FORMER military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida has told President Goodluck Jonathan that all is not well with the country, just as he said that the arrest of former Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Nasir El-Rufai, at the weekend by security agents was a distraction.
Also, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) condemned arrest and prolonged detention of El-Rufai, saying such action by a "transformational'' government is dangerous, diversionary and negates the tenets of democracy.
In a statement issued by his media aide, Kassim Afegbus, yesterday in Abuja, Babangida noted that all that is required in the country now is to carry out both moral and political healings by addressing some burning issues such as the minimum wage and petroleum subsidy crises.
"President Goodluck Jonathan must sit back, collect himself and carry out a critical self-appraisal before he takes his decisions. He is aware without mention, that the country is presently faced with several developmental challenges. The nation's security agencies must avoid getting involved in political issues.
"Modern day security has evolved to a point where you do not require seeing gun-wielding policemen on the streets. The ability to collate information and analyse same in a proactive manner will help improve the security situation in the country. We must carry out moral healing as well as political healing in the land. The president must make it a point of duty to reach out to people, groups and individuals with the sole purpose of selling his presidency."
According to Babangida: "It is becoming instructive that the concept of winner-takes-all which has pervaded the system for so long may not flourish as such again. The polity is heated up; minimum wage crisis, arrests, petroleum subsidy debate, crisis over ministerial nominees, Islamic banking, and several other issues. Nigerians truly need positive governance, which I think we should work for rather than dissipate energies on frivolous issues that would not lead us any where.''
The former military president also said that recent events in the country call for sober reflection and not gambling by way of arrest like the case of El-Rufai.
In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the ACN wondered why the former minister could be so harassed for merely expressing his opinion in a syndicated article, when freedom of expression is one of the rights enshrined in the country's constitution.
The ACN spoke as the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) vice presidential candidate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, called on President Jonathan to avoid a situation where credible people would be forced and scared away from the polity because of indiscriminate arrest and detention over trivial issues.
Bakare urged Jonathan not to make similar mistake made by some of his predecessors, "who through indiscriminate arrest and intimidation of their perceived opposition scared credible people away from the polity, a situation that jeopardised robust arguments and contribution to the development and growth of the country."
Reacting to the interrogation of El-Rufai by the SSS over an inciting statement, Bakare said there was nothing so serious about what Rufai said that could have warranted his arrest or arraignment.
The Guardian
Well said! I hope the president will learn from it. Nigeria should not be living in the past but be focused on reshaping the future of the country. Freedom! Not yet in Nigeria's dictionary because the system of government still remains "MilitoCrazy" rather than DemoCrazy. Believe!