By Ayo Adeniji
Apparently referring to the happenings in Rivers state where democratically elected persons have been suspended to pave the way for a Sole Administrator, Obi concluded that democracy has collapsed in Nigeria.
According to him, the house (democracy) that is being built over the years has been knocked down by the present crop of leaders.
Egde Online News reports that Obi spoke on Thursday, at the 60th birthday celebration and colloquium in honour of Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and former governor of Imo State.
He recalled his experience when he was impeached as governor by the house of assembly and how the court restored his mandate, lamenting that today, “it can’t happen.”
“If you look at where we are today, it’s like they started in 1999, laid the foundation. Some people came and took it to a decking, and some people were trying to raise it to the first floor, and some people came and knocked everything down. That’s the situation we are in now. Everything has been knocked down. Nothing works.
“I became a governor through the courts when President Obasanjo and Atiku were in government. I did not pay the court one naira.. It can’t happen in Nigeria today.
“When I was being impeached, the president sent people to come and intervene on my behalf. Ken Nnamani came, begging House people not to impeach me. Today, the president impeached the person. So that is the thing, so it’s collapsed. So, it failed.
“They were begging my house not to impeach me. And they were in PDP, I was in APGA, and they were begging.
“President was calling me and said, Peter, are you okay? Even when I was impeached, President Obasanjo called me and said, are you okay? Are you safe?
“When courts eventually declared me under N.D. Uba, President Yar’adua called my phone in London and said, congrats. I said, President, I can’t come back because you know, if I come back, these people.
“He said, tell me the flight in which you’re coming back, and I told him. When I came in, the first time, military people came to receive me at the airport – I couldn’t believe it – and took me straight to him.
“Now the president will ask you not to come back here again.”
“It’s failed, let’s not talk about it; let’s talk about how we are going to rebuild it. It’s collapsing.”
