The Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON) Mr Osita Okechukwu Sunday begged the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo to adhere to ‘Utopian Solutions Distancing,’ to avoid setting Nigeria on fire.
Okechukwu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), made the appeal while reacting to Obasanjo’s statement titled, “Moving Nigeria away from Tipping Over.”
He said that what Nigeria needs now are credible inputs and not fueling of angst by those who by commission, or omission, planted the reprehensible seeds that are manifesting today in the country.
Okechukwu appealed to the elder statesman and other patriots to join President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) in building pragmatic-consensus solutions by ‘adhering to the imperative of Utopian Solutions Distancing’.
He said, “True! True! Things are hard, no doubt. I wholeheartedly agree with our elder statesman, Chief Obasanjo that things are tough for us Nigerians, and ground is not level. But the truth is that the President Buhari I know is not happy about the insecurity in the land or happy that Nigeria scored the infamous position of World Poverty Capital.
“His effort may not be the best. However, he is working round the clock on how best to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years, hence the unprecedented Buhari’s Agrarian Revolution, one of his pragmatic-consensus solution, fixing of physical infrastructure and his effort in release of monies accruing to local councils and state judiciary nationwide directly.”
On what he means by Utopian Solutions Distancing, Mr Okechukwu quipped, “I sincerely mean that we are in liberal democracy and as such one appeals to eminent patriots like our revered Chief Obasanjo and the leadership of Afenifere, Middle Belt Forum, Northern Elders’ Forum, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Pan Niger Delta Forum and their clan to as a matter of urgent national importance adhere strictly to the imperative of Utopian Solutions Distancing and cultivate fate in our fledgling democracy.
“One, is it not utopian to make laws in Nigeria today in isolation of the extant provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? Methinks the constitution is the grund norm, is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on all authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Our constitutional democracy has engrained provisions for periodic elections and subversion of this maxim may set Nigeria on fire.”
Okechukwu wondered how we will avert the tipping over when Chief Obasanjo, instead of prodding, persuading and lobbying the National Assembly to do the needful, was hailing the Northern Elders Forum and Yoruba Summit Group for disparaging the same National Assembly’s push towards amending the constitution? We elected the National Assembly and must at all times persuade and lobby them to do our biddings. Alternatively, we vote them out in the next election.
When reminded that Chief Obasanjo is saying that it is a waste of funds, for previous efforts by the National Assembly to amend the constitution, failed woefully.
Okechukwu said, “I agree, but maintain that change in democracy throughout history has been incremental and not a quickie. Democracy is not a revolution, but evolutionary in the real sense, so instead of condemning the National Assembly, we should join in persuading them to do the needful.”
He warned that any other option outside the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, whether we hate or like any section of the constitution is null and void, and therefore utopian.
“All Mr. President needs today is credible inputs, not fueling of angst; especially by those who by commission or omission corrupted the health of our democracy via questionable elections, 3rd Term gambit and imposition of candidates. Chief Obasanjo who was at the helm of affairs when Sharia was declared in certain sections of the country against our secularity, and looked the other way. The ignoble seeds he planted yesterday, possibly, are the seeds regrettably manifesting today.”
Okechukwu maintained that aside blame games, it would amount to self denial or selective amnesia to distant Boko Haram from gross unemployment arising from planlessness and “squanermania of past decades and the mishandling of Sharia declaration.”
