He also denied rumors that Nigeria students have endorsed President Goodluck Johnathan for the election, explaining that the meeting conveyed by Jude Imagwe, the Senior Special Assistant to President Johnathan on Students and Youths was attended only by some selected youths and a minute fraction of the executive of NANS.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has declared Musiliu Obanikoro as unfit to be a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in view of what it called “the prominent role” he played in the Ekiti State election scandal which was recently exposed by Captain Sagir Koli.
The students revealed their verdict today during a protest rally in Ikeja, the Lagos State capital.[slideshow]38125[/slideshow]
Led by the NANS Vice President (External Affairs), Ogunkuade Oluwatosin, the students called on Mr. Obanikoro to take perpetual leave of politics and leadership aspirations in Nigeria, saying his actions have not only destroyed the fabric of democracy but also eroded the hopes of Nigerian students that an idealdemocracy will ever be celebrated in the country.
On the forthcoming election, Oluwatosin said, “We knew from antecedence that the present leadership of the country cannot be trusted in any way and that was why we have been emphasizing that the Chairman of INEC must not be removed under any guise whether through sack or terminal leave. Any attempt to force Prof. Attahiru Jega out of INEC in this crucial time could adversely affect the fragile peace we are enjoying in the country.”
He emphasized that should the presidency or its proxies tinker with the dates of the forthcoming elections, they should be prepared to face the wrath of Nigerian students through maximum protests across the length and breadth of Nigeria.
“The tsunami-like protest would be a child’s play when compared to what happened in Tunisia, Libya, Ivory Coast, Central African Republic, Hong Kong,” he said.
He also denied rumors that Nigeria students have endorsed President Goodluck Johnathan for the election, explaining that the meeting conveyed by Jude Imagwe, the Senior Special Assistant to President Johnathan on Students and Youths was attended only by some selected youths and a minute fraction of the executive of NANS.
Their statements, he stressed, in no way reflect the minds of suffering Nigerian students.
“The appropriate way for the President to seek endorsement was to visit the campuses and showcase his achievements and not [to gather] un-matriculated students in Aso rock Villa for endorsement.”
He wondered why any right-thinking Nigerian student would endorse President Johnathan for a second term, drawing attention to the deaths recorded in student communities, especially in the Northeastern andNorthwestern parts of Nigeria, as well as the numerous strikes which have adversely affected academic stability in the country.