Pat Utomi: Tinubu is Ailing Physically, Not Fit For Presidency

•Challenges him to go for medical test, make  results public

Political economist and a chieftain of Labour Party, Prof. Pat Utomi has dared the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Bola Tinubu to go for a medical checkup and make the result public.

He alleged that the former Lagos State governor was unfit to compete for Nigeria’s presidency.

Utomi said this yesterday while speaking on a programme monitored on Channels Television, saying that the signs were there to show Tinubu was unfit physically to contest for Nigeria’s president.

He said he doesn’t think Tinubu’s ambition was for the good of the people.

“If there is any Emilokan that is wrong, it is the Emilokan of Emilokans, because ko kan, which means it is not his turn. Why is it his turn? What about other people in Nigeria,” he said while responding to a question.

“To be very honest with you, I would not be seeking public office at his age. I told my children that after my 70th birthday and I running for office, please tell the people that our father has a retrogressive memory and we want to confine him. Certain things are good for certain times.

“Our country has suffered so much from having ailing leaders and that was why the Vice President (Yemi Osinbajo) stepped up, because he thought there was a challenge on that line,” he added.

“Physically, you can see he is ailing. Let’s not kid ourselves. Let’s be honest. American presidents go through medicals that are made public, let him (Tinubu) go through medicals with Nigerian doctors and make the result public. It is the lives of millions of people we are dealing with here,” Utomi insisted.

Utomi highlighted election trends in Italy, Zambia and Kenya as countries where electorates were tired of the old order, said,” politicians should learn that the people have had enough of politics that do not work for them.”

He stressed that Nigerians, “are really angry and if politicians misread it and try to divide Nigerians as many of them are trying to do, they would pay the price down the line.”

According to him, Nigerians are leaving the country in droves because they are fed up with the political order.

“People don’t see a future in Nigeria,” he added.

According to him, the ruling party would have fielded another candidate in the person of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

He also hailed the Yoruba socio-cultural group Afenifere for reechoing its support for the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi.

And as far as Utomi is concerned, the group is on the right track as he dismissed insinuations that Afenifere would not be able to command votes.

“The challenge of politics in Nigeria is that there has been a significant dose of politics without principles. I think that all you can do is to admire and show respect for leadership that is principled centred and that is what Afenifere stands for.

“Afenifere has moral authority and when you combine that moral authority with the fact that they have been able to build very clear alliance with PANDEF and the Middle Belt Forum and together they have been speaking on this matter along with Ohaneze, who are all major stakeholders,” he added.

“A huge majority of Nigerians are young and a lot of them are social media compliant, even in the village and they see the symbols and orders that the young people are revolting against them. They hook unto it and psychologically are connected to the revolt of the youths, which is a global thing by the way and not a Nigerian thing. Young people are revolting worldwide against an order that has not focused on them,” Utomi said.