was being tried for the murder of Kudirat Abiola, he made a false allegation against NADECO leaders that when we were invited by Abdulsalami Abubakar, that we were angry when we entered the office and laughing when we came out.
    “I confronted him. He recounted that we did not collect money. He is seeking for attention to make himself relevant. Where were Yoruba leaders bribed to keep silent? What denominations were used to bribe them? Where was he? He is a charlatan.
    “As soon as his boss died, because of his insolent conduct against his superiors, he was deployed to Enugu and his lieutenants were also deployed out of Aso Rock. So, how did Mustapha know what was happening? He should be ignored.
    “I was in Ikoyi prison when Abiola died. It was five days after my release that we visited the former military Head of State. Yoruba leaders fought for June 12 and the revalidation of the annulled mandate. Mustapha was a wicked instrument for tormenting Abiola. One day, he will have to account for his deeds.”

    Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to late Head of State Gen. Sani Abacha, has alleged that some Yoruba leaders, led by Chief Ayo Opadokun, knew those who killed the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola.

    Al-Mustapha was remanded in prison for 14 years in connection with the mysterious death of Abiola and his wife, Mrs. Kudirat Abiola.

    Speaking with reporters in Kaduna yesterday, after a meeting to broker peace between the North and Southeast, he alleged that the Yoruba leaders received bribe in dollars from the killers of MKO.

    He claimed that Opadokun led others to the Villa to meet Abiola’s killers, but came out laughing after receiving dollars, just a day after MKO was killed.

    Al-Mustapha, who claimed to have videotaped how Opadokun and others collected the bribe, said he had since submitted a copy to a Lagos High Court, presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada.

    According to Al-Mustapha, “Chief Opadokun is someone I respect so much as an elder. But what came out in the newspaper was his own imagination and falsehood against me. If you know my character, you will know that I will not be scared to say the truth. It does not matter who and it does not matter where; but you will later realise that I told you the truth. I initially didn’t want to reply him, but now that you have asked, I will tell you what happened.

    “When Abiola died, a day after, he (Opadokun) was invited to the Presidency and he came to the Villa alongside his friends. He came with anger into the Villa.

    “Those who killed Abiola invited him to the Villa. At that material time, they came to fight the government; they wanted to set the country ablaze, considering the tone they came with. They went into the meeting, they came out laughing, yelling and gearing as if nothing happened in the country.

    “A day after Abiola’s death, if you remember, the country was on the verge of collapse. But seeing what was going on and the things around Abiola led me to suspect them. I had not handed over the Villa to Abdulsalami Abubakar’s government then. So, I decided to videotape what they were doing and I have the tape and I have tendered the tape before a court of law, before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos High Court.

    “In that tape, money exchanged hands and they traded with Abiola and that is my anger. The tape is in that court. Anybody that wants to watch it can get it and watch. It is now a public document. I didn’t want to talk about it before, but money was brought from the Central Bank (CBN) in my presence and it was shared.

    “So, if I talk about Abiola’s well-being and safety, and that of his family, I am telling Nigerians what really happened. Why should a person from the same Southwest, who is supposed to protect Abiola’s interest, now be seen to be angry with me? He should be happy with me for saying the fact, so that it will not happen again in Nigeria.

    “Now, they have forgotten about Abiola but the moment I talk, they will come on the pages of newspapers and start insulting me. I didn’t want to respond to them, but since you have asked, I have to say this. All they have done is that they took money and the moment you talk about Abiola, you become their enemies and they will abuse you in the papers. That is what they are doing to me; but I don’t care.

    “In Yoruba land where culture is the watchword, the late MKO Abiola was the last Aare Ona Kakanfo and for a Yoruba man of Opadokun’s standing, going against Aare Ona Kakanfo, what is that thing? I tell you, it is dollars. Thank you very much, I will speak more on this much later God’s willing,” said Al-Mustapha.

  • Opadokun: blame military for Kwara’s woes

    The convener, Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform (CODER) Ayo Opadokun has accused the military of being responsible for the stunted development of Kwara State in its 50 years of existence.

