Obasanjo vs. Tinubu: Why State of Emergency Tactics Face Different Realities – Atiku’s Camp

• Obasanjo’s Advantage: Atiku’s aide, Demola Olarewaju, says former President Obasanjo could remove governors because democracy was still new, and news spread slowly.
• Criticism of Tinubu: Olarewaju criticized President Tinubu’s state of emergency in Rivers State, calling his decision to appoint a retired military officer dangerous and reckless.
• Changing Times: He argued that actions taken under Obasanjo’s administration (1999-2007) cannot be easily repeated today due to faster news cycles and increased public scrutiny.

An aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Demola Olarewaju, has explained why former President Olusegun Obasanjo was able to remove several governors during his time in office.

According to Olarewaju, Obasanjo succeeded because democracy was still new in Nigeria, and news spread more slowly back then. He made this statement while criticizing President Bola Tinubu’s recent decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State. Tinubu also suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara for six months and appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-ete Ibas as the Sole Administrator of the state.

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Olarewaju accused Tinubu of poor leadership, saying the President’s economic policies have pushed more Nigerians into poverty than even former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

He also said Tinubu lacks a good understanding of history. “It is shocking that Tinubu would invite a retired military officer to take charge in Rivers State over political disagreements,” he wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Olarewaju explained that Obasanjo could remove governors because the political situation at the time was different. He recalled that in 2003, a sitting governor, Chris Ngige, was even kidnapped, but the news was kept quiet because social media did not exist.

“Things that worked under Obasanjo from 1999 to 2007 cannot happen easily today,” he said.

He also questioned why Tinubu would involve the military in a political issue and warned that such actions might cause serious problems.

 

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In conclusion, Olarewaju said that times have changed, and what Obasanjo did during his presidency cannot be easily repeated today.

 

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