Foremost traditional ruler in the country, Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu has earlier pointed an accusing finger on former President Olusegun Obasanjo as the number one problem of Nigeria.
The Oba who lamented these at the launch of a memoir written by former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, says , “Obasanjo is Nigeria’s number one problem, but Nigeria will not break”.
The frontline monarch said two days ago, he read Osoba’s interview in a newspaper where he said Obasanjo deceived them which was why they lost their seats in 2003.
The monarch said he thanks God that former Governor of Lagos, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu did not fall into the trap and won his re-election.
However, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and others called for unity among Nigerians as the panacea to defeat insecurity and ethnicity plaguing the nation.
VP Osinbajo said the subject of the book was the tragedy of ethnic jingoism and tribal issue being played by politicians to divide the nation along ethnic lines, lamenting that ethic and religious prejudice had been a problem, which led to the civil war of 1967.
He said, “the story of Osoba told us how political elite played the ethnic card to steal the mandate of the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1992 Presidential election, late Moshood Abiola”.
Osinbajo stated that the then National Republican Convention, NRC, played the ethnic card in ensuring that Abiola did not get his mandate after the annulment by making it look like the struggle was for the Southwest zone alone, which gave the military the temerity to stand by the annulment, adding that ethnic card had been the problem of the nation.
Adding that politicians played the ethnic cards during the build up to the 2015 presidential election by branding President Muhammadu Buhari as the sponsor of Boko Haram in a bid to Islamise Nigeria, adding that as the threat of Boko Haram was being curtailed, people came to realise that they were being deceived by politicians.
He further described terrorism as an evil that must be seen as the common enemy of all religions, saying that Boko Haram, ISIS and the rest fed on hate, poverty to exploit the people, hiding under the tenet of Islam to perpetrate atrocities, as “they are satanic.”
“The challenge is for us to recognize these problems and destroy this evil, every evil can be defeated by the power of unity. The book speaks on power of building bridges, especially in a nation like Nigeria where ethnic card holds sway. We must never underestimate the power of interaction,” he said.
Also speaking, Tinubu described former Head of State, Abubakar Abdulsalami, who was the chairman of the occasion as one of the few trusted soldiers, recalling that he could remember a night spent with him when Abiola wanted him to intervene in the annulment.
Senate President, Ahmed Lawan congratulated Osoba for the memoir, saying that the book was full of lessons for Nigerians as the country is rich in diversity.
The Late MKO Abiola’s running in the 1993 presidential election,Babagana Kingibe said Osoba’s narration of events as encapsulated in the book were factual.
He described Nigeria as a huge elephant with several parts and components, saying that all component and parts of must unite in diversity for the progress of the nation.
Earlier, former military head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubarkar urged Nigerians to unite to fight rampaging insecurity in the country, saying that all hands must be on deck to ensure peace and security in the country.
