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Tag: Olusegun Obasanjo

  • The trouble with Obasanjo’s wish – By Azu Ishiekwene

    The trouble with Obasanjo’s wish – By Azu Ishiekwene

    I’m sure he expected the firestorm. As is his custom, he primed and released it to explode at his own time and season. If the letter by former President Olusegun Obasanjo endorsing Labour Party’s Peter Obi had gone unnoticed, uncriticised, and un-replied, then it would not have been Obasanjo’s letter.

    The letter had barely landed when the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and, in fact, the Presidency all pounced, with the mildest of them all from the PDP.

    Whatever the misgivings of the affected parties, I’m sure most might agree on the central message: that young people who constitute 65 percent of Nigeria’s population and, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 76.5 percent of nine million newly registered voters, would play a significant role in the forthcoming general elections.

    Those who were only eleven-years-old when President Muhammadu Buhari, who promised change, was voted in only to witness #Endsars six years later when the President was in the first year of his second term, are now of voting age. And those among them who are registered would be voting for the first time, if they have not joined the massive “japa wave” sweeping the country.

    It evokes memories of the “Andrew checking-out” era of the 1980s. Yet, if you have seen the lines at any of the embassies in Lagos or Abuja lately – lines spilling onto the pavements and main roads from behind huge iron gates and turnstiles manned by hefty private embassy security men, set against desperate young faces teeming with frustration – then you will know that what we have on our hands today is worse than the Andrews of the 1980s. 

    It is Andrew plus the mini-exodus of the post-1993 annulled elections, only more gifted and determined than both combined. These are the ones Obasanjo hopes would pour the anger, rage and frustration of #Endsars and the current economic hardship into an electoral tide that would sweep away the old order. 

    The affected parties also know that Obasanjo’s target – the registered remnant not yet on the “japa wave”, that curious, largely agnostic, adventurous and irreverent block – might play an important role in this election. 

    In addition to being the country’s largest vote banks, three regions – the North-West, the South-West, and the South South – currently hold the largest concentration of this youth population. According to records from the National Population Commission (NPC), five states – Kano (3.4m); Lagos (2.7m); Oyo (1.7m); Kaduna (2.1m); and Rivers States (1.8m) – have the highest overall youth population between the ages of 20 and 34 among Nigeria’s top 10.

    Another problem which Obasanjo identified correctly is the sheer scale, scope and complexity of the work required to retrieve Nigeria from the brink. With inflation at 23 percent; youth unemployment at 33 percent; foreign exchange scarcity; declining production and receipts from oil sales; and a looming debt crisis, even Obasanjo’s worst critics might agree that Buhari appears to have used up his successor’s honeymoon.

    What then, is the problem with Obasanjo’s letter? Surely, he is entitled to his choice and opinion which, however weighty, have not always been consequential in all elections. 

    Apart from 1979, when his military government foisted Shehu Shagari on the country, MKO Abiola won in 1993; and Buhari in 2019, both in spite of him. And even when he was a candidate, he lost resoundingly in his own state and his South-West backyard in 1999, only to wrest swathes of the region in a do-or-die subterfuge four years later.

    The hairsplitting this time is not so much over Obasanjo’s electoral value. What is left has been so depleted by his ego, his meddlesomeness and his lust for power that it is hardly enough to win him decisive votes in his Totoro/Soroki Ward 11, even if he were on the ballot today. 

    It does appear that what some folks are concerned about is not Obasanjo’s right of choice or advocacy, but what he might have done, early on, to make it much easier to pave the way for an Igbo presidency. 

    As president for eight years, Obasanjo vehemently rejected any suggestions to help restructure the country, which would have given the regions, especially the South-East, a fairer footing and created a more equitable and inclusive federal system. 

    An indispensable man, he wanted so much power for himself and spared no cost to acquire it, that Obasanjo invested at least $500 million in a phantom third term project, according to Chidi Odinkalu and Ayisha Osori in their book, Too Good to Die.

    It’s a measure of the complexity of the animal called man, that PDP, the party where Obasanjo was alpha and omega for eight years, was – and apparently remains – unable to provide a pathway for Igbo presidency. APC, the Siamese of the PDP, has fared even worse. Ironically, it is the Labour Party, the child of political necessity whose roots and forebears Obasanjo sought to crush, that has produced the cornerstone of his newfound affection. 

    During his presidency, the South-East suffered significant infrastructural decline, while he raised a small privileged class from there to manage his conjugal realm or stir up one political crisis after another. Not once, not twice, but three times, he instigated the removal of Igbo Senate presidents (including Chuba Okadigbo) who had a mind of their own. Yet, they were lucky. 

    The chairman of the Onitsha branch of the NBA, Barnabas Igwe and his wife, were killed in what was suspected to have been politically motivated murders – a bloody record, which littered not just the South-East, but up and down the country, claiming in its trail Obasanjo’s supposed friend and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Bola Ige. The killers are still at large.

