Tinubu: Nigeria still needs Obasanjo, Babangida, others

Sir: The news credited to the All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the effect that former President Olusegun Obasanjo and General Ibrahim Badamosi .Babangida should retire from politics or rather allow the nation to move forward by keeping quite is to me a ‘tongue in cheek’ comment.

More than any Nigerian living, Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida, General Yakubu Gowon, President Muhammadu Buhari and General T Y Danjuma have put their lives on the line for the survival of this nation at critical stages. It is therefore preposterous for Tinubu to now ask the duo to retire. In actual fact, they are the fathers of the nation and their opinion on any issue should be taken seriously. The two equally has their own foible while in power, apart from the first republic, the tenure of the duo are unmatched by any other in terms of achievement recorded by the nation. What I want to bring out is that they are experienced leaders whose experience is needed in moving this nation out of its socio-economic malady.

Besides, I believe that Tinubu is just being smart and playing safe because we are all witnesses to the visit made by him and accompanied by Bisi Akande and General Muhammadu Buhari to Abeokuta and Minna to seek the blessing of the elder statesmen when APC was formed and when Buhari was elected as APC presidential candidate. There is no doubt that the said visit to Minna especially paid off for Buhari and APC because Babangida was quoted by the media to have said, “We Generals will support him” that is Buhari,

Tinubu going by his age is a contemporary of these leaders and should have joined them in retirement. However, if he had retired, where would Lagos State be today? If he had retired who would have midwife the coalition that saved the nation from “16 years of being in the wilderness with PDP?

In all honesty, these leaders said nothing new in their letters to Buhari; which formed the basis of Tinubu’s furry against them. Every Nigerian knew that things are wrong with the nation especially the issue of herdsmen versus farmers and other sundry matters. Obasanjo and Babangida were just bold enough to bell the cat.

My grudge with Obasanjo and Babangida is that they should have held a closed door meeting with Buhari since they have unfettered access to him instead of writing an open letter, considering the effect of their personality and the damage their letters may have on the present administration’s future electoral fortune. I think Tinubu would have done better by advising the duo to seek the ears of the president each time they differ with him than going on air. This is better than asking them to retire when they are as fit as fiddles as elders to watch over the market in case the head of a child is wrongly placed.

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