Renowned Nollywood movie producer, Dickson Iroegbu has pleaded with former president, Goodluck Jonathan for forgiveness, for his involvement in condemning his government.
Iroegbu who said he is repentant, in an open
letter on his Facebook page, said he regrets his actions.
He wrote: “Dear Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, I
write to apologize on behalf of myself and the many repentant Nigerians like me
who ganged up against your government in 2012.
“Your government’s policy to remove subsidy on
the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol was completely
misconstrued by us.
“I was personally deceived by my overzealous
comradely towards millions of Nigerians who had traveled to various locations
at that time to spend Christmas with their loved ones. I was particularly
concerned about NDIGBO who traditionally returned home in droves during this
period every year.
“Sir, like millions of Nigerians I worked for
your victory at the polls in 2011, but I considered the untoward hardship the
removal of subsidy on the 1st of January 2012 as insensitive. It was simply
seen as going to inflict serious hardship on the millions who voted you to
power; hence we arose against it.
“Yes I did join the protest, but my dear Sir,
I did not consider the long term positive effect it would have on the economy
of our beloved nation at that particular moment. We joined forces with the NLC
and the TUC, and alongside your political enemies we mobilized hundreds of
thousands of people in protest across the nation.
“I matched with my colleagues from my then
abode in Aguda through Surulere (National Stadium), to Ojelegba, through
Maryland, to Ojota where we met a marmot crowd. The police and all other law
enforcement agents under your democratic leadership were very civil with us; we
were never harassed or molested nor killed. In fact a certain overzealous
police man who accidentally shot at a young man in Mushin area in Lagos during
that protest was not only dismissed from service, but he was also prosecuted
and jailed!
“SIR, YOU ARE A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A DEMOCRATIC
LEADER IN AFRICA!
“There in Ojota, Pastor Tunde Bakare and Sheik
Ahmad Abubakar Gumi and Seun Kuti, and many many others were there. Even my
brother Okey Bakassi was there too! We sang and danced, we gyrated, we cooked
and slept there in the open arena protected by the police, the civil defence,
etc.
“The next day we woke up matched on to Ikoyi
and converged at Falamo bridge, where Ali Baba, Prof. Pat Utomi, and the rich
men children were gathered – we had matched through YABA and IDUMOTA, chanting
the resurrected songs of King Fela Anikulapo Kuti. We called you names like,
the shameless shoeless one, the animal in human skin, innumerable and
unprintable names!
“Even when you came out in a nationwide
broadcast and addressed the people as President and father of the nation
explaining why you took that unpopular decision, urging the masses to
understand and bear with you for a while, we said no way! We remained adamant!
We booed you! We insulted you!
“Mr. President Sir, please find it in your
heart to forgive us. We did not know what we were doing then; but we understand
better now. The same people who deceived us have turned around and increase the
pump price through the back door, in the guise of subsidy removal. They have
inflicted hardship on the Nigerian masses you love so much.
“You were not perfect, but you were a loving
father to all of us, you were President and C-in-C to the North, South, West
and the East, but we vilified and treated you with disrespect and ignominy.
Sir, the economy that flourished under your watch as President which positioned
us as number one economy in Africa and one of 25 fastest growing economies in
the world is now at its lowest ebb in just one year of misrule. In just one
year of your exit Nigeria our beloved country has become a shadow of herself!
“The picture is so gloomy, inflation rate is
so high! The masses cannot even put food on their tables, darkness everywhere,
electricity generation is at all-time very lowest – killings and maiming, evil
looms; our nation Nigeria is under attack!
“May be you could just say a word of prayer
sir, “May Nigeria not erupt in flames and violence under the current draconian
administration” – Sir I say that because there is so much hunger in the land,
and as they say, a hungry man is an angry man! A HUNGRY PEOPLE NA CONFUSION!
“Please find it in your heart to forgive and
forget, for indeed we ganged up against you wrongly. We didn’t know that we were
doing wrong to our-own-selves. May God bless you with long life and good
health,” the embattled movie director penned down.
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