Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has advised Nigerians to be vigilant, even as it warned against any attempt to cut short the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan administration through unconstitutional means.

Afenifere in a statement issued yesterday in Lagos expressed worry over former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s bad-tempered December 2, 2013 letter to President Jonathan, observing that it bore the trademark of past interventions which resulted in military take-over of government. The statement signed by National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, specifically referred to a document circulated in January 1976 entitled “Facts to know about Murtala – A warning to the nation,” which preceded the violent overthrow of then Head of State, General Murtala Muhammed.

“All citizens of our country with a sense of history would have been able to draw a parallel between Obasanjo’s letter to President Jonathan on December 2, 2013 and a document circulated in January 1976,” Afenifere said.

The group accused Obasanjo of also having played a role in the overthrow of President Shehu Shagari on December 31, 1983. It recalled that because of Obasanjo’s association with coups, when he wrote a similar letter against the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, IBB rushed to OBJ’s Ota farm house in Ogun State and immediately made changes to the military high command so as to preserve his regime.

“This is why we in Afenifere are not impressed with the letter from the General, who has never shown any pure motive since he started his interventions in our national affairs,” the statement said, adding:

“It is, therefore, the height of foolhardiness and or a lack of sense of history for members of the political class to be enabling these Generals, who have not been known to act in the collective interest in their infamous careers.

“Have our politicians forgotten so soon what the country went through for six years when Abacha was enabled to overthrow the Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government in 1993?

“We do not argue that Nigeria does not have serious challenges at the moment, but we refuse to accept that the solutions to our problems would come from any group of military adventures. It is a jaded option that we have been offered over the years and it has always created more problems than the ones it promises to solve.”

Afenifere advised Nigerians not to be deceived as military coup cannot in any way favour the country. It rather made a strong case for dialogue and warned against any attempt to sabotage the proposed national conference.

“We are issuing this warning as we can no longer ignore the rumour that has been very thick in the air that some forces who want to abort the proposed national conference are scheming to exploit the challenges of our democracy, so as to cause an unconstitutional change in the polity,” Afenifere said, adding:

“On a more fundamental note, there is a delicate balance in the country at the moment, which has made the proposed national conference the most veritable platform to address the crises facing Nigeria and for which the nationalities are raring to go.

“To attempt to stop that process by staging a coup would amount to rushing Nigeria to a major catastrophe, as any group of military adventurers may discover there is no space for them to preside over.

“It is, therefore, in the best interest of all that those who are possibly plotting to cause crisis in the country perish the thought and allow the national conference to proceed without hitch, so that the people of Nigeria can proffer their own solutions to the challenges of the country and so that we can emerge a united and prosperous entity from the table of brotherhood.

“This is our patriotic approach to nation building, which we commend to all reasonable Nigerians.”

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