Barely two weeks after the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo released his special letter, where he passed a damning verdict on President Muhamamdu Buhari administration and dismissed the dominant two political parties in the country as lacking the capacity to turn around the fortunes of Nigerians, the third force which he advocated was unveiled yesterday in Abuja.
Nigerian Tribune checks revealed that associates of the former president graced the launching of the Coalition for Nigerian Movement.
In attendance were former governor of Osun State and interim chairman of the movement, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Dr Ahmadu Ali; former governor of Cross Rivers State, Donald Duke and Otunba Oyewole Fasawe. Former National Secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) Buba Galadima was also in attendance, Further checks revealed that besides stalwarts of the erstwhile ruling party, the PDP and he ruling APC, members of other opposition parties were sighted.
Among them was National Chairman of African Democratic Congress, Raph Nwosu.
Addressing the gathering, the former Osun state governor and APC chieftain, Prince Oyinlola in his opening remarks said the mission of the movement was to salvage the country, as he noted that Nigeria was drifting towards avoidable balkanization.
Oyinlola, who justified the content of Chief Obasanjo’s letter denied insinuation that the CNM was purely meant to promote the legacies of the former president.
He said: “To say that we are legitimising OBJ’s legacies is a beat off the mark. There is no one who can fault the issues raised in Obasanjo’s letter. Forget the messenger, let’s discuss the message.
What he has done is to stir us from our slumber to the reality of what is happening in Nigeria to take charge and take action. Are there no other leaders sitting around and watching how things are going? I think we should give some kudos to him for being able to address Nigerians on the ills of the society which requires attention.”
The APC chieftain further declared that the Coalition was not a political party, but however did not foreclose that it could transform to a political platform ahead of the forthcoming general elections.
“I am not tied down to a political party.We are not yet a political party but if we are going to metamorphose into a political party, it must be a collective decision.”
He expressed satisfaction over turn out at the event and the growing enthusiasm of Nigerians particularly the youths to associate with the Movement.
“It has been so encouraging and that is why we feel bold to carry on with the programme of the movement. The style of convening this movement is noble and it is quite different from any other we have had in this country.
“All the same, there is no other assurance to the survival of this movement other than your commitment to it, there is no magic anywhere.’’
The former Osun State governor who is the Chairman of National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) said he was ready to resign his membership of the board if it would undermine his diligence in his new assignment.
“This is a part-time commission which means I have only four meetings in a year but gets it straight: I joined a political party to serve my country and my service in NIMC is to my country and countrymen. If my being chairman will rob off my desire to see this movement to its greatest height, then the Chairmanship will yield.”
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Also speaking with newsmen, Alhaji Galadima said the CNM was not a political party, but a necessary reaction to what he called the loss of confidence in the ruling party by Nigerians as he dismissed the government under the leadership of his former confidant as a total
failure.
“It is not a political party. It is a movement being put together to salvage our country from the verge of disintegration.
“We have a President that seeks to be re-elected. Are you saying that this movement will support the quest?
“If that President wants to be re-elected then he can show us empirical evidence that he has performed in putting infrastructural development in the country; that he has put food on the table, and that he has managed to unify this country, then we will all be prepared to vote for him but if those indices are not available then he does not deserve a second term.”
Former Cross Rivers state governor, Donald Duke painted an unsavoury picture of the state of the economy under the present administration.
“Forget about the story that we are the largest economy in Africa, it is an imagination of numbers. There are so many people in Nigeria and even if we are doing nothing, it will still be the largest economy but in terms of productivity, we are nowhere.
“And if 39, 40 years ago, our federal budget is N25 billion and today, it is N23 billion and our population is about 180 million it practically explains where we are and what we have to do, the need to work as a coalition and change our nation.
“We have spokesmen across the country, in every senatorial district. They will also go back and replicate what we are doing here.
“If we can get the critical mass, then it is worthy of being a political party but if we can’t get the critical mass, then why go to the next stage.
“A political party requires numbers, we need to recruit people of like minds. We don’t have political parties in Nigeria, we have platforms.
And so people criss-cross from one platform to the other and all they are doing is seeking office not implementing a thought. We hope to come together and make that difference.
“We are also aware that a new generation is at the vanguard of taking over. While our generation is stepping back, the new vanguard will lead. We will step back and perhaps guide and share our experiences which will serve as a guide to the younger generation. “
and then