“Who gave you advise to declare state of emergency in Rivers?” Buhari’s Political Adviser, Ojudu, asks Tinubu

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

“Does the President realize that the Niger Delta crisis twice pushed Nigeria into recession under President Muhammadu Buhari…It took years of painstaking effort and immense risks to stabilize the region, stop the sabotage of oil infrastructure, and restore some level of production. I should know—I was part of that difficult and excruciating process.”

As President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Tuesday night declaration of a state of emergency sacking the democratically elected government of Rivers State continues to be met with widespread disapprovals from notable figures in Nigeria, Special Adviser on Political Matters to the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, and former Ekiti Central representative at the Nigerian Senate, Senator Babafemi Abdulganiyu Ojudu, CON, has joined the fray of condemnation of the action.

Asking to know who gave him such advice, Senator Ojudu, a journalism veteran and very sound defender of democracy, expressed dismay that a Tinubu whose role, according our investigation,  remains on record when elected President Olusegun Obasanjo sacked elected government of Plateau State in the past, noting that the president’s declaration that saw the sack of one party while allowing the other party in power has taken Nigeria back to ground zero.

In a press statement titled, “Back to Ground Zero: Who Advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Do This?”, copy of which was sent to The DEFENDER Wednesday morning, Senator Ojudu said in details:

“I have just picked up my phone after breaking my fast to find multiple missed calls and countless messages about an alarming development: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reportedly declared a state of emergency in Rivers State.

“If this is true, then I must ask: Who advised the President to take this course of action? Whoever it is, they are certainly not a friend of his administration, nor do they have the best interests of Nigeria at heart.

“How could the President willingly walk into a raging inferno with his eyes wide open? No, no, no… this must be the work of fifth columnists. The Tinubu I once knew would not have made such a reckless and unnecessary decision.

“To what end? This is a simple political dispute that requires a simple solution. Call the two gladiators, sit them down, and read them the riot act. One of them, after all, is your own appointee. What will it benefit you, Mr. President, to keep Wike and lose the Nigerian economy?”

Buhari didn’t do this

Talking about the dangerous economic implications of this decision, Ojudu, a Commander of the Order of the Nigeria (CON), recalled and asked to know people who advised Tinubu to declare state of emergency over a politically motivated crisis which cause and enablers are known also told him that despite a Niger Delta crisis pushing Nigeria into recession under his successor, President Muhammadu Buhari (2015-2023) he did not see it as wise decision sack their democratically elected government and impose a military government on the people.

“Does the President realize that the Niger Delta crisis twice pushed Nigeria into recession under President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Has he been informed that at one point, Nigeria’s oil production collapsed to below 400,000 barrels per day, down from 2.5 million barrels per day? That catastrophic drop in production was a direct result of political mismanagement and conflict in the region.

“It took years of painstaking effort and immense risks to stabilize the region, stop the sabotage of oil infrastructure, and restore some level of production. I should know—I was part of that difficult and excruciating process.”

He said “This decision threatens to undo all that progress”, adding that, “If the situation escalates, we risk another shutdown of vital oil production facilities. We risk renewed pipeline sabotage, illegal oil bunkering, and militant activities. We risk another economic nosedive—at a time when Nigeria can least afford it.

“The global oil market is unforgiving. Investors do not wait for internal political conflicts to be resolved. They simply take their capital elsewhere.

“Mr. President, this is not just about Rivers State. It is about Nigeria’s economic survival.”

The real emergencies

Ojudu asked to know “what about the soldiers fighting to keep Nigeria safe?” He said, “While we waste energy escalating political battles in Rivers State, thousands of Nigerian soldiers are still fighting for their lives—and for the nation’s survival—against insurgents, bandits, and kidnappers in the North East, North West, and North Central.

“These are the real emergencies. These are the crises that demand decisive leadership.

“The men and women of our armed forces are stretched thin, battling terrorists and criminal networks daily. They do not need yet another crisis to divert resources and attention.

“Nigeria cannot afford to be fighting on multiple fronts—politically, economically, and militarily. Mr. President, do not open a new war front in Rivers State while real wars are still raging elsewhere.”

Tinubu, according to Ojudu, was told, “This portends disaster—for your administration, for the economy, and for the nation.

“A state of emergency is not a strategy—it is an admission of failure. There are far more effective, far less destructive ways to handle this situation.

“I urge you, Mr. President, to rethink this decision before irreparable damage is done,” Ojudu said.