The ex-governor of Lagos State said, “No government that wants people’s votes will be doing what they are doing. They are already planning to rig the elections but be ready to protect your votes; nobody serves you freedom a la carte. It is going to be rig and roast.
“We are prepared not to go to court but to drive you out. We will not take it anymore. If you mess up in Ekiti and Osun states, you will see our reactions. For every action, there must be a reaction.”
Tinubu spoke at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, during his investiture as the chancellor of the university and the conferment of doctoral degree in Management Science on him.
The governorship poll in Ekiti is scheduled for June 21 while that of Osun comes up August 9.
The APC chieftain slammed the President Goodluck Jonathan’s government as “married to corruption,” saying the war against corruption by the government was a deceit.
He however said the leaders of the opposition party were ready to cooperate with the President and the Federal Government to find solution to the scourge of terrorism in the country.
The opposition leader’s promise of cooperation came ahead of Thursday’s (today) meeting of the President with the 36 state governors and security chiefs to discuss the escalating insurgence in the country.
The former Lagos State governor said that all Nigerians, irrespective of their political leanings or religious beliefs, must rise up against rising terrorism in the North-East, which he said had resulted in the deaths of many innocent citizens.
Tinubu said, “On the issue so vital to our national existence, we wish the government complete success as we believe patriotism stands above partisanship.
“We offer cooperation to the government. Whatever we can do, that is meaningful and productive in ending this scourge, and we are ready to enlist our services to strike peace in Nigeria and among her sons and daughters.
“Patriotism is about country, not about self or religious bigotry. On this issue all Nigerians must stand bi-partisan, united and in complete solidarity against the threat to our nation.”
He said the APC had no alliance with the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, or any other violent groups, saying anybody who engaged in such criminal activities in the name of politics was not fit to live.
He said further, “As for me and my party (APC), we abhor them (Boko Haram) and their violent ways. We have no pact with them and they have no pact with us.
“Although we are in intense political competition with the ruling party, our competition stays within the confines of electoral competition. We seek your votes, not your lives. Boko Haram is our enemy because the Nigeria we seek has no place for their wicked recreation.”
Tinubu said that the war being unleashed on Nigeria by the insurgents had reached a point where Jonathan should develop a grand strategy to put an end to the criminal activities of the insurgents.
He said Jonathan should call a regional summit where Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic would deliberate on joint intelligence sharing, joint peace and military action as well as socio-economic reforms to eliminate the threat by terrorists.
“Nigeria must also move the AU summit to jointly and decisively eliminate all sources of insurgency and eradicate all terrorists’ havens and sanctuaries within the African Union, ” he added.
The APC leader decried the level of unemployment in the country, saying the recent classification of Nigeria as the leading economy in Africa, ahead of South Africa, was a film trick.
The event was attended by Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.); former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; the Interim National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande; and former Inspector General of Police, Chief Sunday Adewusi.
Others who attended included the Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi; his Osun State counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola; and Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed.
Earlier, an African-American educator from Chautauqua Institution, Dr. Robert Franklin, said that inequality was a real threat to democracy in Nigeria and in Africa as a whole.
Franklin said, “Unless plans for a democratisation of opportunity and a shared prosperity are in place, as Nigeria’s economy grows and the West African region becomes more robust we could see vast inequalities in wealth and power that have occurred in western industrial nations.
“All social commentators note that this is a threat to authentic democracy and social stability over time. It may benefit those at the top of the wealth pyramid for a while but as the Arab Spring shows us, if the poor get poorer while the rich get richer, unrest is likely to follow.”
Source: Punch
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