ORIKINLA TAKES ON OBASANJO, THE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA (PART ONE)

"PDP Has Transformed Nigeria," Says Obasanjo

"PDP Has Deformed Nigeria," Replies Orikinla

OBJ:I feel very delighted to welcome you all, great men and women of our great Party: the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Since its formation, we have seen our party become stronger, bolder, larger, and steadily institutionalized.

ORI: Yes, institutionalized tyranny and kleptocracy.

OBJ: When we say that we are the largest political party in Africa, it is not a joke. It is the truth and we must be proud of that fact.

ORI: Yes, and also the largest kleptocracy in Africa.

OBJ:In addition, we have succeeded in learning from our experiences, strengthened our institutions and structures, built discipline, and mapped out an agenda for progress, prosperity and development.

Let me use this opportunity to thank the founding fathers of our great party for their vision, patriotism and sense of nation. I commend them for giving to Africa such a strong and focused political party that is setting the pace on many fronts as we collectively march towards democratic consolidation.

ORI: You have succeeded in learning nothing from the mistakes of the past, you have destroyed the institutions and structures of democracy and governance in Nigeria. And you have betrayed your so called “founding fathers” that you have abused and misused their trust. And you have given Africa nothing but monstrosity and notoriety in dirty and filthy party politics and setting the pace in corruption, rigging of elections, political thuggery and assassinations and kleptocratic consolidation.


OBJ:Let me very briefly give you a report of our stewardship in Government. You are all very familiar with what we met in 1999: a totally dislocated, fragmented, decaying, badly governed, highly demoralised, and corruption-stricken nation and people. Not only was civil society suffocated, but political spaces were closed, and there was not much economy to speak about. The vast majority of Nigerians relied on dubious and extra-legal coping methods of survival to the detriment of the soul of the nation.

ORI: You have no other report than your bad stewardship since 1999 to date. You have worsened the dislocation, fragmentation, decadence, badly governed, highly demoralized and corrupt-stricken (you have turned it into corrupt-ridden) nation and disillusioned people. You have done even worse in suffocating civil society, you have violated the human rights of thousands of people your storm troopers murdered in the Niger Delta, in Odi, Odioma and other parts of Nigeria. Murdered innocent and armless protesters during several Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) strikes in Lagos, Benin, Abuja and other places. Bola Ige was murdered in your regime and about 1,000 lives have been lost in extra-judicial killings since you came to power in 1999. Chima Ubani and others died on the terrible roads you have failed to repair. And you have worsened the state of the economy as many of your cronies and proxies have been looting the treasury since 1999 to date. And the vast majority of Nigerians have been rendered homeless as your draconian regime dispossessed them of their accommodations from Lagos to Abuja and you have robbed Peter to pay Paul. You have made more Nigerians poorer than ever before.


TO BE CONTINUED.
WATCH OUT FOR THE PART TWO.