Resign for peace sake, Lam Adesina urges Jonathan

Lam Adesina

Former Oyo State Governor Lam Adesina has a piece of advice for President Goodluck Jonathan – he should resign,  if it will bring peace.

Adesina’s advice came on the heels of wanton destruction of lives and properties by the fundamentalist Boko Haram sect in the North.

A similar counsel from the sect asking the President to either covert to Islam or resign as the condition for peace was spurned by Jonathan.

Adesina, who spoke during the 2012 Ramadan Tefsir lecture held at the Gbadamosi Olowoporoku Adesina Memorial Mosque, Felele, Ibadan, admitted that impeachment through voting remains the conventional way of removing or sacking a president.

According to the former governor and one of the leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), before the coming into power by President Jonathan, the country was relatively very peaceful. 

He said: “After a thorough assessment of the situation, it is my belief that we must achieve peace at this point in time because if there is no peace now, then Nigeria is going to collapse.

“Therefore, while I am calling on the Boko Haram sect to soft-pedal, I am calling on President Jonathan, if it is his resignation that will bring about peace in Nigeria, let him resign. 

“To me, it has become abundantly clear that peace in Nigeria may not be achieved by President Jonathan. These people (Boko Haram) are bent on evoking violence on the people of this country.

“If there is a way by which President Jonathan can stop the Boko Haram, let him continue, but definitely I don’t think this thing can continue indefinitely. Every peace-loving Nigerian is tired of what is happening today. That is why I am saying if it is resignation that will bring peace in Nigeria, let him resign.” 

Speaking on: “The effect of fundamentalism on Islam,” the Head of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan, Prof Abdul Rahmon Oloyede, said the activities of the Boko Haram sect in the past few months have proved wrong those associating Boko Haram with Islam. He described the sect as a tool in the hands of some politicians. 

Oloyede, who explored the effect of fundamentalism on Islam across the globe, called on governments to make religious studies compulsory in all schools.

By so doing, he said, Nigerians would be well enlightened on the tenets of their religion, especially Islam.

At the occasion were the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Azeez Arisekola Alao, the Iyalode of Ibadanland, Chief Mrs. Aminat Abiodun, former Power Minister Elder Wole Oyelese, the ACN chair in Oyo State, Chief Akin Oke, Head of Department, Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan, Prof Abdul Rahmon Oloyede, Caretaker Committee chairmen of the 33 council areas in Oyo State and notable Islamic leaders in the state among others.

The Source: The Nation