NIGERIA, A TODDLER AT 100, SAYS TINUBU

The former governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has expressed
displeasure that after 100 years of its existence, Nigeria was still a toddler
crawling like a baby.
Tinubu made this known in Ado-Ekiti at the weekend, during a condolence visit
to the state governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on the death of his deputy, Mrs
Funmilayo Olayinka.

Tinubu, who fielded questions from journalists shortly after his
meeting with the governor, said it was regrettable that in her 100 years, the
country could not boast of any reasonable thing for her existence.

According to him, the administration of President Goodluck
Jonathan was nothing but a failure for its inability to secure the lives and
property of every citizen of the country as provided for in the constitution he
swore to protect in his service to the nation.

The ACN chieftain pointed out that it was disheartening for
Nigeria to be clueless after its 100 years of its existence and 53 years of its
Independence, saying this indicated that the present government has nothing to
offer Nigerians.

He declared that, “President Jonathan and the PDP have failed in
terms of security. Security is the engine room of industrial development. No
country would partner with you when you are not secured. The attacks on Nigeria
and its resources have caused a lot of inflation and retardation in the
economy.

“If a president is clueless about security at a time he is about
to celebrate the centenary of Nigeria’s existence and 53 years of Independence,
he cannot by now track and identify the root cause of terrorism, it means he
has nothing to offer the country.”

Also, speaking on the current Boko Haram onslaught in the North,
Tinubu said it would be a herculean task for any group to Islamise Nigeria,
saying “No one religion can eliminate the other in Nigeria.”

According to him, “Nigeria is a secular state. The constitution
recognises us as people and not as Muslims or Christians, so we should be able
to apply a holistic approach to settle our problems.”

He pointed out that the proposed amnesty for the sects became
imperative not only to end the bombings and killings in the North, but would
form a veritable platform under which the victims, particularly the living,
could be compensated.