    The former spokesman of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, added that the military dictators used the state as guinea pig by their “surrogates to come, feast and chop in Kwara.”

    Chief Opadokun who hails from Offa, Offa Local Government Area of the state, said this in Ilorin, the state capital, at a colloquium organised by the Movement for Genuine Change (MGC).

    He said, “The dynasts who installed their loyalists constituted themselves as the albatrosses and demagogues on the civilian governors so much that no significant achievements were recorded. Even while they put up structures, the costs were scandalously prohibitive and unjustifiable. All the promises made as to the benefits that the people will derive from some ventures remain a mirage.”

    Similarly, former governorship aspirant in the state, Sunday Babalola said that the state had not done well in the last 50 years. Babalola, an engineer, singled out the administrations of Brigadier David Bamgboye and Colonel George Innih for scintillating performance.

    “But aside those two, everybody that came after that did not do much to project the state positively and progressively. Lawal’s administration would have been more a commendable model of development, if his activities had spread across the 16 local government areas of the state.  He forgot the many areas that make up the state. Dr Bukola Saraki was worse. He did not basically do anything. Ahmed is just Saraki’s surrogate there. Many of the leaders that have worked in the state have not added value. When the state was bigger and maybe the size could not make them do what they are supposed to do.

    “But you find Bamgboye and George Innih doing very well within the limited knowledge they had and the limited resources they had.

    “After that we have had a lot of resources that had been squandered. It is very sad that there is no vision for the state by the leaders, no direction that the state is following.  You cannot say this is what this state will be in the next twenty or even five years except if there is a change of political leadership which is not based on religion or where the person comes from. As long as we keep saying the governor must come from a particular place, then we cannot get result.

    “We need a visioner who knows what he wants to achieve in the four years to lead the state. Until we get that, we cannot make progress. If we are using sentiments, then we cannot get any result. That will mean that in another 50 years, the state will remain the way it is unless something changes.

    “Kwarans should wake up and participate in politics and should not be bought over by pecuniary offers or money. They should look out for people who will work for them and put such people in leadership position or in power; no matter where they come from or their religious inclinations. Religion does not feed people, and tribe does not feed people,” Engr. Babalola who was represented by an official of the group, John Adeboye, added.

    Reacting, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed on media and communications, Dr Muyideen Akorede said “Kwara State has recorded growth in leaps and bounds since 1967 when it was created. The Kwara State of today has no resemblance to that of 1967 development-wise. Look at the infrastructure network, the number of universities, the level of urbanisation, the expansion of towns and cities. It is absurd to claim that Kwara hasn’t witnessed development since those governors.

    “Every subsequent administration has built on its predecessors and recorded successes. None can be labeled a failure.”

     

  • Opadokun, Falana to Osinbajo: don’t assent 2017 budget

    Opadokun, Falana to Osinbajo: don’t assent 2017 budget

    •Activists seek arrest of those behind rumoured coup

    Former scribe of Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, Ayo Opadokun and fiery Lagos lawyer Femi Falana at the weekend questioned the legality of the National Assembly on the inflation of the 2017 budget.

    They, therefore, urged the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo not to sign the budget into law as presented to him by the National Assembly.

    They spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at a colloquium on Kwara at 50 organised by the Movement for Genuine Change.

    Falana spoke on “Politics, Leadership and accountability: The role of the people”.

    Opadokun’s paper was entitled: “Dynastic politics and challenges of a modern state”.

    Falana said:”It is illegal for NASS to increase the budget as transmitted to it by the executive. I, therefore, urge Prof. Osinbajo not to pass the illegal appropriation bill into law.

    On the controversy surrounding who will sign the 2017Appropriation Bill into law, the rights activist insisted that only the Acting President is constitutionally empowered to sign the document.

    Falana called for the arrest and prosecution of the civilian collaborators of the “coup plotters”.

    He, however, warned the political class to stop playing into the hands of potential coup plotters.

    He added: “The enemies of democracy are desperately trying to exploit President Buhari’s health to truncate the democratic dispensation. But in view of the ruinations of our economy, the bastardisation of our politics and the devaluation of our national morality by previous military dictators, the Nigerian people must be prepared to reject the coming into power of another fake salvation army.

