In a response to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s recent scathing attack on President Bola Tinubu and his government in the faraway United States, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Public Communication and Orientation, Sunday Dare, has stated that Nigeriaโs democracy endured severe setbacks under the former general.
The Special Adviser claimed that successive administrations struggled to rectify the damage left by Obasanjo and that President Tinubu is now making significant progress in addressing these issues.
In a statement shared on his X account on Monday, Dare said Obasanjo has lost any moral authority to criticize the current government, stressing that he should apologize to Nigerians for failing to lay the necessary infrastructure for the countryโs progress.
He said, โDemocracy suffered mortal wounds under his watch, only exacerbated by his destructive obsession with an ill-fated third-term bid.
โHe is a man with a tremendous capacity for mischief, and Nigerians know it.
โHis journey down the path of delusion has always been apparent, as has his descent into distorting facts, forgetting that he presided over a presidency that was among the most corrupt in history. His recent comments at Yale University lack sincerity.
โIt is laughable that Obasanjoโs pretensions about fighting corruption are failing to convince the general public.โ
Dare pointed out that under Obasanjoโs leadership, no explanation was ever given for the $16 billion wasted on generating โmegawatts of darknessโ across the nation.
โBut that is not even the main issue. The Yoruba proverb, โA o ki n wo ariwo oja, eniti a anba na oja ni a n wo,โ teaches that we should not be distracted by the noise of the market. Instead, we should focus on the person with whom we are negotiating.
โThis is an instructive lesson. In this market called Nigeria, the man with the โRenewed Hopeโ agenda is the one that matters โ President Tinubu and, indeed, Nigerians.
โEverything else is just โariwo ojaโ (market noise). This administration will remain focused on bringing relief to Nigerians. Obasanjoโs remarks are a reflection of the childish nature of market noise.
โPresident Tinubu will stay the course in seeing through the reforms he has initiated for a better Nigeria,โ he added.
The presidential aide advised Obasanjo to refrain from constantly criticizing his successors and to take time to reflect on how he has contributed to the parlous state of the Nigerian nation, which President Tinubu is now valiantly working to restore.
He concluded, โWe thank former President Obasanjo for acknowledging that โYes, there is hope.โ Thatโs the โRenewed Hopeโ agenda that President Tinubu is advancing, and itโs well on track. We look forward to having that conversation with the former president.โ
