Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has sensationally declared that all Nigerians are victims of what he described as “incompetent and ineffective” government.
Obasanjo said this on Sunday, while addressing members of the Nigeria Young Professionals Forum and New Nigeria 2019 in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
The former president canvassed for strong and grassroots movement to chase away the government he said is fond of needless blames at the detriment of Nigerians.
He challenged the groups led by Moses Stasis and China Anyaso to be ready to wrestle power from the “power addicts” who are bent on dividing the country along religious, age, gender and lines.
Obsanjo insisted that the citizens would always be victims of incompetent and ineffective government if the people refuse to take their destiny in their hands.
According to him, neither the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) nor Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would bring about any desirable change in Nigeria.
He wondered why President Muhammadu Buhari is nursing the idea of re-contesting in 2019 when he has failed to fulfill his campaign promises.
He said: “For us to make it, we need all hands on deck. You see, I have publicly said, and I mean it that as a party, neither PDP nor APC can get us there. Never mind about reforms and apology and all that; and yet we have to get there.
“I believe strongly that we must have a strong popular grassroots movement to bring about the change, sustainability and stability that we need in our democracy and development.
“What those I call power addicts would want to do is to divide you based on gender, age, tribe, religion and region. You have one commonality – interest of Nigeria. And it doesn’t matter where you come from.
“The truth is this: when you have an ineffective and incompetent government, we are all victims. And don’t let anybody deceive you. Those of you who are in business, your business could have been better today if we have a competent and effective and performing government.
“As I said, stop giving excuses; we met challenges. If there are no challenges, then we wouldn’t need you to come. You came in because you know there are challenges and then giving us excuse that you have many challenges, that is why you haven’t achieved results. And then you still want to go.
“The first lesson I learnt in my military training is never reinforced failure. What we have now is a failure. Never you re-inforce failure. Let failure be a failure.
“And if you do not see what you should see, you will then be a victim of what you don’t like because it’s only when you see what you should see and you do what you should do that you put away what you do not like. And if you don’t see what you should see and you don’t do what you should do, you will be a victim of what you don’t like.”
Obasanjo urged the citizenry not to be deceived by the promises of APC neither should they accept the recent apology tendered by the opposition PDP.
“But let us bring together all these movements because we are pursuing the same thing. If we allow ourselves to be taken piecemeal, it is finished.
“Yes, I said you cannot take PDP as it is an APC as it is; but they are not all made of evil people. There are good people among them. I said PDP is leprous hand, APC is leprous hand, but there are some clean fingers in them.
“So, let’s take those clean fingers in them and graft the clean fingers in our own. That is the way to go and if we go that way, we will get there, we will move together, and we will move fast and we will move far,” he added.