    “Notwithstanding the glaring shortcomings of the fragile democratic process, the people should be allowed to take advantage of the democratic structures to take their political destiny in their own hands.”

    On his part, Opadokun said: “When there is a bill of appropriation before the National Assembly, what they can do is to work with the executive to establish that the correct figures are there. But to add something that was not there before is ultra vires powers and I concur with Femi Falana as he is talking law and law in this circumstance is to be respected.  They don’t have that right they are arrogating to themselves.”

     

  • Opadokun hails Ambode’s transport plans

    Opadokun hails Ambode’s transport plans

    Convener, Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER), Chief Ayo Opadokun, yesterday, hailed the Lagos State government’s plan to ban yellow commercial buses, popularly called Danfo.
    He spoke at the 14th Annual Lecture of the Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL) at Muson Centre, Onikan with the theme: “Living Well, The Challenge of Africa’s Future Cities”.
    “When I wake up in the morning and see all these yellow buses and Okada (commercial motorcyclists) and all kinds of tricycles, the claim that we are a mega city is not true. We must first acknowledge that, that is a faulty connectivity that we are running.
    “They drive without adhering to traffic rules and regulations and they do it so ungodly. The one-chance issue is mainly perpetrated by Danfo drivers. Government has every right to check their excesses, therefore, Ambode should ban them on Lagos roads,” he said.
    The CODER convener also hailed Ambode’s development initiatives and urged him to sustain them to better the lot of the people.
    “I must confess that I have attraction for that young man for all he has been doing in the state. The way he has been turning the state around positively is marvelous and he should be commended. I pray that God will grant him greater wisdom to make more and better strides,” he said.

  • Why senators rejected Magu’s confirmation as EFCC boss, by Opadokun

    Why senators rejected Magu’s confirmation as EFCC boss, by Opadokun

    Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER) Convener Chief Ayo Opadokun has hinged Senate rejection of Ibrahim Magu’s confirmation as Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman on criminal prosecution some of the senators have before the anti-graft agency.
    The former scribe of Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, also blamed Magu’s non-confirmation on a divided Presidency.
    Opadokun spoke to reporters in Offa, Offa Local Government Area, Kwara State, at the sideline of 2016 convention organised by Offa Christian Indigenes Union (OCIU).
    He added that most of the senators were hand-in-gloves with the military oligarchy.
    Opadokun said: “Most of those in the National Assembly today were in the Abacha’s five leprous fingers of one hand. They were roaming from one party to the other. That is why they have no regard for the Nigerian state. And they are behaving like they are the current political operators. When we were fighting for democracy, they were hands-in-gloves with the military oligarchy. They must watch it and be careful.
    “And from all indications, the Coalition of Nigerians Against Corruption has given us sufficient indications that the files found in Magu’s home were taken home by him to work on them. So, why should that be a serious allegation against any serious officer.
    “In any case, the coalition gave us sufficient indication of their knowledge that one of the files was that of the petition against one of the leaders of the Senate.
    “So, you now expect such a Senate to confirm Magu as the substantive EFCC chair. We should understand in the Nigerian Senate of today, of the 109, there are practical evidences that almost one quarter among them are facing criminal prosecution. The former governors, who are now so-called senators, many of them are facing criminal prosecution. Some other politically-exposed persons are facing criminal prosecution initiated by the EFCC. They in the National Assembly and their collaborators, who are not there, are combining forces together to deny Magu the chance of being confirmed.”
    He added: “I think it is an unfortunate dimension to our national crisis. Our national crisis of identity is being further damaged by the conduct of the Nigerian state.
    “ I will like to say that President Muhammadu Buhari, by his conduct and behaviour over Magu’s confirmation, is indicating to his admirers and those who voted for him that he is no longer in control of his government. There are three major unfortunate developments that are showing a divided Presidency. Clearly, perhaps the Buhari we thought we knew in the 80s is totally a different personality now. Mark you, what was going for General Buhari that led many of us to whip up sentiment in his support, to persuade and mobilise a large crowd of people – both Christians and Moslems and those who don’t believe in anything that he was the right choice – was our understanding and belief that he is a clean person; that he has the capacity to fight corruption to a standstill and; that he is a marathon runner and not a relay racer.
    “Unfortunately, this Magu’s dimension has brought out a terrifically disappointing understanding of what Buhari could do. I daresay, the fact that the Presidency sent the nomination of Magu to the Senate and it was there for six months and Mr. President could not get that name cleared and confirmed is a great disappointment. It is an indication of a fundamental inadequacy on his part.
    “This is the first time there would a demonstration of divided loyalty in the Presidency that ought to work together. How can the Nigerian Presidency send the name of Magu for confirmation and yet another arm of the same executive called Department of State Service (DSS) went ahead to write one spurious report against Magu. It is a clear indication that it is a divided Presidency.
    “I will like to clear our doubts. If President Buhari did not make enough background check on Magu before he nominated him to chair EFCC and sent his name for confirmation, that is a serious indictment on himself. The fact that the so-called DSS will be writing a spurious infantile-like, pedestrian report on Magu is an unfortunate dimension.
    “I see this as a humiliation of what Magu stands for and it is an unfortunate dimension to the so-called anti-corruption determination of President Buhari.”
    Opadokun urged the President to be on his guard.
    “The only reason why people voted for him massively was because of his promise to fight corruption to a standstill; because if we don’t fight corruption, corruption will fight us. The Nigerian state today cannot provide anything social services.
    “If President Buhari failed to get Magu confirm, no doubt about it, he must have lost significant portion of his admirers and those who voted for him.
    “Anyone telling anything contrary is deceiving him,” he said.

