Former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa, has warned President Bola Tinubu against destroying opposition political parties.
Naijaonpoint reports that former Governor Bafarawa said President Tinubu, who climbed the ladder of opposition to become the President, cannot turn around and destroy opposition parties.
He stated this in an open letter the President of the Public Interest Lawyers League, Abdul Mahmud, uploaded on his 𝕏 handle on Wednesday.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain reminded the President that only the opposition guarantees democracy.
“As Nigerians wait for you to rise to the occasion particularly in the areas of security and economic improvement, I feel duty-bound to remind you of how you climbed to the Presidency. Your ascension to the foremost political position in the country was made possible because the opposition was allowed to thrive. Those who were there before you gave opposition politics a chance. You are, as a matter fact, a product of opposition politics.
“You will therefore be making a grave mistake if you allow yourself to be carried away by the temporary power at your disposal by not giving the opposition a breathing space.
“I urge you, Mr President, to allow opposition politics to be. Do not throw away the ladder with which you climbed to the top,” he said.
The former Governor of Sokoto State advised the President to avoid listening to advisers urging him to muzzle opposition parties.
He stressed that Nigeria cannot afford to be a one-party state. He urged him to respect opposition parties and give them free space to operate.
“Anybody who is advising you to muzzle the opposition wants to deceive you into tarnishing your hard-earned reputation as a democrat.
“Killing the opposition will be harmful both to your democratic records and to the overall political growth of the country. In a country where there is no opposition, democracy dies. Do not allow democracy to die because it is the pillar upon which good governance, peace and progress stand.
“I therefore call on you, Mr President, to shun the temptation of enthroning a one-party order in Nigeria. Nigeria can ill afford a one party arrangement. It is a recipe for anarchy,” he added.