SOME eminent personalities in the political and academic spectrums in the South- West geopolitical zone, on Saturday, charged the Federal Government to ensure speedy trial of the sacked Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr Lawal Daura, and his collaborators within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for last Tuesday’s invasion of the National Assembly and harassment of lawmakers.
In separate interviews with Sunday Tribune, the leaders of thought described the invasion of the National Assembly as an attempt to truncate democracy, warning that Nigeria risked becoming a pariah in the international community if the government dragged its foot in addressing treason.
They dismissed the justification of the DSS’s action by the ruling party, saying that accusing Senate President Bukola Saraki of masterminding the assault on the NASS was a crude afterthought.
They further urged Nigerians not to fall for “the shenanigans of a party openly contradicting the position of Acting President Yemi Osinbajo,” the head of government and a member of their own party.
According to the Publicity Secretary of the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF) and Secretary General of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Dr. Kunle Olajide, the invasion showed that the country is drifting into dictatorship and some people in the very high levels of government do not think Nigeria has moved far beyond 1966 or 1983.
He said: “Nigeria is no more a banana republic. For anybody to have contemplated and in fact acted that script last Tuesday is obnoxious and I’m happy he has been fired, because he is taking us years back. It should not even occur to anybody to want to go and shut down the National Assembly, the bastion of democracy where representatives of the people meet regularly to discuss the affairs of Nigeria and the future of Nigeria.
We should thank the Acting President for taking that decisive action of relieving the DSS Director-General, Lawal Daura, of his job.
“Daura could not have done what he did without the backing of some people in the Presidency.
Definitely not. There are apparently people in the high levels of government who still have the mindset of dictatorship and believe that Nigeria is still in the 50s or 70s, so they can do whatever they like and get away with it. Then, sometimes you don’t want to blame them because they have done unbelievable things in the last two years.
“We had the Abdulrasheed Maina saga; we had security agencies that are supposed to be most disciplined fighting publicly in front of the director of DSS: Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives struggled with and fought DSS operatives. We have not heard the last word in the Maikanti Baru $26 billion contract awards saga as documented by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu. For a long time in the last three years, it has appeared that Nigeria is on auto pilot.”
Reacting to the position of the acting Publicity Secretary of the APC, Honourable Yekini Nabena, that “the timely intervention of the security operatives forestalled the planned violence which could have led to possible deaths, injuries and destruction of property in the National Assembly,” Afenifere spokesman, Mr Yinka Odumakin, accused APC of trying to cover up its conspiracy to remove the leadership of the Senate illegally.
He said it was clear that there were major actors within the APC who were in cahoots with Daura but did not secure the consent of the acting president before orchestrating the NASS invasion in the belief that once they secured the endorsement of London, Abuja did not matter. (TRIBUNE}
