A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Emeka C. Kalu, has expressed support for the Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, over last week’s call for the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari and his government for failure to deliver on their promises since 2015, especially in the area of insecurity.
In a statement issued on Monday, Kalu, Director General (DG), Protocols, Peoples Democratic Party Youth Alliance (PDPYA), noted that insecurity had led to the death of several thousands of Nigerians under Buhari’s watch, stressing that apart from the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, many had been slaughtered on daily basis by herdsmen, bandits and other marauders in parts of the country.
Kalu maintained that Abaribe, rather than being vilified by the All Progressives Congress (APC) chiefs and the Presidency, should indeed be commended by all for speaking the mind of the downtrodden Nigerians who had been cowed by the highhandedness of the current administration.
The PDP chieftain, who also doubles as Director-General, Global Initiative for Good Governance, said that Abaribe’s call came at the right time, arguing that public opinion indicated that Nigerians from different social strata and all walks of life were happy for the boldness exhibited by the Senate Minority, which they believe had been lacking in the current National Assembly.
Kalu said: “It is very unfortunate that somehow we have made Buhari a demi-god that nobody can speak against him, even when it is obvious that he has lost control of the situations plaguing Nigeria.
“The fight against terror has become a lucrative venture where arrested Boko Haram members are released back to the society in the name of ‘Reformed/Ex-Boko Haram’ only for them to continue the fight endlessly because some people are feeding fat from the spoils of the war, while Nigeria citizens and gallant soldiers continue to die for nothing. So, it was high time we call a spade a spade.”
Kalu wondered why the Presidency and APC spokespersons should pick on Abaribe, calling him names for speaking what he termed the bitter truth, recalling how Buhari himself, Nasir el-Rufai, Bola Tinubu and several other chieftains of the ruling party had descended on former President Goodluck Jonathan, asking him to resign, even when issues of security had not deteriorated to the current alarming stage.
“So, I do not find anything strange in the call for Buhari’s resignation. Buhari is not a god that is beyond human errors. Such call is a move to wake him from his comfort zone.
“All the Service Chiefs have overstayed their tenure with little or no result. It is the president’s duty to reshuffle them because their positions are by appointment, not by election. You cannot be doing same thing for years and expect different results.
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“Any Nigerian that is truthful and a lover of freedom should know that Nigerians are not free. Disunity has never been as it is now in the history of Nigeria. Our judicial system has been reduced to zero, while every other arm of the government has been annexed to the Executive for total control.
“So, when we see a man courageous enough to reawaken the consciousness of the people, we should support and encourage them,” Kalu said.
Kaly also tackled an Igbo group, Igbo Movement in Nigeria (IMN) that reportedly condemned Abaribe, saying that such a group was unknown to Ndigbo and could not be speaking for the people of South East.
According to him, “There is hunger in Nigeria. Therefore, some people need to do certain things to eat from the crumbs from the tables of the masters whom Nigeria’s misfortune is their source of wealth.
“Only Buhari’s media handlers like Garba Shedu, Loretta Onochie and Femi Adesina attacked Abaribe, calling him names for speaking the truth. So, if any group towed that line and bearing the name ‘Igbo’, they must be a ‘peudo Igbo group’, because I have never heard about them before, neither do they speak for the Igbo nation.”
Kalu stressed that Abaribe’s patriotic call and those of other senators and members of the House of Representatives had forced the Presidency to have an emergency security meeting with the Service Chiefs, “and possibly the same reason for the meeting between Buhari and ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
“We expect that rather than attacking Abaribe for speaking the truth, the Presidency should adopt more proactive measures to tackle the numerous challenges facing Nigeria and stop playing the Igbo proverbial Okorie who busied himself in chasing the rats, while his house was on fire.”
