He said those pushing the president should take time to
gauge the mood of the nation or risk plunging Nigeria into an “unnecessary
revolution”.
Okogie told Vanguard “Every citizen of Nigeria has the
freewill to do whatever he or she desires to do. So, as President of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, he can hearken to the voices of people to aspire
to any height.
“But I know that the voice of the people is the voice of
God. And I can tell that the
general opinion of Nigerians, going by what I have been
reading in newspapers, is that he (President Buhari) has not done well. And for
him to come from such background and wants to re-contest for another four-year
mandate is absolutely left to him.
He went on, “But just as he (President Buhari) has the
freewill, the people of this country also have the freewill to elect according
to their conscience. Like I said, the popular assessment of his performance in
the last three years is dismal and the generality of the people will prefer
that he retires and allow other Nigerians to make their contribution to the
nation’s development.
“They don’t want to see him in the saddle again because he
has performed poorly, but if he wants to force himself there, I don’t know how
he will do it….but I can only say good luck.
“You can even see it from the opposition party’s standpoint.
For example, the APC has been releasing lists of alleged looters of the
nation’s treasury and the opposition party, the PDP, has consistently raised
objections, claiming that some members of the ruling party have been, at
different occasions, indicted of corruption, but, up till now, the APC is yet
to respond. PDP had asked very salient questions bordering on the so-called
list of alleged looters but what has been the response from the APC? The PDP
has made very weighty allegations but they not responded. If they are convinced
of their anti-corruption war, they should openly respond to the questions
raised on the alleged looters lists. But so far, there has been no reply from
the APC.
“I hope they are assuming that Nigerians are sleeping. For
example, there are various opinion articles in newspapers, I have sent out a
couple to the media which have been published but what has been the response to
them? Nothing! Nobody has said a word about all that I have written about in
the last couple of months. I want them to react; but thus far, there is no
reaction.
“I am not a politician, but I can say to you now, that
politics in this country has changed drastically. It’s no longer what it used
to be. No! Those days are gone for ever. For example, when the former Defence
Minister, Gen, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, threw the gauntlet and urged
Nigerians to defend themselves when they come under attack by these mindless
insurgents, majority of Nigerians supported that call because it reflected the
mind-set of the vast majority of the people.
“These people, on a daily basis and here and there, are
suffering and being killed and our President is not saying anything. The holy
book urges us to love our neighbours….are the people being killed on a daily
basis not our neighbours? Check the newspapers on a daily basis, there are reports
of killing of innocent Nigerians in different parts of the country and the
President will not say a word.
“Let me tell here and now, if he gets there (re-election) by
hook or crook, people will revolt. Mark my word! Even if he wins, people will
revolt and Nigeria will not be comfortable with him anymore. Nigeria has
changed. It’s no longer a country of yes, yes. No! Not anymore. There will be
revolution. Even if he puts somebody they don’t like, they will not accept”.
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