A political pressure group known as the South-west Frontiers has condemned the prolonged silence of the former Lagos state governor and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on the invasion of the residence of a Supreme Court judge, Justice Mary Odili by armed security operatives.
The group similarly faulted the APC leader's inaction about the recent collapse of a high rise building which is located a walking distance from to his private residence in the Ikoyi area of Lagos state.
In a press staatement signed Saturday by the President of the South-west Frontiers, Prince Gbolahan Adepoju, the group accused Tinubu of playing the ostrich in matters that involve rule of law and human lives.
According to the group, it is unbecoming of an elder statesman in the caliber of the former Lagos state governor not to stand up for the ideals of a modern democratic society, which the armed invasion of Justice Odili's residence signposts and not showing empathy to an accident that led to a wanton loss of human lives.
The statement said: "We have watched with consternation how our leader in the person of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu continues to defy the ethos of a democrat and the concept of Omoluabi that is enshrined in the code of conduct of the Yoruba people.
"It is rather unfortunate that the only thing in the air about Asiwaju Tinubu is his ambition to become Nigeria's president in 2023. We do not have any issue with that. But we are very disappointed that Asiwaju Tinubu carries on as though nothing else matters other than his presidential ambition.
"For someone who self-praises as a democrat, it is an irony that Asiwaju's voice is missing in the outcry of condemnation against the armed invasion of a senior Supreme Court judge by security operatives. If silence means consent, should it be taken therefore, that the attack on a judge by state security agents gets the nod of Asiwaju Tinubu?
"We are displeased by the posturing of Asiwaju Tinubu, not just in the matter of Justice Mary Odili, but in all other similar scenarios when the occasion demanded that he should speak truth to power, and rather opted for the option of sacrificing his conscience for political expediency. That is not in the character of true democrats and statesmen.
"Also recently, a high rise building in the precincts of the same Ikoyi where Asiwaju Tinubu lives collapsed, killing scores of human beings, and five days after the incident, there has been no word of empathy from someone whose campaign credential for the 2023 presidency is on account of being Yoruba. But it is not part of Yoruba culture to lack empathy. Indeed, like every other civilized culture, the Yoruba understand that charity begins at home.
"Had the Ikoyi building collapse happened elsewhere in the country, our Asiwaju would have been amongst the first to race to the site and announce a handsome amount as donation to the families of those affected by the incident.
"Again, we are not against such charity. But when it is done selectively and even in a style that isolates your own people, it leaves much to be said about the character of the donor and strikes a blot on the intentions behind that act."
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