  • Nigerians should defend their rights, says Opadokun

    Nigerians should defend their rights, says Opadokun

    Convener of the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform (CODER) Chief Ayo Opadokun has urged Nigerians to stand up for their rights to make government accountable.

    Opadokun spoke yesterday in Lagos at a public lecture and presentation of a book in memory of the late rights’ activist Baba Omojola.

    The theme of the lecture was “Democracy and Politics of Ideas in Nigeria”.

    Opadokun, who chaired the occasion, said Nigerian parties lacked ideological focus, noting that opportunistic Nigerians collaborated with them to make the country suffer.

    He called on Nigerians to emulate the virtues of Baba Omojola to liberate the country.

    The CODER convener said Nigerians were satisfying the greed of politicians and their collaborators who have captured power.

    He said the politics of ideas ended in the Second Republic, when parties, such as Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and others campaigned on ideas, which they implemented.

    He said: “The UPN, for instance, had four cardinal programmes – free education, free medical services, gainful employment and integrated rural development – you could identify the party with these ideologies.

     “If you look at the cardinal programme, everything about governance that promoted the people’s welfare was encompassed in them. That was why many people were willing to die for these parties which they identified with their ideas.

    “Today, political parties have substituted ideology with money, ethnicity, religion, avarice and primitive accumulation of wealth. That is why you see a pauper, who was nothing yesterday, suddenly accumulates wealth to oppress his people.”

     The CODER convener said military intervention in the polity did the worst disservice to the country.

    “When I went through the book of General Chris Ali (rtd), which he described as Federal Republic of Nigeria Army, the book serialised what has become the fate of Nigeria today. Except for a few military men, the politicians in military uniform cornered Nigeria and its patrimony.

    “The constitution has never been from the people. It is a product of the military and its surrogates. The military has used the gun we bought to protect us, to seek undue advantage for themselves.

    “The way we are going, certainly Nigeria cannot develop; whether we like it or not, the truth of the matter is that we are not a developing nation, we are an under-developing nation.

    “You can image what happens to us in party politics today, for you to be a successful politician, the first thing you must do is that you have to organise your gang of robbers so that you can break into the Central Bank and steal enough to bribe the electorate,” he said.

    Rights’ activist Femi Aborishade said there was no difference between Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC), noting that after 16 years of the PDP’s unpopular programme, most of them have defected to APC to implement anti-people’s programme.

    “In Nigeria, the moment you are in APC you become a progressive, that is why you have all former members of PDP defecting to APC, who are now called progressives.”