TheCable

Femi Fani-Kayode, director of media and publicity of the PDP presidential campaign organisation, says Patience Jonathan, Nigeria’s first lady, was right in saying that Muhammadu Buhari, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was “brain-dead”.

He, therefore urged the retired general to opt out of the presidential race.

At the rally of the ruling party in Kogi state on Tuesday, the first lady had told the gathering that Buhari was unfit to lead the country.

“Old man wey no get brain, him brain don die pata pata,”she had said in pidgin English.

Reacting to the statement, APC referred to her as crude and appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to call his wife to order.

“President Jonathan is urged to call his wife to order,” Shehu Garba, director of media and publicity, APC presidential campaign, said on Wednesday.

“It is discourteous and inexcusable for a wife of any president with a modicum of decency to make such a false and infantile pronouncement about the health status of another man on account of politics.”

But Fani-Kayode believes that there is nothing wrong with the action of Mrs Jonathan.

“The first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, was absolutely right,” he said.

“To say that General Buhari is ‘brain dead’ is an understatement and to suggest that he is suffering from dementia is nothing new.

“The First Lady has spoken in a courageous and forthright manner and, most important of all, she has spoken the bitter truth. Instead of crying like spoilt little brats and complaining, the APC and the Buhari Campaign Organisation should live with that bitter truth and leave her alone.

“She has every right to express herself in any way that she deems fit and she is entitled to her opinion. This is especially so given the fact that her husband, President Goodluck Jonathan, is in the presidential race.”

Fani-Kayode said Buhari should opt out of the presidential race if he knows that he cannot stand criticism.

“Buhari’s general disdain for women and their opinion is well-known. This is a man that said that he would scrap the office of the first lady if he is elected president,” he said.

“If he is not ready to face public scrutiny and criticism for his often times irresponsible, retrogressive, nonsensical and asinine views, he should quit the presidential race and consider retiring from politics.

“Our counsel to the APC is as follows: leave the first lady alone or prepare yourselves for a relentless verbal blitzkrieg, the likes of which you have never seen before.”