Prof. Ishaq Akintola, Director of Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC asserted that Obasanjo’s 18-page letter raised
grave concerns over some very serious national issues , he thereby asked
President Goodluck Jonathan to reply the letter addressed to him by former
President Olusegun Obasanjo recently and stop ranting.
In a
statement sent to SaharaReporters , the group said: “Most prominent among the issues raised in
Obasanjo’s monumental missive are the allegation that the president is
destroying the party; that he is currently training 1,000 snipers to deal with
opposition figures; that the president is not sincere about the war on
corruption and that the president has maintained a conspiratorial silence each
time his clansmen threatened the rest of Nigeria.”
“Is President Jonathan
waiting for angels to bring him answers from heaven?” MURUC asked. “The
issues raised are too fundamental to be brushed aside. They have to do with the
core principles of democracy: probity, accountability, justice, fairplay and
equal rights. They have to do with the welfare of the Nigerian people and how
to bring food to the common man’s table. We are talking of the security of
lives and properties and the president of this country who has been accused of
training professional assassins keeps mute.
The group went further ,“That line of reasoning is myopic,
infantile and therefore unacceptable,” it said, arguing that it is merely
designed to mislead gullible Nigerians. “CBN is on track on this issue of
missing $49.8b. CBN is not meddling into oil exploitation or its drilling. CBN
is talking about facts and figures of oil income and that is CBN’s
constituency. For Allah’s sake somebody somewhere is milking Nigeria dry in
preparation for 2015!” MURIC also questioned Mr. Jonathan’s take on Oduahgate,
asking why he is silent on the N255m scandal.
“If the president considers Stella Oduah as a sacred cow, then
he has desecrated his sacred office,” the statement said. “This woman has
been indicted by the committees which investigated her. Is there no limit to
executive protection of thieves and rogues in this country? What message is Mr.
President trying to pass to civil servants, artisans, teachers and students and
other young Nigerians? Is Nigeria’s image irredeemable? Should honest Nigerians
say goodbye to transparency out of frustration?” It called on the National
Assembly to stand firm on Obasanjo’s letter, reminding them of the words of
Malcolm X, “Power never takes a back step, only in the face of greater power;”
the corroborative compliment of Noah Webster who said, “Power is always right,
weakness always wrong. Power is always insolent and despotic,” and Thomas
Jefferson’s nail in the coffin of tyrants, "Rebellion to tyrants is
obedience to God."
According to MURIC,: “NASS must compel President Jonathan to
explain the rationale behind his actions. NASS is the last hope of the
people. Aso Rock is procrastinating and procrastination is the thief of time.
Further delay is not acceptable to Nigerians. Jonathan must speak up now.”
The group noted that
Obasanjo took it upon himself to write the letter as a major stakeholder in the
ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), also in his capacity as an ex-President and former Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) for several
years.
“The fact that the historical letter came soon after the
defection of five state governors from the PDP is quite didactic and shows the
major raison d’être for Obasanjo’s letter,” it explained.
