I agree completely with Governor Fayose that Obasanjo is the greatest enemy Nigeria has today, not even Boko Haram. If we are to conquer our enemies as a people we have to conquer Obasanjo and put him in a place where he will cease to be a threat to the country’s peace and democracy again.
Let me buttress this statement by reviewing some of the things he has done deliberately to hurt this country and by extension the citizenry.
When Obasanjo was nominated as presidential candidate of the PDP, for the 1999 general elections, a party that was formed without any input from him but because the founders wanted to make peace in the land
realizing that they needed to pacify the South West whose son Kashimawo Moshood Abiola was denied ascendancy to the presidency that he clearly won through the democratic process midwifed by then military president Gen Ibrahim Babangiga. He picked Atiku Abubarker as his running mate principally because of the clout and popularity he had in the polity and with politicians at the time and also his enormous ability to mobilize both financial and human resources. The duo went on to win the elections and were sworn in as president and
vice.
Time for re-election, after the first four year term, Atiku, based on whatever arrangements he had with Obasanjo tried using the democratic process of vote canvassing to become the PDP candidate instead of
Obasanjo. Clearly sensing defeat, we were told of how Obasanjo went on his kneels to beg his vice to allow him get the PDP ticket. Atiku magnanimously agreed even though he had everything going for him at
the time to clinch the ticket.
They both went on to win re election. Soon after they were sworn in, Obasanjo went on to seek revenge on Atiku as he deemed fit for having the courage to nurse the ambition of becoming the PDP presidential candidate. Denigrating the office of the vice president of the country without any care for what it will cost the nation, purely for his personal benefit. He spent government resources investigating Atiku to find something to charge him to court and subsequently jail him but did not succeed. PTDF saga readily comes to mind and how he Obasanjo was also roped into that very embarrassing saga. All these were simply
Obasanjo serving his personal interest.
NIGERIA AND ITS CITIZENS NOT CONSIDERED AND OF NO CONCERN TO OBASANJO.
Off course, while this was raging, he took on the third term agenda and spent government resources to try to force through tenure elongation clearly working against the will of all Nigerians and the constitution, bribing people in the national assembly and recruiting well known Nigerians to help push the agenda. Off course Nigerians said a big NO to his wild dream.
What did Obasanjo do, He decided to punish Nigerians for rejecting his very unpopular agenda. He shopped for and got a candidate from the north to fly the PDP flag that he knew had a health challenge that may
affect his ability to handle the tasking demand of the office of the president. He went further to shop for a deputy that he felt he could control in the person of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Recall
that he rejected the candidacy of the then governor of Cross River state Donald Duke as vice president on the grounds that he was too independent minded and will not avail himself to be controlled.
Note that the evidence of the health challenge being faced by the then PDP presidential candidate surfaced when during a campaign rally Obasanjo placed a call to Yar’Adua who was evacuated to Germany to
receive medical treatment under emergency situation and he asked the question if he was dead or alive as people rumored that he was dead.
The question to ask Obasanjo is if he truly loved Nigeria and would do anything for Nigeria including losing his life, as he claimed why did he not tell Nigerians the truth about the state of health of candidate Yar’Adua, so Nigerians will know why they are voting for him. After all, there is no constitutional requirement for anybody with health challenge not to seek an elective office. But it is very wicked for anybody especially one who is a leader to know the truth about a condition that is critical to the whole population making a decision and yet keeps it away to pursue a personal agenda of gaining control of the government through the back door.
Now that Ebele Jonathan has turned out not to be the weak man Obasanjo thought he was and has rejected all demands to be teleguided on his job from Otta farm, what has Obasanjo decided to do.
PUNISH GOODLUCK JONATHAN BY WORKING AGAINST HIS RE-ELECTION BID NOT CARING IF NIGERIA SUFFERS IN THE PROCESS
He has gone all out to try to discredit the president and even publishing a letter accusing the president of all sorts including something as wild as training of a killer squad with snipers etc. for the purpose of the elections. Information available indicates that he has been uncooperative in providing evidence in support of his
allegation to aid the investigation directed by Mr President.
Elections are here and we have not heard of anybody being killed by snipers instead we are hearing of thugs attacking campaign rallies of President Goodluck Jonathan in sections of the country for which we have not heard a word in condemnation of such actions from Obasanjo, the man who claims to be working for peace and order in the land, there are presently accusations that he is involved in plots to scuttle the democratic process so he can be made the head of an interim government. This is fast gaining ground and for the Obasanjo
Nigerians now know, this may not be beyond him.
