Former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress and former governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande yesterday, described the regime of President Goodluck Jonathan as government of impunity and power tyranny.
Akabde who also described President Jonathan as an ingrate to Yoruba people, acussing him of marginalising the Yoruba “in all constitutional appointments”.
The national leader of the APC who spoke in Abeokuta at the 1st Inaugural Lecture organised in the memory of a former Premier of the old western region who died in 1975, Chief Dauda Adegbenro .
Akande in his keynote address titled, “Adegbenro Fought Against Regimes of Impunity”, said Nigeria with Jonathan in power, was back under regimes of impunity where the president imposes leaders on states as he wishes.
He traced the origin of imposition of leaders on states by federal authorities to the crisis that engulfed the western region in the 1960s.
He said “We are back in similar era of using the regime of impunity in Jonathan’s federal government to impose unwanted individuals as leaders in each of the states of Yoruba land”.
Speaking further, Akande described Jonathan as an ingrate who according to him has been persecuting the Yoruba race since emerging president at 2011 polls .
He said the president has marginalised the people of the South West in scheme of things.
He also submitted that Jonathan’s regime is one that has disrespected Yoruba the most in the history of the country , vowing that people like him and his followers would carry on the struggle against what he called ‘power tyranny’.
Akande further stated that part of the strategy President Jonathan is employing and which further reinforces his ingratitude is the use of divisive propaganda to cause disaffections among various ethnic nationalities in the country for selfish reasons.
“Apart from marginalising the Yoruba in all constitutional appointments of his government, Jonathan’s trait has always been to persecute the Yoruba leaders who he perceived to have contrary views to his own.”
“Jonathan’s first and most significant acts of ingratitude to the Yoruba was when he maliciously arrested and prosecuted unjustifiably Dimeji Bankole and Senator Bola Tinubu.
“His other acts of ingratitude include divisive propaganda to cause disaffection among various ethnic nationalities and religious divides with a view to undermining the security of Nigeria, so that the Nigeria people shall begin to panic and live in fear.
“No government has ever disrespected the Yoruba like the Jonathan administration. But it is yet morning because a few of us with our followers are resolved to continue the struggle for a just and democratic Nigeria. More importantly, though for a Yoruba nation that can stand up against discrimination, nepotism and power tyranny.
“His other acts of ingratitude include divisive propaganda to cause disaffection among various ethnic nationalities and religious divides with a view to undermine the security of Nigeria,” Akande said.
While speaking on the process of the merger of defunct Action Congress of Nigeria with other political parties, Akande said President Jonathan worked against the formation of APC stressing that the president did his best to make APC registration a tough task.
According to him, the Action Congress of Nigeria, A C N, going into alliance with other opposition parties to form a strong opposition in the mold of APC, does not translate to abandoning south west or looking for undue favours from the north as CPC and ANPP were not ruling party at the centre
“No one can accuse the A C N leaders of cringing or for undue clinging to the northern leaders for selfish material gains by securing the merger of oppositions in Nigeria because federal power were not in the hands of the northern leaders of ANPP and CPC when the merger op opposition parties was enacted”.
The guest lecturer, Prof. Ademola Popoola, a former Daean of the Faculty of Law of the Obafemi Awolowo University, stressed the need for Nigeria to promote and strengthen her democratic institutions.
Popoola spoke on the theme : “Is Nigeria Democratising? Reflecting On The Past, Interrogatingthe Present, Remembering an Unsung Democrat.”
The event had in attendance representatives of Ogun and Kano States governors, captains of industry, the academia, students unions, especially students of DS Adegbenro ICT polytechnic and children of the late premier.
By Daud Olatunji
