Ijaw Youths Berate Obasanjo Over “Provocative” Comment On Jonathan

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Monday, July 20th, 2015

By Ignatius Okpara, Yenagoa – Youths in Ijaw land under the platform of “Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, IYC has lambasted Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo for allegedly castigating the immediate past President, Goodluck Jonathan.

Obasanjo was recently quoted in some Nigerian media to have made some un-complimentary remarks against former president Jonathan in Benin city, the Edo state capital where he said that Jonathan’s poor performance in office would haunt the people of South-South zone for a long time.

However, Ijaw youths frowned at the statement, describing it as reckless, baseless and a deliberate effort by Obasanjo, to dent the image of Jonathan, both at home and before the international community.

In a statement issued on Sunday by its public Relation Officer PRO, Mr. Eric Omare, IYC described Obasanjo’s comment as uncharitable and a calculated attempt to tarnish the reputation of one of their referred illustrious sons, whose accomplishments in office were unparalleled in the nation’s political history.

“The IYC considers the statement as reckless, baseless and a deliberate effort by Obasanjo, to dent former President Jonathan’s towering image in the international community.

“As usual, Obasanjo does not want anybody in Nigeria to be greater than him.

“The IYC makes bold to state that former President Jonathan’s five years in office were far better than Obasanjo’s eight years in office.

“If Obasanjo has forgotten, we wish to remind him that because of his reckless impunity in rigging elections, late President Umaru Yar’Adua on assumption of office had zero regard in the international community.

“However, President Jonathan has redeemed this badly battered image by reforming the electoral system as elections in Nigeria today are substantially free, fair and credible with the consequent goodwill it has generated for Nigeria in the international community.

“President Muhammadu Buhari would not have been receiving the highest respect before President Barrack Obama in the United States now, if not for former President Jonathan’s efforts in reforming the electoral system in Nigeria.”

The group pointed out that if there was any region that should be haunted by the performance of one of their sons who once reigned as President, it is the South West region as former President Obasanjo’s performance in office was abysmal.

IYC, noted that the South-West was completely exonerated from any blame since they totally rejected Obasanjo, in 1999 in view of their fore-knowledge that nothing good could come out of Obasanjo, who was a former Head of State.

The group, urged Obasanjo, to stop making provocative statement, in public fora, especially as an elder statesman.