Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has said that he would do everything ‘humanly’ possible to protect and safeguard the nation’s nascent democracy current under threat in the hands of the All Progressives Congress-led government.
He spoke yesterday at the public presentation of a book, “Politics As Dashed Hopes in Nigeria” authored by Dr Auwalu Anwar, where he was the chairman of the occasion.
He said while President Muhammadu Buhari and APC should be given the credit for the ouster of the former President Goodluck Jonathan and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led government when Nigerians were disenchanted, noted Buhari has failed in all indices of development.
He noted that President Buhari has failed in almost four years into his administration to provide security, fight corruption and create jobs for teeming Nigerians youth as clearly pointed out by the author in his book.
He congratulated the author for the courage, the discipline and the research work he undertook to write the book.
Obasanjo said he attempted to read the book and saw what he termed the author’s frustration which led to a somewhat melancholic title of the book.
He said even though he was not at the occasion to review the book but to speak on some issues since the book is about Buhari Campaign Organisation (BCO) Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Progressives Congress (APC) and Buhari’s political life, up to second years of Buhari’s administration.
He said: “I will touch on three or four points that will be of interest for all of us at this juncture. Dr Anwar pointed out that President Buhari served the purpose of galvanising efforts to get Jonathan and PDP out of office.
“Buhari and APC must get the credit for that have strengthened our democracy. Because democracy without strong opposition is like marriage without the bridegroom to consummate the marriage.
“But on the mid-term scorecard, Dr Anwar pointed out three significant and tangible areas of failure- security, fighting corruption and job. creation. As at today, these three areas are still where they were at mid-term, not yet a success story.
“Dr Anwar also touched on three critical but intangible areas of failure, which includes reciprocal loyalty, exemplary leadership which include character and power for its sake or what I may call power for self-aggrandisement.
“Well, I understand where Dr Anwar is coming from to get the title of his book. But we must replace despair with optimism.
“Only last November at the launching of the Africa Progressive Group (APG), I raised five pillars African development, growth and progress as politics, population, protection, prosperity and partnership.
“Politics which is essentially governance has overarching importance over other four pillars but I am not in despair. And I will ask Dr Anwar and the rest of us not to be in despair because our hope lies in democracy,” he said.
He noted that the hope of the nation lies in a democracy with good governance, which the hallmark is a free, fair, transparent and credible election.
He disclosed that elections would take place in four significant countries in West Africa between now and next year -Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire. In the four cases, the incumbents were in opposition and took over from the ruling parties.
He said that was good for strengthening and deepening of democracy, saying the world was watching how the elections in these countries would cumulatively strength, deepen and stabilise democracy in the four countries.
“As for me, I will do everything humanly possible to safeguard democracy in Nigeria and I believe that is the main purpose of Dr Anwar’s book,” he said.
He warned that there was no need for any Nigerian to stand aloof when evil is perpetrated, saying anybody who cherishes democracy must work hard to safeguard it.
Obasanjo said that the time has come when every Nigerian must have a Nigerian dream where there must be some commonalities, even as he said that in assessing the mid-term government of Buhari, security, fighting corruption and job creation remain where they were when the government started as it was not yet a success story.
According to him, if Nigeria as a country must get it right, especially entrenching good democracy, there must be good governance, free and credible elections.
Speaking, yesterday, at the Public Presentation of a book titled, “Politics As Dashed Hopes In Nigeria”, by Dr. Auwalu Anwar, Obasanjo, however, urged Nigerians to rise and defend the country’s fledgling democracy.
The former President said that he would do everything within him that was humanly possible to safeguard democracy for good governance in Nigeria and for all Nigerians, just as he said that in the next couple of months, four West Africa countries of Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire will be having their elections, adding that one common feature is that the four incumbent presidents were in the opposition and people voted for them.
He said that the world is watching to see how they would strengthen democracy in their respective countries.
Obasanjo, who was the chairman of the book presentation at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, said that democracy without a strong opposition is akin to a marriage without a bridegroom to consummate the marriage.
The book, which is published by Safari Books, is made up of 22 chapters, with 614 pages.
The former President said, “I am not in despair and I would ask the rest of us not to be in despair; our hope lies in democracy with good governance as one of the hallmarks which is free, fair, transparent and credible elections.
“What should be our take home; yes things may be gloomy, things may not be what they should be, yes leadership may be underperforming, we must not lose hope, that is the first thing.
“The second is that I believe we must have some commonalities that we will all hang on to. One our common nationality, Nigeria; this is the time when we must have a Nigerian dream, what is Nigerian dream, what can I hang on to? Yes, I am a Nigerian and because I am a Nigerian I expect this.
“And I believe if we all see ourselves first as Nigerians and then we enunciate for ourselves the Nigerian dream, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land of opportunity, a land that gives you a stake in all that it is, I think, we will have a country that we can all be proud of.