Rescue Nigeria From ICU, Lukman Begs Obasanjo, IBB, Others

A former National Vice Chairman, North-west of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has appealed to former President and Heads of State, Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalam Abubakar and erstwhile National Security Adviser, General Aliyu Gusau to get Nigeria out of what he termed ‘Intensive Care Unit (ICU).’

According to him, Nigerian democracy was in the ICU with no Doctor to attend to as citizens were denied options and the capacity to produce choices. The right to register new parties was blocked, and meetings were not held while opposition political leaders were manipulated into a terminal crisis.

In a statement, Lukman said Obasanjo, Babangida, Abdulsalam, and Gusau were undoubtedly leaders in their rights who paid their dues and were able to at different times in Nigeria’s political history.

The former APC chieftain said their interventions may have contributed to Nigeria’s messy situation. They note that the political practices responsible for the erosion of political competition in Nigerian parties could be traced to the tenure of former President Obasanjo.

He also said the policy of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) under Babangida could have been the source of inspiration for President Bola Tinubu’s impulsive and unplanned policies, adding that the former Military President Babangida, however, ‘balance compassion and hard policy choices.’

Lukman said that, to the extent that they contributed to Nigeria’s current messy situation, these leaders owe the nation a responsibility to get it out of the ICU.

“Getting Nigerian democracy out of ICU is a function of the ability to revive, restore and strengthen democratic structures in the country, which is dependent on the ability to create at least a functional political party that would allow for political competition within its structures and by extension in the country.

“This should be about more than identifying and promoting a candidate who will emerge as a candidate in any registered party. Once the approach is limited to producing a candidate, the potential of falling into a legal booby trap imposed by the manipulative activities of President Tinubu and APC is high.

“Part of the legal booby trap is that the potential candidate may be produced by a leadership faction of a political party, which will throw the party and the candidate into court cases that will undermine electoral viability.

“Therefore, if former President Obasanjo, former Military President Babangida, former Head of State Abdulsalam and retired General Gusau are genuinely committed to rescuing Nigerian democracy and getting it out of ICU, they should facilitate a deeper engagement of opposition political leaders in the country.

“Part of the goal of the deeper engagement of opposition leaders should be to rebuild structures of political parties in the country and restore some minimum internal political competition within the structures of political parties.

“Beyond anything, this will help to reset Nigerian democracy and restore the confidence of Nigerians about surviving the current hard times imposed by the impulsive, unplanned, and undemocratic policies of President Asiwaju Tinubu,” he said.

The former director general of the Progressives Governor’s Forum said Nigerians’ challenge was to outlive President Tinubu’s harsh era and do everything possible to begin organising the needed political structures to guarantee his defeat and the APC in 2027.

“The first step in achieving that is about building a solid political party that can produce not only candidates but also the capacity to regulate the conduct of candidates and push them to be both accountable to citizens and deliver on campaign promises.

“Could former President Obasanjo, former Military President Babangida, former Head of State Abdulsalam and retired General Gusau, and by extension all statesmen, women and patriots make this their priority? If they do, they will qualify as the ‘Doctors’ needed to take Nigerian democracy out of the ICU. May God strengthen the capacity of all Nigerian statesmen, women and patriots to serve as the ‘Doctors’ needed to get Nigerian Democracy out of ICU,” he added.

Lukman said citizens were rendered helpless under a so-called regime of Renewed Hope. The supposedly progressive government and party were taking Nigeria back to a Hobbesian state where life is ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short’.

“Human life has very little value, so much that it is not the government’s priority to guarantee the survival and protection of citizens. The existential crisis has caught up with the income-earning population, and governments at all levels are demonstrating a lack of commitment and an inability to respond to the urgency of rescuing the country.

“No doubt, Nigerians are faced with the hardest of times. In this circumstance, it is legitimate for the country’s leaders who mean well to be worried. Ideally, if President Asiwaju Tinubu is accessible and receptive to recommendations, leaders such as former President Obasanjo, former Military President Babangida, former Head of State General Abdulsalam and General Gusau would have prioritised meeting him,” he added.