There was a mild drama orchestrated by verbal attacks on Tuesday, December 10, in Abuja during a book presentation by the former Managing Director of The Sun, Eric Osagie, when political gladiators met and engaged one another in verbal attack over the state of the nation.
The Nation reports that the attacks were on the respect for human rights and the conduct of elections, especially the Kogi state governorship election under the present President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) federal government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governments between 1999 and 2015.
It was gathered that Adams Oshiomhole, the national chairman of APC, ignited the fire when he entered the hall while the keynote speaker was delivering his address.
According to the report, he went straight to his PDP counterpart, Uche Secondus, hugged him and exchanged some banters to the admiration of the audience. He also hugged Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state as he made to sit between him (the governor) and his (Oshiomhole’s) immediate predecessor, Chief John Oyegun, who was the Chairman of the event.
It was reported that minutes after being called to make his remarks, Oshiomhole fired the first salvo at the PDP, accusing the opposition party of preaching what it never practised during the 16 years it was in charge of the country.
Oshiomhole delivered his punches clinically, saying a former president on PDP platform once travelled out of the country to preach what he never practised while in office.
Oshiomhole cited two occasions when the former president appeared on television to talk about what they did not practise He wondered how the presidents on the PDP ticket could be bold to talk about corruption when they failed woefully in the fight against graft during their regime.
Oshiomhole said: “I watched an interview with a former president and I believed that many of us here watched it. Even if the man that reviewed this book referred to it. When the host of Hard Talk, that popular BBC programme, asked a Nigerian president (I have enough trouble now so I won’t mention any name but Wike knows the person, he has associated with the person, and he is still being seen by the person) he asked him two questions at different interviews.”
Responding to Oshiomhole’s comment, the PDP chairman said nothing had changed since the APC government took over in 2015.
He said: “Like my senior brother has said here, he has much explanation and rhetoric to make. I don’t have that. From when then opposition and now the ruling party took over, have we seen any improvement, the answer is also with you.
“But most importantly, are we free now to speak? Even in the military era, journalists were vibrant and they fought for their rights. But we have seen bills going to the National Assembly, anti-freedom of speech. In his response, the Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike, noted that the APC was guilty of the allegation made by Oshiomhole.
He said: “The chairman of APC said it is good for leaders to preach what they practice. During the chairman second term (as governor of Edo state), he went to the Villa to thank a former president for one man one vote.
“But today do we have one man one vote? He got a chorus no! So practice what you preach. When he has the opportunity to thank the former president for one man one vote, he should have carried it along to the current President and say one man one vote.
Oshiomhole, however, insisted that the president is practicing what he preaches.
