Former Vice President and presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar has said that tolerance for dissenting views and opponents remains an integral component of democracy.
Atiku made the statement last night in reaction to President Goodluck Jonathan’s threat, which was ostensibly a reaction to the former Vice President’s widely reported comment on the consequences of resisting change.
Atiku had at the national stakeholders conference warned that “those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable.” He had also added that “this (violent change) is not what we want for Nigeria.”
In a statement by his campaign organisation in Abuja last night, the former Vice President said that he and his supporters will not be deterred in the commitment to ensure that the PDP abides by its zoning arrangement in line with the party’s amended constitution.
“Atiku is a democrat who has at all times toed the path of constitutionality and rule of law in advancing the cause of democracy and therefore cannot be recommending a path that is at variance with his life-long struggles to deepen democracy in Nigeria,” the statement said.
The statement added that Atiku’s comment was borne out of historical reality when the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy warned against the consequences of making peaceful change impossible.
He said the statement should be taken in its historical context in terms of the bitter experiences that injustice has caused around the world, and as evidenced in the looming crisis in Cote d’Ivoire.
“As a responsible and dignified statesman, Atiku will never resort to scare-mongering or any anti-social action which can undermine Nigeria’s co-existence,” the statement added.
The PDP presidential aspirant argued that accusing him of causing tension is like putting the saddle on the wrong horse.
According to him, no Nigerian leader in recent memory has caused so much bitterness, division, suspicions and animosity among Nigerians like President Goodluck Jonathan because of his ambition to run in 2011.
Atiku recalled that a serving federal minister in this administration once threatened that Nigeria could face dire consequences if President Jonathan was forced out of the presidential race.
He wondered how a president that tore the PDP apart and caused bitterness within his own ruling party because of his ambition could accuse anyone of causing tension.
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