*As Akintoye blasts Akeredolu for rejecting Oduduwa Nation
*Agitators doing so out of frustration, says Fayemi
The Chief Missioner of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Sheikh AbdulRahman Ahmad, on Tuesday, challenged elders and political leaders in Yoruba Land to speak up against ravaging insecurity and agitation for breakup away from the country.
The Cleric argued that if the call being made for Nigeria to disintegrate eventually leads to war, elders and political leaders would be held accountable.
The cleric made the remarks during the 40-Day Fidau ceremony in hounour of the first civilian Governor of Lagos State, late Alhaji Lateef Jakande, at the Police College, Ikeja, Lagos.
Sheikh Ahmad, who was delivering a lecture at the event said, “The Igbo declared Biafra, some also said they have declared Oduduwa Republic and we look like people who have no elders.”
While challenging the political leaders to speak and condemn the agitation, the erudite scholar and Journalist said, “This is the time to make a statement. You only play politics when you have a country. This country is being threatened. This is a wake up call.”
He added that the country is too important for country for it to be disintegrated, saying “Where are the elders and you political leaders? We can no longer pretend, nothing is well with our country.
“We are sitting on a keg of gun powder and even the powder is filled with dynamite. This is not the time to keep quiet. Politicians think of next election but statesmen think of the country,” he stated.
He added that Government has two options, either to use wisdom or brute force, noting however that wisdom must be employed.
He said, “All the bullets and armed forces will not solve the problem. Wisdom is to come down to the level of the people; wisdom is to build trust; wisdom is to avoid another Rwanda; wisdom is to avoid civil war.”
In his tribute, the minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola who addressed the gathering virtually, said Jakande had made remarkable foundation for the good governance of Lagos.
Fashola, a former Governor of Lagos State, described Jakande as a public servant who had engrned his name in gold, saying “these are some of the reasons why I describe him as a good standard of governance.”
