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| Peter Obi & El'Rufai. |
Former
Governor of Anambra State and Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2019 polls, Mr. Peter Obi, has expressed
surprise at the claim of Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, who recently
in his Twitter account referred to Obi as “a tribal bigot”, alleging that Obi
stopped him from moving around Anambra State during the gubernatorial election
in the state in 2010.
Reacting on
Saturday, Obi told journalists that sought his reply to El-Rufai’s tweet during
a youth programme at Nnewi that he was shocked to read such an outburst of hate
from El-Rufai, especially when, according to him, “the statement came
unprovoked, suggesting that it was what he sat down to think of rather than
thinking about how to solve the many problems plaguing the country.”
Obi’s words:
“What His Excellency, Gov. Nasir Ahmad El Rufai, said about me was
brought to my attention. I believe that as we grow older and are saddled with
more responsibilities, we are expected to become circumspect in our thinking
and avoid recklessness in our speeches and utterances. How does the
circumstance he referred to relate to bigotry to warrant such a label?
All I do for people like El-Rufai is to pray
for them and encourage them to concentrate on doing those things that will
better the lots of Nigerians rather than engage in hate speeches that will
divide and destroy the country.”
Insisting that
Nigeria does not need violence of speech to solve her numerous problems, Obi
continued: “At this difficult time in our country, when thousands of our
brothers and sisters across ethnic divide are killed all over the country,
including innocent citizens in Kaduna State; millions of our children from all
the parts of the country are out of school; millions of Nigerian youths
from all the parts of the country are without jobs, our pre-occupation,
especially among those that are in government should not be making
reckless speeches. What our leaders should be doing today is seeking solution
to numerous problems of our dear country.”
Concerning the
claim by El-Rufai that he was arrested on the election day in Anambra, Obi
said: “I am aware that during the said election he referred to, security agents
merely restricted his movement because he had no business being in Anambra as I
would not have any business being in Kaduna on an election day.”
Concluding, Obi
cautioned Nigerians, especially those in positions of authority, to avoid the
dominance of the vice of hate over the virtues of love in whatever they do.
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