Pa Ayo Adebanjo is the acting leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere. In this interaction, Adebanjo, a staunch Awoist, lampoons the President Muhammadu Buhari administration for not rising to the task of addressing the challenges facing the country.

Adebanjo also dismissed those calling for a coup, saying coups are no longer popular in the country.

He also insists that until Nigerians are conscious enough to tell Buhari the truth, including people who are deceiving him in his cabinet, Nigeria cannot move forward.

Excerpts:

What do you make of the Federal Government’s inability to tackle the worsening insecurity in the country and the call for President Muhammadu Buhari’s impeachment?

If this country has not gone to blazes, do you think people would have called for his impeachment? Why are the youths not leading the protest?

The situation has been going from bad to worse since he got to the office and nothing has been done. All the things he (Buhari) promised to improve while he campaigned against Goodluck Jonathan, have they improved?

Rather, he has (Buhari) done worse and he is using ethnicity, religion to bamboozle everybody. There is no day anybody is not killed in any part of the country and he is the Commander-in-Chief.

He has refused to change the constitution imposed on us. He has committed acts that could warrant impeachment and he (Buhari) said some people are ganging up against him to pass a vote of no confidence in him.

Who has confidence in him now?

Nobody has confidence in him now except his die hard loyalists. I am an old man and I am sick of the country. It is a shame on the young generations who are still talking. The governor of Benue State went to Buhari saying his people were being killed and that Miyetti Allah wrote a letter. What did he (Buhari) do? He said they should make friends with their neighbours. I have challenged Lai Mohammed to come and arrest me for fake news – that I have accused Buhari of being behind all these things because of the body language supporting them (Miyetti Allah). Most of us have been shouting that there is a need to restructure the country but he has dismissed us. How can he (Buhari) say he does not know what restructuring is? I have also said that the man (Buhari) has a hidden agenda but most people do not believe me and he has not been told the truth.

What I want to tell is that I am tired and disappointed in the youths. Have I not said enough that the country is tired of Muhammadu Buhari? I said in 2014 that people should not vote for Buhari, what did I say then that has not happened now? Securing the South-West The governors are arm strong if you don’t know. We are being unfair to the governors because they are just suffering inside.

It is for you the generation of young men like Sunday Igboho to come and say you are tired of this government. You will get their support. The governors are in government but they cannot do much. It is we, who are not arms strong, that can come out and say it as it is and tell Buhari that he has failed.

Are you not surprised that some politicians are even more interested in the 2023 elections?

Those talking about 2023 are the people who cannot say no to Buhari. We know those talking about the 2023 elections. We know that the moment they talk about 2023, they are trying to divert the attention of the rest of the country. But when we get to 2023, where will the elections hold? Can you be president in a country where they are killing people and bombing places? The country where there is kidnapping, banditry and so on? We don’t want bloodshed in the South-West. That is why we are calling for restructuring. Some people want war in the west so that they can destroy all our development here. We will not allow that.

If Buhari is sincere, he should give us a constitution that we all agree to, the constitution that our forefathers, like Awolowo, Azikiwe and Sardaunda, agreed to. Buhari has not answered that. Until the whole country is conscious enough to tell Buhari the truth, including people who are deceiving him in his cabinet, Nigeria cannot move forward.

When Obasanjo wanted to organize a section of the country to go and meet with him (Buhari) he sabotaged the meeting by saying they wanted to pass a vote of no confidence in him (Buhari). And I said that if that is the purpose of this meeting, is that wrong in a democratic society? Is that not democratic?

His government also alleged that some people are staging a coup. Who is interested in a coup? No coup can be popular in this country again. The army boys who want to stage the coup are worse corrupt people. They should stop provoking people like me, who know everything about them.

Vanguard