- Condemns Obasanjo’s Endorsement of Peter Obi
THE Director General of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Ilorin, Comrade Issa Aremu, has called for “new statesmanship and new citizenship to deepen the democratic process in the country.
Comrade Aremu spoke on the sideline of the two-hour Annual Walkout to mark his 62nd birthday at Murtala Muhammed Square in Kaduna on Sunday.
The event was attended by family members, members of organised labour, staff and management of MINILS, Ilorin, Kaduna State government officials as well as members of Kaduna State chapter of the Alumni Association of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, (AANI) Kuru, Jos.
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Aremu, who described himself as “a child of independent Nigeria”, noted that his “modest accomplishments and impact” in the past six decades as a non-state and state actor, indicate that “Nigeria is work in progress” contrary to what he described as “daily fictions of despair about a great country with challenges of nation-building called Nigeria.”
Sounding positive about the current uninterrupted 24 years of multi-party democracy which has featured six general elections since 1999, and a population of 96 million registered voters, Aremu said Nigeria is the largest liberal democracy in Africa.
According to him, despite these historic democratic landmarks, it was time for “quality control” of the democratic process towards what he described as the “reinvention of new statesmanship and new citizenship.”
Takes exception to Obasanjo’s letter
In that regard, Aremu said he took exception to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s latest letter in which he endorsed Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, asking Nigerians, particularly the youth, to elect him.
Aremu said “given the anti-labour credentials of OBJ in and out of power,” his endorsement of Obi has “further taken away what remains of the credibility of the Labour Party as the platform of working people, women and the youths.”
He added: “OBJ’s letter in spirit and content amounts to how not to be a statesman. The former president suffers from chronic withdrawal syndrome that calls for pity by all Nigerians. Obasanjo’s problem is not just his age, but the age of his diversionary [and] unhelpful ideas with yesteryears’ method of long verbose word counts, allegedly written by him but certainly not believed by him.
“His long, long latest verbosity called letter could not have been meant for the great Nigerian youths who prefer minimum honest word counts, but maximum wisdom; the youths’ future he subverted with attempted third term ambition, serial brinksmanship and sit-tight mindset.”
Buhari, only statesman standing
According to Comrade Aremu, “the only statesman still standing in Nigeria is President Muhammadu Buhari who allows vote counts in Anambra, Osun, Edo and Ekiti, not Obasanjo who trampled underfoot election results to favour self. He even had the temerity to openly tear the membership of the party that took him from valley of death to mountain of the Presidency.”
While hailing the ongoing political campaigns by all the political parties, Aremu however called for “more contest of ideas for development and not conquest by candidates and their spokesmen and women.”
He expressed optimism about the February polls, observing that “all Nigerians are on the next ballots as much as the candidates,” adding that “it’s time for all compatriots to rise for free and fair contest.”
Aremu further stated: “We must encourage a new Democratic culture that allows for unfettered free debate of issues. The democratic contest is a form of institutionalised conflict. But this healthy conflict should be about ideas not personalities. Let’s have a healthy debate about improving on the good work of President Buhari on fixing security, electricity, reviving the railways, budget year cycle, discipline, ambitious public spending, conditional transfers to education, health and poverty alleviation, massive investment in infrastructure, instead of throwing missiles at each other.
“The winner in the next election should govern according to the set of ideas most favoured by the electorate and be willing to cede power at the next election if his or her ideas do not convince the electorate, this calls for new citizenship as much as new statesmanship.”
Comrade Aremu had earlier described the event held in Kaduna as home-coming for him as he recalled his inaugural 50th birthday jogging in 2011 at the same venue.
He said three critical successes to healthy living are worship, hard and smart work as well as keeping fit for moderation.
Hails el-Rufai’s urban renewal
While praising Governor Nasir el-Rufai “for his audacious globally acknowledged Kaduna urban renewal urging the APC governorship candidate, Senator Uba Sani to build on el-Rufai’s achievements for better Kaduna.
“Once Kaduna works as it’s today through this remodelled Murtala Square, of course Nigeria is working, Africa is working,” Aremu said.
Comrade Aremu was throughout his working life was a trade unionist. He cut his teeth in activism as a student unionist and upon graduation was among activist graduates employed by the Nigeria Labour Congress before he was headhunted and employed by the Nigerian Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers (NUTGTW), a union which he served for many years as General Secretary before his retirement.
Aremu was also a two-term Vice President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Vice President of Geneva-based IndustriAll global Union before his appointment by President Buhari as Director General of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, (MINILS), Ilorin, Kwara State.
