Afenifere, Oodua Peoples Congress condemn alleged northern tilted appointments by Buhari

Saturday Sun has reported that as reactions continue to trail Thursday’s ap­pointment of members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s kitchen cabinet, founder, Oodua Peoples Congress,OPC, Dr Fredrick Fasehun has implored Ni­gerians not only to be vigilant but also get prepared for a long battle ahead.

According to him, Buhari through the appointments has shown himself to be insensitive to the feelings of oth­er ethnic groups across the country.

‘’What Buhari has done is evil. Through his actions since his inau­guration, he has been pandering to­wards the interests of a particular ethnic group but this is dangerous. He is creating the impression of being a sectional leader. Buhari has been rul­ing Nigeria like a Sole Administrator. He need to be checkmated, but un­fortunately Nigerians are docile’’, he declared.

Fasehun whose oil pipeline security contract was recently terminated by the federal government said that he and some other prominent Nigerians who opposed Buhari’s election have now been justified. He urged Buhari to retrace his step or risk facing back­lash from concerned Nigerians, Saturday Sun reported.

‘’It was true that Nigerians were expecting change, and that was why they voted Buhari. But this is not the type of change they voted for. But Nigerians should not cry now, I warned Nigerians about Buhari. Talk­ing to Buhari is like talking to a deaf man. The man is rigid and too stub­born. Nigerians should pray because he has just started, and Buhari is not the type that responds to criticism. He always believe in having it his own way”, he added.

However on his own part, Ola Isho­la-Williams, a retired Army-General expressed shock about Nigerians’ re­action. He said Nigerians should not be surprised by Buhari’s action.

‘’To me, Buhari has not acted strangely. He has been saying it all along and even during his recent trip to the United States, he told members of the Nigerian Community in Amer­ica that he will reward those who voted for him. Therefore all these ap­pointments that are lopsided in favour of the North is aimed at rewarding northerners for voting massively for Buhari during the last presidential elections.”

Urging Nigerians to exercise pa­tience with the president, Ishola-Wil­liams said there are still other posi­tions that are yet to be filled including those of cabinet members.

On his part, former Nigerian Am­bassador to the United States, Moses Ihonde, he cautioned Buhari to tread softly warning that his actions are ca­pable of inflaming passions.

‘’Buhari should protect the integ­rity of Nigeria. While I may say that it is too early to judge him, Buhari should remember that he is the presi­dent of Nigeria, and not of a particular group or section. I pray that God will give him divine wisdom to be able to preserve the integrity of this nation.”

The Yoruba socio-cultural organi­zation, Afenifere while expressing shock at Buhari’s action urged the President to promote fairness and equity.

According to the group’s spokes­man, Yinka Odumakin, Buhari should ensure that his appointments reflect federal and diverse nature of the country. (The Sun)