I have spent almost the last 16 months battling pro-Buhari activists, who have labeled me an enemy of his administration, simply because of my forthrightness. For these pro-Buhari activists, anybody harbouring a strong opinion about the president’s failings is automatically an enemy. I have remained undeterred, because I am convinced that my cause is just. The poverty, disease, hunger and unemployment ravaging our nation have proved me right. I received a big consolation this week when I read Professor Pat Utomi’s interview, where he talked about extremists opposed to civilised conversation on Buhari’s failings. He remarked: “The problem is that Nigeria doesn’t have a public sphere. You can’t even have a civilised conversation. If you dare suggest that things could be done in a different way, you become the enemy of all those who are doing it the wrong way, including your own party members. For them, partisanship is the blind following of a failing option. You find out that people suddenly become enemies of their best friends, especially, when your best friends are not cheerleading the failed options.”
On foreign companies leaving Nigeria, he
remarked: If something that contributes 15 per cent of your GDP is
down, what of the other 85 per cent? As you and I speak, there are many
foreign companies that have pulled out of Nigeria or are getting ready
to pull out of Nigeria. It has nothing to do with oil prices. It just
has to do with how government officials are treating them- disrespect
for foreign investors and all the rest of it. Foreign Diplomats are
talking of how their companies are being disrespected; how they are
treating them at EFCC. So, it’s a much more complex issue than talking
about oil prices going down.” With these, I can conveniently rest my
case. Let’s continue the discussion on Twitter and Facebook
@yemiadebowale.
THISDAY
No comments:
Post a Comment