A socio-political organisation, Concerned O’Oduwa Progressive Youth Assembly, on Wednesday condemned the calls by Femi Fani-Kayode, former minister of Aviation, that Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, should take over government from President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to COPYA, the untoward behaviour “is unfortunately something that is culturally associated with instances of genetically oriented mental health issues or at best indicative of substance abuse.”

Kola Salawu, national co-ordinator of the group, at a press conference in Lagos, advised that Fani-Kayode should stop blackmailing Buhari.

Salawu said, “Beyond these implications of cultural symbolism, instigating hate and violence by some undesirable elements among our ethnic nationality is guaranteed to have political costs. In the long term, it will do damage to Yoruba interest in the Nigerian political equation. We demand that Femi Fani-Kayode and his likes immediately withdraw the call for war in the interest of the country’s peace and unity.

“Promoting hatred and violence under any guise is therefore something that any person of this sophisticated ethnic group, Yoruba, which we are proud members will be happy to be associated with. Such is our sense of culture and civility. We are a thorough breed that from time immemorial have played immense role in uplifting the tenets of justice, togetherness, fair play and emergence of an egalitarian society and advancing the cause of humanity together with our collective wellbeing in Nigeria.”

He described recent outbursts by Fani-Kayode as campaign of misinformation as well as disinformation that have been mounted by anarchists who have wickedly chosen to see nothing positive in the good things going on in the country.

“Specifically, we have watched with concern the growing instance of active promotion of hate, ethnic paranoid, call to insurgency, call to commit pogrom and other negative acts that amount to crimes in any country of the world”, COPYA said.

Salawu wondered why a man currently scurrying from one court to another over cases of graft brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over offences which dated as far back as when he was in office as an appointee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, would embark on such destructive pilgrimages.

He said, “FFK is someone who had the benefit of being in office courtesy of a political party which blatantly stated that “stealing is not corruption”. And it is on record, judging from the avalanche and plethora of cases hanging on his neck like an albatross that, he might have used his slot in government without servicing the Yoruba interest but on his.

“Curiously, the same FFK is today constituting an obstacle to the Yoruba in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and those appointed into other positions of responsibilities by President Muhammadu Buhari. He is running an evil campaign of calumny and blackmail against the President and we think this is in the hope that he can drive a wedge between Buhari and the Yoruba in his cabinet so that they can be shoved aside. This is likely FFK’s own way of ensuring he is regarded as a Yoruba voice after having turned the Federal Government against leaders in the region.

“This Assembly wanted to snub him by keeping quiet all this while that he wittingly made it a pastime to insult the government and denigrate persons of other ethnic extraction in the hope that our brothers and sisters from the other ethnic groups would understand not to set stock in his ranting. We expected people would learn to disregard his verbal venom as the product of a man suffering violent withdrawal symptoms from an addiction to living off public funds having been brought up on tax-payers’ money by a father who was part of government.”

Osinbajo, the group devised, should not to be carried away by the ethnic drums being beaten by Fani-Kayode and his likes “knowing well that such characters are alone in this endeavour.”

“The acting President must not heed the call for war being chorused by this rubble and must not allow himself to be dragged into dirty politics at the detriment of his spiritual and professional calling as an accomplished Nigerian before venturing into politics”,

According to him, Fani-Kayode has taken the proverbial sacrifice far beyond the indicated road junction in his recent call on Osinbajo to take over government from Buhari.

FFK, Salawu said, has backup vocalists in his demented call that has no place in the constitution.

The COPYA said, “It is nothing short of a ploy to pitch the Yoruba in government, led by Vice President Osinbajo, against other ethnic groups in the country. We are therefore warning that FFK and his likes are distracting the Vice President who assiduously goes about his duties as assigned to him by his boss, President Buhari. The recent issues raised by FFK in his incoherent response to a constitutional issue as regards President Buhari’s letter, which was transmitted to the National Assembly, is clearly to cast the Vice President, who is now the Acting President, as a desperate person. This is grossly condemnable.

“This is not who the Yoruba is. The Yoruba man will never engage in the kind of treachery that FFK and his supporters are contemplating. We count President Buhari fortunate in this regard that he did not populate his cabinet with traitors, which means FFK or anyone with such intention would never find a willing person to do what they have in mind, which is someone to backstab the president. It is not who we are. And we cannot change our sterling qualities at this point.

“This by no means imply that the poison constituted by FFK should not be neutralized. It is important that the South-West see him for who he is. The action of people like FFK pitched a certain population of the country against All Progressives Congress, APC, Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who is reverend as a political ally of the President, but FFK through his unsolicited actions have continued to unsuccessfully paint the Jagaban in bad light.

“If FFK truly has the interest of the Yoruba race at heart, he should immediately declare a ceasefire on issues pertaining to the President’s health and surrender to the supremacy of Tinubu as the leader of the Yoruba nation as far as Nigerian politics is concerned. He has unequivocally demanded a ceasefire from all peace-loving Yoruba sons and daughters in the media and holding other assets of propaganda.

“It must be noted that once a letter is said to have been brought under Section 145 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is the provision of the constitution that automatically transmute the Vice President into an Acting President.  It is not the wording of the letter that matters.

“So, saying Vice President Osinbajo is going to “coordinate the activities of the Government” is redundant in the light of Section 145 of the Constitution and as Pastor Tunde Bakare would say is superfluities of nothingness.

“Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is now the Acting President of Nigeria. A person of Femi Fani-Kayode is not needed to lead a war to actualise that.”

—  May 11, 2017 @ 15:55 GMT