'You May Cover Your ‘Evil Work’ Here, You Can’t Cover It Before God' - Obasanjo Tells Jonathan
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has again torn at
President Goodluck Jonathan, saying Nigerian democracy remained at risk due to
the action of the present administration.
Speaking at a book Launch in honour of the pioneer chairman
of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, Mustapha Akanbi, in
Abuja, Mr. Obasanjo, who is the Chairman of the occasion, said the president
should stop encouraging ‘verbal violence which may not physically hurt but has
ways of degenerating into physical violence’.
Mr. Obasanjo said the greatest indictment against any
administration is to be seen trying to destroy opposition of all sorts which
invariably mean destroying democracy.
“Management of democracy without resorting to brute force
and dictatorial tendencies must be cultivated,” the former President said.
“As a leader, you must not deliberately do evil or condone
evil. You should know that you will one day give account to God, you may cover
up here, but before God, there is no cover up.”
The former president also spoke at length on the President’s
handling of the Boko Haram insurgency, corruption, the economy and youth
unemployment.
On insecurity, Mr. Obasanjo said Boko Haram is not out to
“frustrate anyone’s political efforts” and lamented that it took Mr. Jonathan
the years to fully understand the menace.
On corruption, Mr. Obasanjo said, “when the head is rotten,
the whole body is useless”
On the economy, he said Nigeria would continue to sink
deeper and that what Nigerians are told about the state of the economy “is not
truly what the economy is”.
“The economy is in doldrums, if not in reverse,” he said.
