•OBJ deceived us in 2005 –Sagay
Convenor of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG), Pastor Tunde Bakare yesterday dismissed the positions of President Goodluck Jonathan and All Progressives Congress (APC) leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, saying both were insincere on the national conference.
Speaking at the maiden lecture of a new organization, Centre for Change, the cleric stressed that Jonathan and Tinubu were not saying the truth on the conference.
According to him, Jonathan does not cut the picture of somebody serious with the conference as his body language depicts the fact that he was running away from the idea of making it sovereign.
On the part of the former Lagos State governor, Bakare wondered why Tinubu who had been a strong advocate of a national conference had suddenly become a critic of the same exercise.
He, however, urged Nigerians to ensure that they fully participate in the conference, not minding the body language of those in authority.
His position was corroborated by Prof. Itse Sagay, who accused former president Oluesegun Obasanjo of deceiving Nigerians on the same conference during his tenure.
According to him, this was the reason he and other delegates representing the South-South opted out for their own conference.
Sagay said the proposed conference was needed by Nigerians to discuss the way forward as a country. Specifically, he said it was not a must that other regions in the country must agree on the way they wanted to be governed.
According to him, this was in view of the fact that certain things may not interest some areas, while others may want such.The President of the new group, Dr. Joe Oke-Odumakin, said the nation required change in all facets to move forward.
She reasoned that Nigerians need a country that works for the benefit of the people.Oke-Odumakin stressed that the outcome of the proposed conference must not be tinkered with, except through a referendum.
In his lecture, Prof. Pius Adesanmi of Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, lamented the state of the nation, declaring that Nigeria had deteriorated in all facets.He blamed this on the fact that Nigeria lacked a soul to make it function optimally.
This, he said, was the reason Nigerians don’t respect their country and do to her the biggest damage without blinking an eye.
Source: Sun
