Human rights activist, Dele Farotimi, has stated that President Bola Tinubu was one of those that brought ex-President Muhammadu Buhari into power in 2015 and he cannot separate himself from the failures of the immediate past government.
The activist appeared on Channels Television Friday where he made the statement.
Tinubu succeeded Buhari, his party man, on May 29, 2023. Both are leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Many current Tinubu cabinet members, including Minister of Finance Wale Edun, have attributed the country’s present socioeconomic and security difficulties to Buhari’s eight-year double rule.
However, Farotimi said Tinubu actively marketed Buhari to Nigerians in the buildup to the 2015 general elections and cannot insulate himself from the failures of the Buhari government.
The activist claimed that nothing has changed since May 2015, when the APC took over from ex-President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“The evidence of the last nine months is unimpeachable and cannot be denied. I know that the convenient excuse is that Buhari had damaged it (Nigeria) and he (Tinubu) is repairing it but who brought Buhari? Who was the chief marketer of Buhari in 2014/2015 when the ‘Change’ lie was sold to Nigerians?” he said.
Farotimi remarked that the Tinubu administration has done little to warrant optimism. Instead, he said Nigerians should ready themselves for additional problems beyond the economic pain caused by the withdrawal of petrol subsidies and the unification of foreign exchange windows.
Farotimi added that the future of Nigeria appeared bleak
He said, “I am going to be 56 years old this year and in my entire lifetime, we have never been far away from greatness than we are today. The future of Nigeria appears bleak than it has ever been in my entire lifetime.”
He blamed the rot in Nigeria to “each and every one of us” but “most importantly the “complete breakdown of the rule of law”.
According to him, Nigeria has copious laws in writing but there is no rule of law in our space as “the laws are observed more in breach”. “Nigeria as it is today is not ruled by law but by impunity,” he said. “When you look beyond that, you begin to look at the institutions of state.”
Farotimi said for the nation to move forward, the principles of justice must be enthroned, starting with the judiciary, the legislature, and the executive.
He also said Nigerians should understand that folks from other tribes are not their enemies but those who are beneficiaries of the rot in the system of government who have refused to reform the system and have weaponized poverty, ethnicity, and religion.
