11th May, 2013
Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
After reviewing the situation in many parts of the country, former military Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari declared on Saturday that Nigeria is “hopelessly adrift” with anarchy “knocking on the door of many sections of this country”.
While lamenting that the Federal government has not demonstrated that it has the good sense to understand what is going on, or the competence to check it, the Congress of Progressive Change, CPC 2011 Presidential Candidate urged the National Assembly to take the lead in devising how to bring solution to the circle of violence engulfing the different parts of the country.
Buhari spoke at the mid- term convention of CPC held to ratify the dissolution of the party into All Progressive Congress, APC, a merger being championed by the opposition in Nigeria as a stronger platform to confront the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP on Saturday.
The former Military ruler described the CPC midterm convention as an historic moment for the nation with the coming together of several different political parties for the singular purpose of changing Nigeria for the better and stopping the mindless drift that has been going in the country for the last 14 years.
He also noted that many political analysts have long stated that the only way to stabilize the country is for opposition parties to merge and oust the ruling PDP. “We must understand and accept that we are here gathered to make history or forever stand accused and condemned by it.
We must seize this moment that calls for patriotism and sacrifice—it is time to sacrifice everything—time, resources, ambition and ego—for the greater good. We should carry this process through to a successful conclusion, and leave our legacy and foot-prints on the history of Nigeria”, said the former military President.
The former military Head of State also lamented that the President Goodluck Jonathan led PDP led government has failed has failed to secure the nation’s internal environment with insecurity, spiraling lawlessness, widespread and rising poverty and unemployment across the length and breadth of the country.
He added that there has also been a complete and total decline in the quality of social services and an irremediable dilapidation in the nation’s socio-economic infrastructure across board with the accompanying fall in the nation’s standard of living and an astronomical rise in the standard of dying.
“In short, today, there is nothing going right; and we have become a nation in which nothing works as it should, that is, if it works at all. When they said they have what they call a Transformation Agenda, we didn’t understand, but we now know better; because, within the space of three years, they have transformed the country into a veritable wilderness, where everything that should work, doesn’t; where everything that can get broken, has,” Buhari said.
The former Presidential candidate said the PDP administration has failed to deliver on its promise of free education, credible elections, fight against corruption and putting an end to the insurgency ravaging the country: “All these evils derive and draw inspiration from a government that is itself immersed to its neck in a cesspool of corruption; and is best characterized by its own favourite catchphrases: whether it is ‘Do or die,’ or ‘We will rule forever,’ or ‘No vacancy in Aso Rock,’ or they want to ‘fight to finish,’ it is the same thing—something that could never be uttered by true democrats. Their behaviour, language and body language are in complete and total disregard for democratic norms and the ordinary decencies of civilized conduct.”
Buhari promised that the situation will be different under the APC administration: “This nation is witness to the fact that whenever we promised, we delivered. And today, I promise you most solemnly that we shall confront and eliminate corruption in the electoral process. We shall confront and eliminate corruption in the judicial process; and we shall most assuredly confront and eliminate it in the conduct of government business”.
Lagos Cleric and politician, Pastor Tunde Bakare who was also the party’s vice presidential candidate in the 2011 general elections moved the motion for the dissolution of CPC to the cheers of a mammoth delegates led by the former Head of State. His motion was seconded by Malami Abubakar, the party’s national legal adviser while the motion to integrate CPC into APC was moved by Yahaya Ahman and seconded by Oscar Udoji and unanimously adopted.
Also present at the Convention were chieftains of ACN and All Nigeria’s People Party, ANPP, the other partners in the APC merger arrangement and Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State.
Chief Bisi Akande, the Chairman of CAN led the delegation of his party which included Chief Audu Ogbeh, Governors Raji Fashola and Ibikunle Amosun, former Governors Achike Udenwa, Segun Osoba and Chris Ngige, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
Senator Ahmed Sani represented the ANPP at the Convention which also featured goodwill messages by representatives of the sister parties.