Wole Balogun, Ado Ekiti
Former Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) brought a culture of hate into Nigeria in 2015.
Lamido also alleged Nigerians made a grievous mistake by electing President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
Lamido, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and presidential aspirant, said Nigeria has never witnessed hatred and bloodshed across ethnic and religious divides since independence as being witnessed under Buhari.
He appealed to party leaders to form a strong alliance against the APC in 2019.
“We can defeat them easily if we all share the same thought and pains as Nigerians are feeling now.”
The former governor said this in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, when he conferred with Governor Ayodele Fayose on his presidential aspiration.
Lamido praised Fayose for his courage and criticism of Buhari’s government, and described the governor’s bravery as impetus to the country’s fledging democracy.
“You are a man of courage and a man of character, who is able to stand up for the people, in spite of intimidation. I respect you, I admire you and like you a lot.
“In PDP, we were in power for 16 years. Somehow, we lost out; we should ask the question, ‘where was Nigeria before PDP?’ The vision of our founding fathers, such as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Aminu Kano, Ahmadu Bello and Tafawa Balewa had been that there should be a Nigeria populated by human beings first, not tribes, regions or zones. We cannot forge ahead if we are governed by a culture of hate. We are failing today because we have people who are alien to democracy on board…”
In his response, Fayose described Lamido as eminently qualified to be president of Nigeria, and said he remains one of the few detrabilised Fulani leaders with capacity and exposure to deliver.