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Lawyer and human rights activist Dele Farotimi has said President Bola Tinubu cannot separate himself from the failures of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.
Tinubu and Buhari joined forces in 2013 to form the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the former campaigned vigorously for the latter’s emergence in the 2015 presidential election.
On May 29, 2023, the former Lagos State Governor took the presidential baton from his fellow party man.
Even though Tinubu has been very cautious not to single out his predecessor for blame, many of his cabinet members have claimed that the prevailing socio-economic and security challenges in the country are a result of misgovernance under Buhari's eight-year rule.
But, as far as Farotimi is concerned, the incumbent President is as guilty for the current happenings in the country as his predecessor.
Speaking as a guest on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television on Friday, March 8, 2024, the activist recalled that Tinubu actively marketed Buhari to Nigerians in the buildup to the 2015 general election, and should, therefore, share a part of his failures.
“The evidence of the last nine months is unimpeachable and cannot be denied. I know that the convenient excuse is that Buhari had damaged it (Nigeria) and he (Tinubu) is repairing it but who brought Buhari? Who was the chief marketer of Buhari in 2014/2015 when the ‘Change’ lie was sold to Nigerians?” Farotimi queried.
Meanwhile, the lawyer lamented that the Tinubu government has done nothing to give Nigerians any hope of positive expectations.
Instead, he urged Nigerians to brace for more challenges beyond the economic hardship occasioned by the petrol subsidy removal and reforms in the forex exchange market.
“I am going to be 56 years old this year and in my entire lifetime, we have never been far away from greatness than we are today. The future of Nigeria appears bleak than it has ever been in my entire lifetime,” he said of Nigeria's future.