Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark has said in an open letter to the Minister of Transportation Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, that naming railway stations after past President Goodluck Jonathan and Chief Obafemi Awolowo is demeaning.
Calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to withdraw the honour, Clark, however, said his people saw the federal government’s gestures to the two leaders as degrading, especially when it has to be shared with such a calibre of people listed alongside them.
“While it is said to be an honour on the former president by the federal government and your ministry, the Ministry of Transportation, because it is a known fact that the resuscitation of rail transport is one of the legacy projects of the former president, but for us in the Niger Delta and indeed to well-meaning Nigerians, this ‘honour’ diminishes the prestige of a former president when the honour is also bestowed on others. 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 risks, the same consideration should be borne in mind when honouring people,” he wrote.
He also used the opportunity to tell Amaechi to consider reconciling with his kinsmen. He recalls with nostalgia their previous visit and how their bond gladdened his heart.
