A two-time Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, known as the fearless Koro-Ibo (Koro-Vote) during his bid to become the governor of Lagos State in 2007, speaks from the heart.
In this interview, he dissects Lagos politics, President Bola Tinubu’s style of governance and why Nigerians should be happy that Tinubu is at the helm of affairs today.
Obanikoro, who had served as Minister of State for Defence and Foreign, took a long look at the security situation in Nigeria and concluded that it is surmountable if fifth columnists can be quashed, while citizens provide the much needed intelligence. Asked about the negativity of defection, he simply said: “You see, everybody is trying to align themselves with our party because there is something positive which President Tinubu is doing and which the people are seeing.”
Apart from your outburst in the wake of the illegal removal of the Speaker of the Lagos Assembly as pronounced by the court, you’ve been too quiet. What has been happening?
I don’t know what you are talking about. I am not a member of the House of Assembly, neither was I privy to the crisis. However, that is now water under the bridge.
The context of the question is the stasis or incapacity of the Governance Advisory Council, GAC, to nip it in the bud.
All we were trying to do was to midwife a resolution at that point but some people misread the situation. As leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure that the state does not unduly get into an unnecessary crisis. When that situation occurred, the responsibility to douse it fell on us. Now we know the outcome, because as we have said, the rest, as they say, is history.
