LAGOS NOVEMBER 19TH (URHOBOTODAY)-Former president, Goodluck Jonathan received a hero’s welcome when he visited Sokoto state to pay a condolence visit to the family of Ibrahim Dasuki on Thursday, November 17.
The residents thronged out in their thousands with placards chanting “Baba Jonathan Please Come Back.”
The former Sultan who is also the father to former national security adviser, Sambo Dasuki, died on Monday, November 14, evening at the National Hospital in Abuja.
Jonathan had earlier sent a condolence message and followed it up with a visit. In what might be considered an unexpected reception, Sokoto youths carried placards hailing Jonathan and asking him to come back as president.
Although they were kept at bay by security details, the youths kept on chanting songs in honour of the former president.
In the same vein, the Wailing Wailers, a socio-political group has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign honourably and pave the way for another more vibrant leader to run the affairs of the country.
The group, in a statement on Friday, signed by its Acting National Publicity Secretary, Usman Abubakar said Thursday protest where thousands of Sokoto residents called for the return of former President Goodluck Jonathan is an indication that the people who voted massively for President Buhari in 2015 have rejected him.
The statement read: “We are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari for the second time within the week to honorably resign and return back to his farm in Daura for retirement.
“It is glaring that Mr. President does not have any solution to the lingering economic woes, hardship and suffering that has befallen the country.
We cannot continue to take it that all is well when the economic situation in the country is critically disastrous.
“Just days ago, reports showed that Nigeria’s inflation has risen to 11 years record breaking 18.3%. In the history of Nigeria, the last time we experienced hyper inflation, depression, recession and famine was when Buhari brutally upset a civil rule and took over powers in 1984.
“The repeat of 1984 brutal and violent rulership is panning out in 2016, it is quite unfortunate that students of history jettisoned all they knew about Buhari and packaged him as a reformed democrat. We are happy in a way that all those that propped him up and elevated him to Aso Rock are now in deep regret.
“Those that supported him out of ethnic and religious sentiments are now aware of the gravest mistake as hunger, starvation and poverty does not respect ethnic group or religion, but, it is being exerted on all and sundry. It is in evidence that Nigerian people are totally ill-fated with Buhari.
“This is why we are calling out that Mr President should tow a very noble and honorable path by resigning and hand over powers to the National Assembly.
“We called for his resignation on Tuesday, little did we know that the Sokoto and other Northern states’ people are also demanding his resignation.
“This was obviously demonstrated when the former President of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan paid a condolence visit to sympathize with the family of the late Dasuki, in Sokoto State. It is on reports that the residents thronged out in their thousands with placards chanting “Baba Jonathan Please Come Back.”
“Truthfully speaking, if the country is moving in the right direction, no one will care about the rejected stone, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Since Buhari came to power, it has been one bad policy or the other, it has been brutal enforcements of one unworkable policy or the other.
“Time is fast spent, the economy is chattered beyond redeemable levels and the entire system is in tatters. we enjoin all Nigerians to rise up from docility and demand for #BuhariMustGo.
“Leadership should not be a do or die affair, it should not also be a matter of forceful foisting of oneself on Nigerians as though we do not have rights to demand for removal or impeachment of a failed president.
“We are making this call because we want Nigerians to begin again to experience good economy devoid of recession and spiral downturn and wide spread of poverty.” “Nigerians do not deserve alarmists, propagandists and genocidists to seize the leadership of this great country.
We must look for noble men of worthy characters to lead our nation. “We are also using this medium to sensitize Nigerian youths to rise up in unity to the occasion and begin to think of replacing some of the old people who want to perpetuate themselves and their lineage in power.
If they say the youths are the leaders of tomorrow, the question is, when will the tomorrow be? If youths themselves sit back without taking action? Now, we declare that tomorrow is now and Nigerian youths must now arise in strength for the good of our people and the nation.”