Dele Farotimi, a Nigerian human rights activist, has said that President Bola Tinubu cannot separate himself from the poor performance of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.
Recall that some ministers in Tinubu’s cabinet have continued to blame the current economic hardship in the country on Buhari’s failures.
But an interview with ChannelsTV on Friday night, Farotimi maintained that Tinubu marketed Buhari to millions of Nigerians as the best man for the job in 2015 and 2019.
The activist said that as national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tinubu actively positioned Buhari to Nigerians in the buildup to the 2015 general elections and cannot separate himself from the failures of the Buhari government.
The activist said nothing has changed since May 2015 when the APC took over from ex-President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“The evidence of the last nine months is unimpeachable and cannot be denied. I know that the convenient excuse is that Buhari had damaged it (Nigeria) and he (Tinubu) is repairing it but who brought Buhari? Who was the chief marketer of Buhari in 2014/2015 when the ‘Change’ lie was sold to Nigerians?” he queried.
Farotimi lamented that nothing has been done by the Tinubu government to expect anything positive.
Instead, he said Nigerians should brace up for more challenges beyond the economic hardship occasioned by the petrol subsidy removal and unification of the foreign exchange windows.
Farotimi said the future of Nigeria appeared bleak saying, “I am going to be 56 years old this year and in my entire lifetime, we have never been far away from greatness than we are today. The future of Nigeria appears bleak than it has ever been in my entire lifetime.”
He blamed the rot in Nigeria to “each and every one of us” but “most importantly the “complete breakdown of the rule of law”.
According to him, Nigeria has copious laws in writing but there is no rule of law in our space as “the laws are observed more in breach”.
“Nigeria as it is today is not ruled by law but by impunity,” he said. “When you look beyond that, you begin to look at the institutions of state.”
Farotimi said for the nation to move forward, the principles of justice must be enthroned, starting with the judiciary, the legislature, and the executive.
