BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has been admonished to be receptive of criticisms from Nigerians over the challenges bedeviling the nation and ensure that attentions are given to the concerns raised.
A lecturer at the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree and the Chief Imam of the institution, Alhaji Musbaudeen Orimadegun, gave this charge on Friday in Osogbo at the 2021 edition of a Ramadan lecture organised by the Osun State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.
Speaking on the theme of the lecture: “Journalism, Fake News and Hate Speech,” Orimadegun described journalists as agenda setters who also put governments on their toes when they appeared to be anti-masses.
The guest lecturer averred that once leaders failed to do the needful, there was bound to be criticisms, adding that those who criticised Governments constructively should not be seen as enemies but as patriots.
He called on President Buhari to listen to the cries of Nigerians and restore peace, orderliness and security to the nation.
Orimadegun warned Nigerians against fake news and hate speech. He bemoaned the sacking of Local Government workers by the government of Kaduna State, describing it as “worse than Rwandan genocide.”
The Islamic cleric said, “Citizens should be able to criticise the Government. Once leaders refuse to do the needful, citizens will cry out. Any policy that doesn’t translate to what I need in my life is useless and I have the right to voice out.
“President Muhammadu Buhari and other political leaders should understand that if anybody criticises them for anything, they should not take their critics as enemies, rather, they should remedy where necessary. But citizens should also criticise constructively and not destructively.”
“The moment a leader becomes the issue, he is no longer useful. Citizens have the right to question the Government because the power to question people is the basis of progress,” he stressed.
