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Nigeria lost when Buhari won in 2015 – Sule Lamido
Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa State, has noted that the country lost when Muhammadu Buhari won the 2015 presidential election, as according to him, he knew that the former president lacked character and was only driven by sentiments.
Lamido who served as minister of foreign affairs under President Olusegun Obasanjo, noted that in 2014, he had said that whoever wins in 2015, Nigeria would loose because “because some internal arrangements in the party was breached, and the people, kind of, lost confidence in the party based on that breach.”
Lamido who spok in an interview with Daily Trust published on Sunday, noted that, “those in APC were campaigning on hate, division, malice, so it means the two candidates at that time were only running for themselves, Nigeria was left behind. The election in 2014 was between Jonathan and Buhari for their personal ambition and interest, not for the country.”
The former Jigawa governor noted that the People’s Democratic Party was taking Nigeria on the right path, being a party that recognized the need to accommodate every part of Nigeria, but the APC on the other hand returned Nigeria to the dark age of hate and division.
He said, “All along, Nigerians believed in us. In whatever we do, we put Nigeria first; let her lead and then pursue your interest from Nigeria.
“From 2014, it has been the interest leading and Nigeria following behind. That was why when Buhari won, every Nigerian lost because he was not there for Nigeria.
“He lacked the political pedigree, political sagacity, and vision to address the issues of Nigeria. Instead, emotions, sentiments, ethnicity and religion came to play and today in Nigeria, this triangle of ethnicity, religion and the region North-South, Islam-Christianity, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa and others, are playing out. Tribe, religion and region have been brought to the forefront in Nigeria by the APC. What did Tinubu say? He said Emilokan, it is my turn.”
He noted that the APC has reversed the gains made towards building a united country.
“In 1998, before we came on board, how was Nigeria in terms of internal harmony, internal reconciliation between the North and South, you know after June 12?
“There was that bond which makes us a country, it was not there. So, it was PDP which came in 1999 that restored Nigeria. Nigeria reconciled internally first and then redeemed our image outside, made us a country, a force to be reckon with, from 1999 to 2007. Under Obasanjo, I was a minister of foreign affairs.
“You seem to have forgotten what we did. There’s a saying in Hausa … like the stomach yesterday, you are full, but by tomorrow it will be screaming again, ‘I want more food’, forgetting that yesterday you fed it.
“What was Nigeria between 1992 and 1998, and see what we did between 1998 and 2014. But all that was simply ignored by who? By those who have no clue what is called Nigeria. They rallied around Buhari, calling him our own, our own.
“So, what is the benefit of ‘our own’ in power to the North, especially the North West – his own constituency?”
Asked how he would rate the Bola Tinubu administration, Lamido said there was nothing to talk about since Tinubu had already promised that he would continue from where Buhari stopped.
“He said he will continue from where Buhari stopped. What he means is that all of Buhari’s policies on the economy, on security, on corruption and human right and what have you, he will continue, isn’t it? So, it is up to you to assess, not me.
“I told you in 2015 election that if they win, Nigeria will lose. Buhari lacked the political sagacity, vision, commitment, pedigree to answer or explain the issues he was questioned on.
“Now, after eight years, Tinubu came and said he will continue from where Buhari stopped, so the next destination is our grave because the journey has started with a trailer load of poverty, hunger, insecurity, hate, despondency, frustration, pain, agony, and the destination is the grave.”