AGAIN FOR HIS PERSONAL BENEFIT, HE DOES NOT CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO NIGERIA AND ITS CITIZENS
Nigerians need to place Obasanjo where he belongs, A place where his voice means nothing to anybody. We have been told by those who know him well in the military that he is one man who wants to take credit singularly for all that is good happening around him. It is obvious that he feels threatened by the strides being made by this government that he will be inconsequential when history finally places his role in Nigeria’s nation building story compared to people like Goodluck Jonathan who without making so much noise and without causing so much chaos in the land is transforming every facet of society.
I must say that we are not where we want to be as a Nation yet but it is clear that with the way we are going now, its only a matter of a short wait before we see all the hard work resulting in the pace of development we all desire. From Industrialization with the roadmap reeled out already and being actioned, auto policy, GRIC ($16B Gas Revolution Industrial City project) to housing, – 24,000 mortgages approved and issued between April when policy and funding was concluded and Dec. 2014 compared to 25000 total mortgages in the
country in 50 years prior to the take off of this new policy .
The power sector, with the successful privatization in a very transparent way of the Discos and Gencos and over 70% of the power plants completed, progress made in completing key pipelines to deliver gas to
over 80% of the power plants to infrastructure especially the quality of work being done on the roads being built. The new airport terminals, and the major progress being made in agriculture, which has seen our food import bill dropping to about N650 B from N1.1T within three years, clearly making the impact of drop in crude oil prices minimal on food prices. Or the smart way in which corruption is being fought through IT and technology which has resulting in Nigeria attaining its best rating position ever in the Transparency International index and Global Financial Integrity report, both internationally acclaimed and independent corruption watchdog
institutions.
No matter how many books Obasanjo writes to try to lie about the things he has done, history will judge him fair and square. I think it will be that he is the NO 1 enemy of the country at this period of his life. Where ever he ends up, this burden will be on his head.
The known atrocities that he has committed if to be taken into account and passed through sentencing, he will get not less than 1,000 years in jail. Privatizing public companies and selling them to himself, directly and through cronies. Does Transcorp ring a bell, or is it Eleme Petrochemical, or it’s the steel mills, DSC and Ajaokuta or is it the Halliburton scandal or is it the billions that were allocated and disbursed for road interventions which never happened. Or is it the crimes he committed against individuals. Citizens of this country he perceived as enemies and shut down their businesses, Does Ibeto come to mind, the list goes on and on … And yet, you cannot think of any personal sacrifices beyond being in the Nigerian Army during the
civil war period that Obasanjo has made for Nigeria deserve all the benefits he has enjoyed till date! Obasanjo is really an ingrate without comparison. (even that so called contribution has been flawed by Brig. Gen Godwin Alabi Isama in his book ’Tragedy of Victory’, this book aptly shows Obassanjo for what he is – an ungrateful
opportunist!)
A man who is unimaginably morally bankrupt to the extent of having sex with his son’s wife and destroyed the sons family when it was found out and how he treated his immediate family as enumerated by his first
daughter Iyabo in her public to him all speaks volumes of who he is. It is noteworthy that he has not denied the allegations not even in his book where he gossiped about other people sleeping with people wives but failed to mention his son’s allegation about him. A man who had an opportunity to move this country forward by simply conducting credible elections so we can elect credible people into the various elective post but failed rather deliberately to conduct elections that were fraught with massive rigging to the detriment of all Nigerians.
Another example of Obasanjo’s hypocrisy and selfish motives was in the handling of the Bakassi issue. Chief Obasanjo single-handedly forfeited the Bakassi territory without the approval of the National Assembly and without the consent of the Bakassi people! When the issue came to the fore and he was queried by the National Assembly, his pretence was that he wanted peace in the region at all costs! Chief Obasanjo had his eyes on becoming a Noble Peace Prize winner and it didn’t matter to him if Nigeria loses its mineral resources to the Cameroons or if Nigerians in the Bakassi become homeless in the process. Due process was not one of the things he subscribes to once his personal interest is involved.
My take in all these is that with Chief Obasanjo, the gods are certainly to blame for foisting this character on Nigeria as a leader. Most Nigerians already feel this way and we should leave him where he belongs – the wrong side of history of African leaders who failed woefully to shine when they had the opportunity.
By Preye Ogriki who resides in Abuja.
