State of the Nation: Silence of Former Heads of State Telling, Says Bode George

*Insists he will not vote for Atiku 

*Says $29bn lost yearly to epileptic power supply

Segun James

The former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George has warned former Heads of States and other national leaders that their silence on the state of the nation portends evil for the country, alleging that Nigeria was sliding to a state of hopelessness.
George, who said this yesterday, in a statement titled, ‘Nigeria 2023: Time for Sooner Reflexion,’ alleged that the government and it’s agencies were clueless about the sociopolitical issues in the country.

“Without mincing words or trying to raise an alarm, the global golden rule called ‘order’ – a legal and constitutional process of conformity with law or decorum – seems to have taken a flight from Nigeria’s political, economic and social lives.
“Due to this anomaly, which is a deviation from regulation or what is regarded as normal, there seems to be a graveyard silence while Nigeria is bedeviled on all fronts. Something strange or unusual happens in the polity every day, leading to socio-economic turmoil permeating our entire landscape. It is grieving to see Nigeria slowly sliding into a state of perpetual hopelessness.

“In all honesty, I cannot decipher the logic of quietness against the cliff edge which the APC government has plunged the Nigerian state into, where there seems to be no opposing views, calling the ruling government to stop and rethink.”
The leader of the PDP in Lagos pleaded with former Heads of State to immediately come out to speak truth to power on the state of the nation.
George was also particular about the political situation in the PDP, stressing that he would not vote for the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar unless the issues demanded by the G5 Governor’s were resolved.

 He also accused the opposition political parties of being silent on the crisis in the polity.
“Our party, the PDP, and others, such as the Labour Party, SDP, NNPP, seem to have concurred to the present shenanigan. I wonder, what hate, what evil, what madness will propel anyone of sane mind to plunge Nigeria into the present state of hopelessness, annihilation and abject suffering of the citizenry?
“At the same time, I see it as absolute lunacy for anybody to campaign for APC or to contest on the platform of APC, due to the state of formlessness the ruling party has thrown Nigeria into. It puzzles rationality. It benumbed our senses as Nigerians wake up every day to daily agonies of perennial fuel scarcity, tossed at us by the NNPC and the agony of non-availability of cash, occasioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through its naira rebranding.

“Where is the presidential candidate of our party, the PDP, Atiku Abubakar?  Where is Iyorchia Ayu, the National Chairman. How come the voice of the DG, Campaign Council of the PDP is drowned in perpetual silence against the atrocities of the APC government with the presidential election just a few days away?
“Why have they allowed their voices to be drowned in conspiratorial silence? Where are the opposition political parties? What does the graveyard silence portend for Nigerians? It seems to mean that Nigerians’ right to good has been consigned to the dustbin by the political class.

“Governments are elected to guarantee the pursuit of happiness, to ensure the protection of personal liberties, to create an atmosphere where all citizens can carry out their economic livelihoods without being subjected to oppression or being savaged by the lawlessness of incendiary actors.”
He added: “The center appears overwhelmed, stunned, halted, stalled, puzzled about grappling with the Nigerian challenges.I believe the various state actors can do better. Managers of our economy should not take Nigerians for granted by churning out retrogressive economic policies.

“We should rather strive to review our focus and our ultimate horizon. Nigeria must withdraw from the destructive brink.”
He also lamented the state of the power sector of the economy which, according to him, was the backbone of any national development.
“Sadly enough, it is on record that Nigeria has continued to toy with the issue of power supply which is very germane to the development of any economy, particularly, a developing economy like ours.

“Presently, our country loses an estimated $29 billion in accruable revenue every year due to epileptic power.  This is not sustainable. Power is the very lifeblood of all industrial revolution. It is the fuel of all economic development.”