Dr Jackson Lekan Ojo
By Mike Odiakose, Abuja
Ahead of 2027 general election a good governance crusader from the South West, Dr Jackson Lekan Ojo has urged Nigerians to cast aside primodal ethnic and religious sentiments and support the candidature of Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Dr Ojo, who resigned his membership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) about two years ago over the failure of the government to meet the minimum expectations of Nigerians, declared that Atiku’s record as the Chairman of the National Economic Council speaks volume about his capacity to positively turn around the fortunes of Nigeria.
According to him, Atiku’s economic team achieved an unbeaten record till date without borrowing anything.
“We need an Atiku. We have seen what Atiku achieved when he was just ordinary Vice President and Head of the Economic Team. I would not be holding mobile phone today if not for his economic team. Prior to that the telecommunication system in the country was battered but look at what the economic team did.
“They did not borrow? Even the money the military administrations borrowed they (Atiku’s team) worked towards it and the people wrote off our debts.
“Why won’t I follow Atiku, why won’t I mobilize for Atiku? I don’t need to know him one on one but I felt Nigeria deserves the best.
“It was during his period I got Mobile phone, built house, bought car and achieved a lot of things without knowing anybody or lobbying anyone. But if you do government contract now you need to lobby to get your payment. Enough is enough.”
He expressed concern that some Nigerians are putting tribal, religious and regional issues as priority in choosing who to support in 2027.
“I wonder what is wrong with our brain, with our mentality and with our orientation in this part of the world. I was discussing the other day with a friend and he challenged me ‘why did you leave Bola Tinubu, Obi and you are supporting Atiku’s? I responded ‘why did you leave Atiku and support either Tinubu or Obi?
“He said because Tinubu and Obi are from the South. I laughed and asked him as a Southerner where is that fueling station that you are buying gas, petrol, diesel or kerosene lesser than a Northerner? Where is that supermarket that you buy groceries, foodstuff cheaper than a Northerner. He was dumbfounded and couldn’t say anything again.
“It is arrant nonsense when you criticize based on religion, tribe, ethnic groups, zone or region. It is madness, absolute stupidity. None of these matters.
“Why are Northerners serving under the administration of a Southerner? All the Northerners are supposed to have withdrawn their services under a southern president if we are going towards ethnicity.
“If you want to board an aircraft did you ever ask who is the pilot, the air hostesses and others? If you go to a restaurant did you ever ask the cow is from where, the gari is from where, the rice is from where, is it Moslem people that sold the gari, is it Christians that sold the rice?
“If you want to gain admission into a school why didn’t you ask who is the principal of that school, is he a Moslem, a Southerner or a Northerner. If you want to enter university you have to ask about the Vice Chancellor, the Registrar, the Lecturers and others. If you are a Christian and a Moslem is the Lecturer then withdraw from the school. That is stupidity.
“In the present day the poverty that is raiding and bedeviling Nigeria; the people from Osun State, people from Oyo State, people from Ondo State, people from Lagos State, the Yoruba speaking Kwara, the Yoruba speaking Kogi, the Yoruba speaking Edo, I think they are not feeling it.
“You’ve not seeing people in Lagos condemning this government?
“It is not that anybody hates President Bola Tinubu, no. But his government is bad, his government is wicked, his government is lawless, his government is against humanity.
“We are talking about his government; his government is corrupt. We are not saying Tinubu is corrupt, the President is not wicked, the President is very good but the system he is running is weak, it is reckless.”
