A FORMER Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, has accused Nigerian leaders of having uncontrollable avarice for power.
He said Nigerian politicians’ primary objective was to hold on to power at all costs, even if it meant resorting to theft and violence.
Amaechi, who contested and lost the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary to President Bola Tinubu in 2022, stated these at the National Conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria held in Abuja earlier this week.
The conference, which brought together stakeholders from different political parties, was to enable participants to brainstorm on the nation’s democratic journey.
Speaking at the event, Amaechi said the country’s situation required that citizens strategies on how to sack many leaders from office in the next election.
However, he noted that rather than being told the blatant truth that they were failures, such leaders were being deceitfully hailed by the same people they denied good leadership.
He noted that such feigned applause would be misinterpreted, allowing politicians to act with impunity.
He argued that the current political structure in the country was unlikely to change under President Bola Tinubu’s government if citizens failed to form a strong alliance against the ruling party before the next election.
“The politician is there in Nigeria to steal, to maim, to kill, and to remain in power. If you think Tinubu will give it to you, you are wasting your time,” he stated.
Amaechi said his involvement in Nigerian politics since he left university in 1987 was shaped by poverty and claimed he had been part of the process till today.
He boasted that he remained a strong force and could not be wished away in the APC.
“You can’t wish me away in the formation of APC; you certainly can’t wish me away. You can’t wish me away in how APC won the election; you can’t.
“But the truth is that if some of us did not stick out our necks to say PDP, Goodluck (Jonathan), we want to die with you. When they saw that we were ready to die, they gave up power,” he stated.
The ICIR reports that Amaechi, who joined politics after he graduated from the university, was the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly for eight years – between 1999 and 2007.
Before then, he had served as special adviser to former Governor Peter Odili when he was deputy governor in 1992.
Ameachi, who clocks 60 this year, served as the Rivers State governor for eight years – from 2007 and 2015 – before joining former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, where he served as minister of transportation for nearly eight years.
He resigned on March 17, 2022, to contest for the presidency. He lost the party’s primary to Tinubu.
For the first time in over two decades, Ameachi has operated outside a public office. He has also not been recognised by the Tinubu’s government.
A reporter with the ICIR
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