By Ehichioya Ezomon
Is former President Olusegun Obasanjo now God that has the power to forgive sins? This is the question of the day, as Nigeria marches towards the 2019 general elections, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is reportedly under pressure to go and “apologise” to Obasanjo and “beg him for forgiveness of his sins” against him (Obasanjo).
Contributing to this debate, former President Goodluck Jonathan said that the only hindrance to Atiku achieving his life-long ambition to be president was Obasanjo. Hence, he needed to “go and beg him for forgiveness,” without which Atiku should more or less forget his quest.
Dr. Jonathan’s admonition reflects the level politics and politicians have sunk in Nigeria: That man, and not God, as the teachings of the Holy Books indicate (Romans 13:1; Daniel 2:20-22; Proverbs 5:15-16; 1 Samuel 2:7-8), is the ultimate “Kingmaker.” Consider Jonathan’s averment that their “boss, Baba OBJ, the boss of all bosses,” must be appeased because, “we’ve all learnt at different times that you ignore OBJ at your own peril. OBJ has the magic wand, respected at home and abroad.”
Many discerning polity watchers are not surprised by Jonathan’s motto, having regard to his meteoric climb up the political ladder of the country: From lecturer to Deputy Governor and Governor of Bayelsa State, and from Vice President to Acting President, and President of Nigeria, without really contesting, until 2015, for the positions, thanks majorly to the ‘benevolence’ of Chief Obasanjo as president of Nigeria.
Remarkably, Obasanjo opposed Jonathan’s 2015 candidature (that eventually failed at the polls) because it abridged the North’s presidential slot of two terms of four years each, as the Presidency rotates between the North and South every eight years. The slot Jonathan vied for “belonged” to the North, which had barely utilised three years of it through the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, with Jonathan as the Vice President.
It’s now history how Obasanjo used the anti-graft agencies to hound qualified Nigerians out of the 2007 presidential race, and railroaded a very sickly Yar’Adua in as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, and Jonathan as his running mate.
As experience is the best teacher, Jonathan is well-placed to counsel Atiku on the path to the presidency. The only snag being that Atiku would be charting a treacherous political terrain should he go begging Obasanjo, rather than God and the populace, to crown him president in 2015. The reasons are many but a few will suffice here.
* For Obasanjo to get his second term in 2003, he reportedly knelt for his deputy, Atiku who, backed by majority of the PDP governors, wanted the presidential ticket.
* While still Vice President under the PDP, Atiku joined the 2007 presidential race on the opposition Action Congress (AC) platform, but was disqualified by INEC, allegedly engineered by President Obasanjo. Atiku went to court and got reprieve to contest.
* Atiku reportedly pushed, several times, for Obasanjo’s impeachment by the National Assembly. Recall the display of piles of millions of hard currencies on the floor of the Assembly, purportedly to bribe the lawmakers!
* Atiku often boasts of working against the infamous Obasanjo “Third Term Agenda” that would have enabled him to stay in office for 12 years (some feared “for life”), and use it as a bragging right.
* Without exhibiting a scintilla of evidence, Obasanjo has always labelled Atiku as corrupt. So, how could he, in good conscience, endorse him for the presidency of Nigeria?
These and other reasons sum up Obasanjo’s memorable vow that, “Only over my dead body will Atiku become president of Nigeria.” Thus, to spite Atiku, Obasanjo nominated Yar’Adua (and Jonathan) as the PDP candidate in 2007. He vigorously campaigned for Yar’Adua, who was frequently indisposed. (Think back that Obasanjo’s stomp query: “Umoru, are you dead?” to the unfounded reported demise of Yar’Adua abroad!)
Obasanjo has never relented in de-marketing Atiku, even reportedly during the December 10, 2014 presidential primaries of the fledgling All Progressives Congress, in which Atiku placed third behind Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, respectively.
Now the nagging question: “Is Atiku going to ‘beg’ Obasanjo to forgive him of the ‘sins’ against him?” Both in his personality and normality, the ‘Ebora Owu’ does not forget, and forgive. And who would contend that he hasn’t considered the implications of “making Atiku president,” only for the ‘Waziri Adamawa’ to “show Obasanjo pepper” for denying him twice (2003 and 2007) the presidency, and trolling him and hanging on his neck the label of corruption over the years?
Should he, indeed, beg Obasanjo, how would the average Nigerian – the electorate, and not the politicians – view Atiku Abubakar? Is it as a man of integrity and independent-minded deserving of the Office of the President of Nigeria? Or as a desperate politician, who, notwithstanding his acclaimed political reach and war chest, would do anything, including beholden to godfather(s), to achieve his ambition?
Well, the decision is Atiku’s to make, as politicians see possibilities in impossibilities. And he might have crossed the rubicon, having told the world that he had “consulted with God” before leaving the APC. I would advise, though, he sticks with that “consultation,” and not to set much store by man, who cannot play God, such as Obasanjo is being held up by Jonathan and others.
* Mr. Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
