A group, the Northern Youth Leaders’ Forum (NYLF) has expressed the fear that Nigeria may completely slide into a one-party state should the opposition political parties continually maintain sealed lips over the current political happenings being experienced nationwide.
NYLF particularly called on the patriotic citizens and other well-meaning Nigerians regardless of tribe, religion, geo-political or party affiliations, to join in the struggle towards ensuring that the planned destruction of voices of the opposition political parties is completely brought to a halt.
At a press conference in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, NYLF National President, Comrade Afiyo Elliot accused the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Umar Damagun of maintaining criminal silence by refusing to provide the needed “constructive criticisms” that could have guaranteed checks and balances against the ruling political party.
Emphasising that the trend poses great danger to the nation’s democracy, Afiyo in a statement titled: “It is time to save Nigeria”, called on PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) or the National Executive Committee (NEC) to either suspend or remove Damagun for allegedly compromising his position as leader of the opposition political voices against the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government.
Explaining that NYLF was formed in 1994 to protect the Northern interest within the national interest, Afiyo described the PDP national chairman as a mole, whose “money induced quietness” has been aiding the ruling APC to turn Nigeria into a one party state.
He explained that his forum deliberately singled out the PDP having being the political party that had once govern the country and as such, “supposed to be the main opposition leader” that could have provided the current Federal Government the needed opposition voice and save the Nigerian democracy from sliding into a dictatorial state “through a one-party system”.
“We are deeply concerned with the political scheming in the opposition parties, especially in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which is geared towards the destruction of the party and consequently silencing the opposition.
“We observed that despite the introduction of unfriendly policies by the government, a word has never come from the supposedly main opposition Party. Unfortunately, Nigerians are not talking nor observing the dangerous trend.
“We are strongly convinced that it is high time for patriotic Nigerians to arise and challenge the powers that are working against the very existence of Nigeria’s democratic principles and institutions in order to lead us into a one-party state so as to institutionalise and secure authoritarian and dictatorial system in Nigeria.”
NYLF also called on the Federal Government to discontinue whatever negotiations with the American and French governments’ attempts at relocating any military base to Nigeria.
Afiyo explained that his forum has “convincing reasons, undeniable evidences and facts” that the Federal Government has been negotiating with the French and American governments towards relocating their military bases from the Republic of Niger to Nigeria, “precisely Sokoto or Kebbi States, as a way of assuaging the American and French governments for the inability of Nigeria to mobilise the ECOWAS for a military onslaught or attack against Niger Republic.
“We want to state clearly that the Northern youths will never allow a square meter of land in the entire North to be ceded to French or American governments under any guise or reason. If the federal government continues with this plan, then the government should be prepared to kill all of us,” the group said.