Chairman and Head of Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), Mr. Debo Adeniran has stated that Coalition for Nigeria Movement founded by former President Olusegun Obasanjo is self serving; he made the statement Saturday in an interview with Prestige International Magazine.
According to the anti-corruption crusader and human rights activist, promoters of the coalition have nothing new to offer Nigerians in the act of good governance.
“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo suggested Coalition for Nigeria Movement in his open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari. There is nothing wrong with it, but the issue is that those who are promoting it are his former lieutenants. Those people have nothing new to offer Nigerians in the act of good governance. The promoters of Coalition for Nigeria movement have had their own fair or worst share of holding public office. Apart from Donald Duke who did something worthwhile in the area of tourism and put in place some infrastructural development, you cannot compare him to Olagunsoye Oyinlola who governed Lagos state and all the infrastructures collapsed and went to Osun State where he did nothing substantial. He was in Osun State for eight years to engage in frivolities”, Adeniran said.
He further stated that coalition is not going to be reliable because former President Olusegun Obasanjo who suggested it is trying to promote what is beyond him.
“He wants to be relevance on the issue of good governance and the issue of good governance is beyond Obasanjo. He wants to be relevant in public arena that is why he came out with coalition. What he expressed in his statement had been expressed by various ordinary analysts within the polity. That is his own style to attack any government in power that does not dance to his tunes. He always wants to dictate to any government in power. What Obasanjo is trying to engineer is self serving; it is not going to serve the interest of the public. Obasanjo has not served in anything that would not protect his personal interest. He always wants to dictate to any head of government he cooperates with. I believe he has not found the fertile ground in Buhari”, he disclosed.
In the same vein, Debo Adeniran expressed contrary view on the emergence of Nigeria Intervention Movement (NIM) on the ground that promoters of the third force are activists turned politicians. He added that some of them have contested for elections in one time or the other and lost
“I am aware of Nigeria Intervention Movement too; it is purely a political organization. I am not going to be part of it because members are activists turned politicians, some of them have contested for elections at one point or the other and lost. The difference is that there are more activists in Nigeria Intervention Movement than Coalition for Nigeria Movement”, he stated.
In his analysis of the two movements Adeniran said: “Obasanjo’s Coalition for Nigeria Movement is self serving. In the same vein Olisa Agbakoba’s Nigeria Intervention movement is also self serving. In NIM all of them are activists turned politicians. They have not harmonized their positions before they went into that coalition. They think they can achieve their political dreams with that coalition. Their own coalition may not going to work like how it worked for APC because people in APC are experienced and renowned politicians. Those who were in CPC, APGA, and ANPP were experienced politicians; it was their experience that made it possible for them to capture power within eighteen months of its formation”, he added.
