Saraki’s Ordeal Portends Grave Danger If Not Properly Handled, Okupe Warns

Doyin-Okupe

The ongoing trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal has been described as a “tragic comedy” by former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Media and Publicity, Dr. Doyin Okupe.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, Okupe warned that while Saraki’s ordeal may seem like an interesting soap opera to the uninformed, to the discerning minds, it could end up spelling the end of the current political process if not handled with tact and political maturity.

According to the former presidential spokesman, Nigerian politicians over the years have continuously failed to convince anybody that they actually learnt anything from what he calls “our checkered political history” and “this is why we have had many Republics in our national history”, he adds.

Quoting Sir Winston Churchill, the famous British war-time hero, who said ” failure to act when action would have been simple and effective, lack of good reasoning, and confusion of counsel, all these lead to endless repetition of history”, Okupe said what is currently playing out in the nation’s political space portends grave danger and requires wisdom on the part of all the political actors involved.

His post reads: “I am personally not a supporter of Dr Saraki and for good reason. He spearheaded the demolition of the PDP and the eventual catastrophic electoral misfortune of the Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidency. Neither am I a detractor of the Senate President.

“However as a veteran politician I accept that all is fair in love and in war and as they say the end justifies the means. But what is currently going on is ominous and dangerous and will require Wisdom and extreme tact from all the dramatis personnel.

“I did in the past predict that the APC will break up, but that was before the APC formed the government. Now that they are in government, it is not in my interest or that of any reasonable or patriotic Nigerian to wish that they break up.

“A break up of the APC now has the capacity to undermine the current political process and the entire political dispensation we are passing through to the detriment of the country and the innocent masses.

“As it is now, while the law must be allowed to take its course, men with less passion, and more sense on ALL sides must rise to the occasion to manage this delicate matter in the overall interest of our Nation, our democracy and our people. Remembering always that an ill wind does not blow anyone any good”.