September 1, 2018
Press Statement
PDP To Buhari: Your Comments On Illegal Migrants Insensitive
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says President Muhammadu Buhari’s
statement to German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, that Nigerians caught up
in their attempt to illegally enter Europe, are on their own, further
exposes him as an insensitive leader, who cares less about the plights
of his compatriots.
While the PDP does not, in any way, support illegal migrations, our
party holds that such does not warrant incendiary statement against our
citizens by no less a person than the President, who should be seeking
for ways to solve the problem.
The PDP notes that such statements by our President against Nigerians
fuel violent attacks and inhuman treatment being meted out against our
citizens abroad, including those with legitimate documents and engaged
in lawful activities.
The party says that President Buhari has shown that he is not bothered
that no fewer than 10,000 Nigerians died in the deserts between January
to May 2017 alone, while trying to escape the economic hardship and
escalated insecurity occasioned by his misrule.
Is it not disturbing to Mr President that reports by Nigerian
Immigration Services showed that many more Nigerians have been trapped
in detention and slave camps in various parts of the world?
Also, is it not an act of gross leadership failure that, in his outburst
against Nigerians, President Buhari admitted that they left in search of
“greener pastures”, yet he could not articulate any solution to mitigate
the suffering his administration has unleashed on our nation in the last
three years?
Mr. President knows he is the cause of the problem, yet he has no words
of assurances for suffering Nigerians. Instead, he has continued to
worsen the situation with unsavory statements against our nation and her
citizens whenever he is before an international audience.
If President Buhari is not condemning our youths as lazy and lovers of
freebies, he is disparaging our women as inconsequential or demarketing
our nation to investors as corrupt.
The PDP further holds that it is the duty of the President, as elected
leader of government, to pursue the fundamental human rights of his
citizens , as well as find solution to the problems that is pushing
Nigerians to adopt illegal migration, irrespective of the huge risks, as
option for survival.
Moreover, if the Buhari administration and the APC had not wrecked our
once robust economy, Nigerians would not be seeking for greener pastures
in other lands.
Furthermore, the PDP laments that in another exhibition of incompetence,
President Buhari could not articulate any strong response to the
economic proposals brought by the German leader, thereby squandering our
nations opportunity of benefiting from her visit.
It has therefore become clearer that there is no way our nation can
survive another four years under a leadership such as the Buhari-led APC
administration, hence the determination by Nigerians to rally on the
platform of the repositioned PDP to throw up a competent President to
effectively pilot the affairs of our nation, come 2019.
Signed:
Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary
