Sheathe your sword, queue behind your benefactor – Afegbua tells Babachir Lawal
A former Commissioner for Information in Edo state, Prince Kassim Afegbua, on Sunday, asked a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal to sheathe his sword and queue behind the aspiration of his benefactor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking in an interview, Afegbua said Babachir was using the Muslim-Muslim ticket as a decoy to gang up against Tinubu just because he (Tinubu) did not consider him for the position of Vice-presidential candidate.
While accusing Babachir of playing the role of God, Afegbua said rather than use his position as SGF to benefit Christians, Babachir rather worked against Christians as evidenced in the Kogi Governorship election in 2016 and the IDP scandal that culminated in his removal from office.
Afegbua, who accused the ex- SGF of lying that Tinubu said the South East was irrelevant, said given the arrogance and pride he had so far displayed, no sane presidential candidate would consider Babachir to be his running mate.
Read him: “See, the same-faith ticket is not our problem as a country. We need leaders that can add value to our wellbeing as a country. Poverty does not know religion. Unemployment does not discriminate whether you are Christian or Muslim.
“We need capable hands like Tinubu and Shettima to pilot the affairs of this country and set up a robust team that would engage the main issues confronting us.
“Babachir Lawal wanted to be a vice-presidential candidate, and if for obvious reasons he was not chosen, he should have braced up and moved on. This idea of his, trying to spoil the cook because of his own political interest cannot overturn the applecart.
”Let me ask you, who will have such an arrogant and proud man as a Vice President any way? How many votes does he represent? Why does he think he can play the role of God in the affairs of men? He has the right to support anybody, but he should lower his noise else he becomes public nuisance.
“Look at the lies he tried to pass across about the South East. What does he intend to convey? Such an old man behaving like a kid in the courtyard. Haba!
“Please tell Babachir Lawal to calm down. He’s not God, and cannot pretend to be God. By the special grace of God, Tinubu will succeed without him.”
On the way forward, Afegbua said: “There are still rooms for amends, if he’s ready to sheathe his sword. I hate to talk about elders who are behaving like children. We cannot continue to dwell on single faith ticket, when the candidate himself has reached out to the leadership of the Christian body and we are making progress.
“What does Christianity teach us? That we should love our neighbours as ourselves. It also says if any decides to slap us seventy times seventy times, we should turn the other cheek.
“Must you suddenly assume the role of a political foe to a man who has been there for you simply because he didn’t choose you as a VP candidate? If he’s truly a Christian, we would have seen his impact in Christendom.”
