2019: Rot under Obasanjo/Atiku are too grievous to be forgiven – Group

The New Nigeria Initiative (NNI) has declared that Nigeria would not easily forget the rot that took place under the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo and Atiku Abubakar between 1999 to 2017.

The group said the rots were so grievous that Nigerians will never forgive the past leaders.

Dr. Idoko Ainoko, National Convener/President of NNI at a press conference on Sunday, lamented that by the time the PDP was done after spending 16 continuous years in power, Nigeria was left with degraded infrastructure; poorly motivated and poorly equipped military, a dwindled federal reserve, poor health-care system, abysmal educational system, and epileptic power supply.

According to Ainoko, almost all sector of the Nigerian architecture were in shambles when the PDP left power in 2015.

He said, “The fascinating thing is that those 16 years were the moment when the country made unprecedented record revenue from oil sales. According to Waziri Adio, the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative NEITI, Nigeria earned $592 billion USD from oil and gas sales alone within those period yet the lives of the people were not any better than prior to 1999.

“The figure quoted will definitely be in excess of 600 billion USD if we consider what accrued in the first quarter of 2015 as well. These are humongous figures that exceeded what we made altogether as a Nation in the years preceding 1999. Those years were our golden years. Those were the years when our Universities were rated higher than many American Universities. Those were the years when we had railways functioning almost across all geopolitical regions of the country. We had manufacturing industries littered across the country.

“By 2015 we had become a shadow of ourselves as a country. Refineries collapsed, schools and hospitals were operating far below the standard of what is expected of a developing Nation. Power supply was below 3,000 megawatts, despite claims that over $16b had been expended in the 1999-2015 period on the power sector. We were low on almost all development indices. It was definitely a 16 years of colossal failure.

“The political party that brought Nigeria to its knees has now decided to present to us one of the major actors in the scheme that almost ran the country aground: Atiku Abubakar! Our question to the PDP is simple “What exactly is Atiku Abubakar returning to do for Nigerians that he and his principal didn’t do in their 8 years reign”?
“Whilst acknowledging the right of the PDP to present whoever they think is best for the job of President, we at the NNI see it as a point of duty to let Nigerians know the type of individual that is being put forward for Nigerians.

“We consider it insulting on the sensibilities of decent Nigerians when a party like the PDP tells them to vote for one of the leading actors of the years of plunder. It is shear evil to ask Nigeria to vote again for those who for 8 years manipulated almost all processes of government and converted same into their own personal good. Whilst our Universities remained crippled with constant strike actions, and our children remained at home, Atiku diverted public funds into building a private university at the expense of our collective interest.

“Atiku presided over the sale of many public companies which rather than put the interest of the nation first, compromised and got many of such asset sold to his friends and cronies. Why would we as a nation now consider such a man to be the custodian of our interest in 2019?

“In February 2010, the online news media Sahara reporter published a US report titled “Atiku Abubakar In $40 Million Money-Laundering Accusation with Wife, Jennifer”. The report which was purportedly written by the US Senate sub-committee on Investigations, provided extensive details on on how Atiku Abubarkar through the aid of one of his wives Jennifer Douglas laundered over $40million in to different US banks. The report stated that most of the funds were alleged to have been wired transfers sent by offshore corporations to U.S. bank accounts all managed by Atiku’s partner.

“This was also part of the report “In a 2008 civil complaint, the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Ms Douglas received over $2 million in bribe payments between 2001 and 2002, from Siemens AG, a major German corporation” the report also says “While Ms Douglas denies any wrong doing, Siemens had already pled guilty to the U.S criminal charges and settled civil charges related to bribery and told the subcommittee that it sent the payments to one of her U.S accounts.”

“Please take time to read the full report and you will all see the character and the type of person the PDP is requesting that we return to in 2019. This is aside other allegations of fraud and corruption hanging around him. Let’s not forget the iGate /Jefferson bribery scandal also in the United States of America. Mr Jefferson was later convicted and jailed in 2009 when it was discovered that part of the cash found in his refrigerator was meant as bribes for Mr. Atiku. We can go on and on, what about PTDF?

“Like Former President Obasanjo said that “If he votes for Atiku with what he knows God will not forgive him” We also say If we do not warn Nigerians about the calamity of voting Atiku God will not forgive us.”