By Ishaya Ibrahim
As Nigerians mark the country’s independence from their British overlords 59 years ago, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, on Monday lamented that the country was dying under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari and his ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Secondus, who said the country urgently needs a rescuer, agonised that “every index at 59 years of Nigeria points to the fact that our beloved country is going down and only truth and nothing else will save us.”
He said ordinary Nigerians deserve praise for “their dexterity in the face of failed leadership as witnessed in the last four and half years.”
A statement by his media adviser, Ike Abonyi, said, “Prince Secondus recalls that the 58th anniversary last year was marked with a richly endowed nation like Nigeria being declared the headquarters of the Word poor due to the inept leadership of the APC administration,” regretting that “one year after, the situation has deteriorated from bad to worse with no clear direction where we are headed.”
The National Chairman further said that, “What happened in the country last February at the presidential election remains a sad reminder of the damage this country has done to our democratic psyche as a nation,” and contended that “the poor governance delivery from the APC administration since 2015 has been a huge set back to our independence glory as a leading black nation.”
Secondus charged the nation’s judiciary to guide jealously their independence by refusing to be intimidated in order to save the country from the on-going slide.
He noted that the prospects of a better Nigeria was very bright if democracy flourishes and the people are allowed to exercise their franchise at will with all the three arms of government and the press playing their roles well without any fear or harassment from the executive.
He therefore urged Nigerians not to lose hope but continue to urge the judiciary to stand up courageously and save Nigeria, assuring that “PDP will continue to fight for democracy in our land even in the face of hostilities from the dictatorial regime of the APC.”
While saluting Nigeria’s fallen heroes, Secondus warned that “what we do or fail to do as a people to save our beloved country will return to hurt us as we are bound to reap whatever we sow.”