Elder statesman and South-South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark has described as an “insult” the renaming of some railway stations after former President Goodluck Jonathan and late Premier of the Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
Recall that the Federal Government late July renamed the Agbor railway complex after Jonathan and Ibadan station after Awolowo.
But in an interaction with journalists on Thursday, Clark noted that it was demeaning and unacceptable for the Federal Government to lump Jonathan and Awolowo together with people who have not made any significant contribution to Nigeria’s development.
He said the former president deserved a national honour for willingly relinquishing power in 2015.
Recall that Jonathan had described the renaming of the railway complex after him as a “good gesture” and thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for it.
However, Clark warned against taking advantage of the ex-president’s good nature.
He noted that Jonathan’s kinsmen felt slighted by the gesture, especially when it had to be shared with the calibre of people listed alongside the ex-president.
“Jonathan was the president of the whole nation. We don’t like anybody to make a mess of him,” he warned.
The elder state emphasised that the gesture was not a honour to Jonathan, especially as he was the brain behind the Abuja-Kaduna rail project.
He charged Buhari not to do to Jonathan what he would not like to be done to him, stressing that he has already written a protest letter to Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi
“One is not in any way adducing that the others are not deserving of the honour bestowed on them, but the same way official responsibilities differ in importance and ranks, the same consideration should be borne in mind when honouring people.
“For instance, how can Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Premier of Western Nigeria, be honoured with the naming of a Railway Station after him in addition to persons who were pupils who benefited from his Free Education Scheme in Western Nigeria? Even in giving National Honours, there are different awards for a different cadre of persons,” he wrote in the letter.
Read Also: Sanwo-Olu’s media aide narrates battle with “monstrous coronavirus” after recovery