Former National Vice-Chairman of
the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Olabode George, has slammed a former Governor
of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, for describing ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo as
a religious and ethnic bigot.
Pa George, a former military
governor of Ondo State, spoke to journalists at his Ikoyi office in Lagos.
He accused Lamido of
disrespecting Obasanjo, whom, according to him (George) was a concerned
nationalist.
Obasanjo had recently alleged
that there was a grand plot by some elements to foist a Fulani and Islamic
agenda on Nigeria and other West African countries.
But in a quick response, Lamido
said Obasanjo should not allow his displeasure with the current administration
make him a religious and ethnic bigot.
George said Obasanjo has the
right to express his observation over the incursion and increased activities of
herdsmen in the South West.
He said, “Things have never been
this bad in this country and the way that we are going about it is creating
unnecessary division. What is our problem as Nigerians?
“When Obasanjo left office as
military head of state in 1979, a lot of Yoruba people blacklisted him saying
he should have handed over to Pa Awolowo instead of a Fulani man. There was no
name that he was not called, but Obasanjo is a straightforward person.
“Recently, he made a comment as
an observation that things are not going right in this country. The incursion
of herdsmen is disturbing.
“He is also a farmer and a lot of
farmers are complaining bitterly that their farms are being ravaged. My friend,
the former governor of Jigawa, Sule Lamido accused Obasanjo who has always been
a nationalist of being a bigot.
“What Lamido said was absolute
nonsense and an insult. Does he know what Obasanjo suffered? Was it not the
same man who made Lamido whom he is by giving him the opportunity to become a
minister?
“But he is now turning round to
call him a bigot. Why did Lamido not find out from Obasanjo why he made that
statement?
“Wole Soyinka made the same
observation that Obasanjo made and you know that both men are not usually on
the same page.
“Maybe we should reverse roles
and get some Agbekoya farmers from the South West to go to Lamido’s village and
start ravaging farmlands, and then we would know what he would say.
“What is right is right and what
is wrong is wrong. I invite Lamido to come to the South West and I will take
him round the villages so that he can see what these farmers who are losing
their livelihoods are feeling.
“Our people are complaining about
the sudden incursion and increased activities of herdsmen in the South West;
why can’t Lamido see through that prism?
“We should be careful about some
of the reckless comments that we make. Does it mean if tomorrow an Igbo man
becomes the president, Igbo traders will now carry cutlasses and chase everyone
away from their villages?
“Buhari should use his position
as the President of the Fulani herdsmen in West Africa to calm these people
down. It is a challenge to him.”
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