The Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, has criticised former President Olusegun Obasanjo for riding a commercial tricycle, popularly called Keke NAPEP in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Daily Report gathered that Obasanjo on Saturday, drove a tricycle through some roads in the state to pick up passengers as part of his 85th birthday celebration.
The elder statesman offered rides to citizens through Moshood Abiola, NNPC Mega Station, and Kuto Market, among others. Many cheered him and took photos.
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The former President’s action was part of his Free Keke Programme of the Youth Development Centre of Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL).
In a statement released by his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo said he rode the tricycle because he wanted to prove how people can start small and develop their craft.
He added that it was improper for society to consider all Keke riders as miscreants, noting that such impressions have led many youths to avoid the virtue of starting a small business.
Sowore, reacting in a Facebook post on Saturday, explained Obasanjo’s action wasn’t a sign of simplicity but a tale of depravity occasioned by the wickedness he unleashed on the people during his tenure.
He viewed that Nigeria should be in full mass transit mode with intercity and intra-city urban mass transit and not celebrate Keke NAPEP in 2022.
He said:
“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo riding “Keke NAPEP” in Abeokuta is not a sign of simplicity, it is the tale of depravity occasioned by the wickedness he unleashed on the people during his tenure and subsequently after as he kept ‘choosing’ leaders for Nigerians.
“Nigeria should not be celebrating Keke NAPEP in 2022. We should be in full mass transit mode with intercity and intra-city urban mass transit trains-clean energy powered and affordable. #WeCantContinueLikeThis.”
