Chinelo Obogo
Former national vice chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has slammed former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, for referring to former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, as a religious and ethnic bigot.
Speaking yesterday at his Ikoyi office in Lagos, George accused Lamido of disrespecting the former president, who he described as a concerned nationalist over the latter’s allegation of plans by some elements to ‘Islamise’ Nigeria and other West African countries.
Obasanjo recently alleged a grand plot by some elements to foist a Fulani and Islamic agenda on Nigeria and other West African countries. At the second session of the Synod of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, held at the Cathedral of Saint Paul’s Anglican Church, Oleh, Dleta State, Obasanjo said: “It is no longer an issue of lack of education and lack of employment for youths in Nigeria which Boko Haram began. It is now West African ‘Fulanisation’, African Islamisation and global organised crimes of human trafficking, money laundering, drug trafficking, gun trafficking, illegal mining and regime change.”
But Lamido told Obasanjo not to allow his displeasure with the current administration make him a religious and ethnic bigot.
“Please sir, don’t let your disappointment with sitting president’s turn you into a bigot. You must not abandon the national stage. The cracks along the various divides in our national cohesion are already turning into huge gorges,” he cautioned.
However, George backed Obasanjo, saying he has the right to express his observation over the incursion and increased activities of herdsmen in the South West.
“Things have never been this bad in this country and the way 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 Chief Obafemi 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 who 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? “ George fired.