Elder statesman Chief Abiola Ogundokun has stated that while the country is going through a hard spell, it should be noted that the hardship is a global problem and not just a Nigerian issue, adding that attacks aimed at the office and person of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu are misguided.
Ogundokun, in a statement in Ibadan on Tuesday, added that this is the time for elder statesmen and women across Nigeria to rise in unison and offer credible and patriotic solutions, as well as advice on how to move the country
forward and condemn the nefarious calls for the president to resign.
According to him, the evil machinations masked under the rights of expression must be unmasked and called out for what they truly are because, while the right of expression, including protests, is enshrined in Nigeria’s constitution, the wave of protests without a clear raison d’être for such ventures clearly betrays the sinister intentions of unpatriotic people who are bent on destabilising the nation for their personal gains.
He stated that “it has come to the notice of many patriotic Nigerians, including myself, of the fervent but misguided efforts aimed at attacking the office and person of the President, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. While there is indeed hardship in the country, it should be noted that this is a global problem, not just a Nigerian issue, and President Tinubu should rather be praised and commended for steadying the ship of state in these challenging times than the vain calls for him to resign.
“There is an economic slowdown and contagion across the globe, which calls for concerted efforts by all to salvage the situation for the benefit of Nigerians and Nigeria. Gratefully, the renewed hope agenda of Mr. President is taking root, even if slowly. But the evil machinations masked under the rights of expression must be unmasked and called out for what they truly are. While the right of expression, including protests, is enshrined in Nigeria’s constitution, the wave of protests without a clear raison d’être for such ventures clearly betrays the sinister intentions of unpatriotic elements who are bent on destabilising the nation for their personal gains.
“We must, therefore, be educated to the fact that if we allow fifth columnists to hide under the right to protest and they succeed in destabilising the country, the current situation will rather get worse. As I have insisted, this is the time for elder statesmen and women across Nigeria to rise in unison and offer credible and patriotic solutions and advice on how to move the country forward, as well as condemn the nefarious calls for the president to resign.
“I personally want to use this medium to appeal to elder statesmen like my friend and brother Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, my colleague and friend Chief Edwin Clark, and my brothers Emmanuel Iwuanyawu, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi to put Nigeria first in these critical times and shun the temptation to elevate personal disagreements at par with the national interest,” he said.
Chief Ogundokun added that “it is a fact that President Tinubu was elected by the Nigerian people; however, he inherited a badly managed economy, and some of the challenges Nigeria is facing today have been there for decades. The best that can be done, therefore, at this material time, is to support the president to get Nigeria out of the woods and not support the calls on him to resign. The president has the mandate of the Nigerian people, and any call on him to resign will be resisted by the people.
“This is because most of the hues and cries are grossly exaggerated and sponsored by people who go by the theory that if I don’t get it, I destroy it, whereas most of them are the foundation of some of these challenges. As a matter of fact, many of these people cannot explain the source of their emergency wealth.
“However, it should be noted that elections have come and gone and it is time to govern. Therefore, this is not the time to politicise governance, as it is being promoted by unpatriotic elements masquerading as rights advocates. I appeal to Nigerians to be more aware of these and other issues, especially the need to afford the president more time to fix some of the endemic challenges facing Nigeria.
“Let us move forward and put Nigeria first, bury the hatchet of hatred, failure, and animosity towards one another, and come together to assist the current administration with solutions and recommendations to achieve all that it has outlined in the Renewed Hope agenda because condemnation is not the solution. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!” he reiterated.
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