George Galloway, who was a member of the British Parliament from 1987 to 2015, says that Bola Tinubu, whose controversial win in the February 25 election is being challenged in court, doesn’t have the moral right to speak out against the ongoing coup in the Republic of Niger.
Mr. Galloway, who is known for being brutally honest, said he just found out that Mr. Tinubu was a bagman for the mafia and drug sellers. He said that these were not good traits for someone who was supposed to lead a country.
“I had no idea that this man was a bagman for the mafia and drug dealers in Chicago, Illinois, which doesn’t seem like a great qualification for the leader of Nigeria,” the former British MP said in episode 263 of his podcast, Mother of All Talk Shows (MOATS), which aired on August 9.
“These people are now talking about democracy in Niger; many of them don’t have a leg to stand on, do they?” Mr. Galloway said this to poke fun at Mr. Tinubu’s supposed moral compass, which was to criticize the coup.
The honest MOATS host said that Mr. Tinubu was still defending himself at the presidential election complaints tribunal against accusations that he cheated his way into power. However, he continues to act like an honest person when he criticizes the Niger junta.
“First of all, there are very serious and credible allegations of election fraud in his own election, and it’s still in court,” said Mr. Galloway, who had an opinion.
“The opposition has never accepted his election,” he said.
Further criticizing Mr. Tinubu, the former British MP said it was strange for the Nigerian leader to say that he “can’t accept the affront to democracy that the coup in Niger, according to him, represents” when he “doesn’t have the greatest democratic credentials himself.”
Foreign groups like the European Union and think tanks like Chatham House criticized Nigeria’s presidential election, saying that it wasn’t clear how it was run.
Under the leadership of Mr. Tinubu and the presidency of Omar Alieu Touray, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) put troops on standby on Thursday to “restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.”
This happened after West African leaders told the military junta on July 30 that it had one week to give up power or there could be a military takeover.