A former Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF) and a Chieftain of the Yoruba Socio- Political Group, Afenifere, Chief Olu Falae has given reasons that the cabals in the Presidency wanted to draft the former President Goodluck Jonathan into the 2023 election.
Falae said in Akure that the moves were motivated by an alleged attempt to quickly return power to the North. He said that some powerful forces wanted the immediate former president back in office because he could not spend more than four years in power.
“The man you threw away from government, Goodluck Jonathan was “a problem man, an incompetent man, he was an idiot, an imbecile.” There was no name they didn’t call him. Now you are going back to ask him to come back to rule.
“And there is only one reason for that. The only reason they are asking Goodluck to come back is because he has spent one term as president. They don’t want the presidency to be in the South for more than four years. They want it quickly back in the North. So they want to use Goodluck to achieve that objective against his own people.
“They don’t care what he does if he goes back and he is a bigger “thief” this time, if he is more “incompetent” this time, it does not bother them as long as they get power quickly back. Are we on the same plane? Do we have the same objective?
“They will sacrifice anything Nigeria as long as they get what they want. So this is where we are, and that’s why we need a political party not what I call opportunistic gang up for power. That’s what PDP is; that’s what APC is; opportunistic gang up for power, not parties,” he said.
The Afenifere leader likened the APC “to the army which after forcefully assuming power, seizes the control of apparatus of power at the national and state levels including the nation’s treasury and the state governments among others.
“Look at the run off to the party primaries. It’s like war at all levels. That is because the objective of the aspirants is personal, financial. It’s not how to get Nigeria out of the crisis, unemployment into prosperity. That’s not why they are fighting.
“They are fighting because they want to be the ones to grab the national treasury. That’s what it’s all about.
“So, without restructuring, we are wasting our time because the English man was not a fool when he gave us a true federal constitution. It is within the ambit of a true federal constitution that 448 different ethnic nationalities can co-exist with reasonable amity and peace.
“But this quasi-unitary constitution which is what some people want to hang on because it suits them is a faulty arrangement. Some people are happy about it; some are not happy about it.
“There can never be peace. Those who feel it’s not fair will forever fight it. Those who feel they’ve won a lottery would grab it,” he said.
He maintained that without restructuring, Nigeria is heading for the rocks, as there could never be peace in the country with “this quasi-unitary constitution which is what some people want to hang on because it suits them is a faulty arrangement,” without doing the needful.
(Vanguard)