    If Obasanjo was less lustful of power, less controlling and less obsessed about becoming the only cock in the neighbourhood that must crow, the deadly ferment in Igboland today which is a product of decades of injustice might have been mitigated. Also, the region now locked in the politics of self-mutilation and fratricidal violence to air its grievances, might have had an easier pathway to power.

    Obi, first tapped by Obasanjo as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in 2019, once again deserves Obasanjo’s support and should get it. But what Obasanjo offers is not support; it is nearly five and a half decades of overdue, self-interested atonement disguised as patriotism; it is worse than a Greek gift.

    It’s a gift with a history. And the youth to whom he addressed his letter might do well to remember, too. It’s true as he said in his letter that he became military head of state at 39 and General Yakubu Gowon at 33. If you want to know how much Obasanjo loved the youth in his heyday, ask those who witnessed the “Ali-Must-Go” students’ protest in 1978.

    That protest by students against increase in school fees at the time, remains one of the most violently repressed in student protest history, a foreshadow of #Endsars. But that was not all. 

    The year before Ali-Must-Go, “unknown soldiers” burnt down, well, a youth’s haven, Fela’s Kalakuta Republic, and beat residents with rifle butts and iron bars. Fela’s mother, Olufunmilayo, was dragged by the hair and thrown out the window. She survived the fall, but later died from its impact.

    And for those too blind to see the repression committed in plain sight, Obasanjo’s military regime shipped some offshore, to an Island 100 km off the coast of Lagos, called Ita-Oko, where critics of the military regime were imprisoned. It was an utterly squalid place which, interestingly, Buhari did not only retain, but also expanded when he seized power in a military coup four years after Obasanjo handed over to a civilian government.

    All of this hardly diminishes Obasanjo’s outstanding international record, his appetite for the limelight and, of course, his love of drama. Or indeed his right to suggest who he thinks is best to lead Nigeria. If the leading candidates didn’t think he still matters they would not be fawning over him and feeding his ego for support. They shouldn’t be throwing tantrums now. Obasanjo had them exactly where he wanted.

    The young may be fooled, but not the older ones who have seen Obasanjo as a leader, in and out of uniform, on his farm, on the podium, and in his home. If Obi knows Obasanjo as I think he should, my unsolicited advice is that he should read the former president’s letter of endorsement to the end. Somewhere there, in small print, he would find the words: “Buyer Beware!”

     

    Ishiekwene is the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP

  • Why I ignored Obi/Datti movement to join Atiku/Okowa Campaign Organization – Bwala

    Why I ignored Obi/Datti movement to join Atiku/Okowa Campaign Organization – Bwala

    The spokesperson for the Atiku, Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation, Daniel Bwala has revealed that former president Olusegun Obasanjo is the brain behind Obi/Datti movement, saying that Obasanjo poached him but refused and then chose to join Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP).

    Bwala made the comments on Thursday while featuring on a political show on Arise Television.

    The revelation is coming on the heels of the endorsement of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, by Obasanjo.

    Obasanjo had, in a New Year message to Nigerians, endorsed Obi ahead of other presidential candidates for the forthcoming general  elections, in the country.

    The Egba high chief noted that  age , physical and mental disposition favours Obi more than other frontline candidates.

    “None of the contestants is a saint, but when one compares their character, antecedent, understanding, knowledge, discipline and vitality that they can bring to bear and the great efforts required to stay focused on the job, particularly looking at where the country is today and with the experience on the job that I personally had, Peter Obi as a mentee has an edge,” Obasanjo had said.

    However, Bwala said he did not join the Labour Party because he thought it could not defeat his former party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.

    “Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president and elder statesman, is someone that I respect very dearly. And I felt that was wrong because if you look at the content of the letter, he did not disclose the fact that he is the one behind the coupling together of the Obi/Datti movement. I know as a person because five months ago, he contacted me and wanted to draft me into the movement but respectfully I did not go, because I did not think that if I left APC because of the same free thinking that I want to ensure APC does not win, I should join a party that I don’t think to have a realistic chance of defeating APC.”

  • Peter Obi: Obasanjo’s endorsement – By Promise Adiele

    Peter Obi: Obasanjo’s endorsement – By Promise Adiele

    By Promise Adiele

    The creative impact of the epistolary literary mode has considerably waned in the 20th century. Popularized in Africa by Senegalese writer Mariama Ba through her novella So Long A Letter, the epistolary mode penetrates social fabric, ex-raying the relationship between two interlocutors – the writer and reader.

    For inexplicable reasons, the epistolary mode of creativity is no longer popular at least within the literary fraternity. Yet, for Nigeria’s former military Head of State and civilian president Olusegun Obasanjo, the epistolary mode remains a virile, potent medium to address Nigeria’s multi-layered, endemic issues.

    Olusegun Obasanjo has become Nigeria’s undisputed letter-writing champion of the 20th century. When he writes, the country catches a cold. When he writes, the polity convulses. When he writes, Nigeria stays awake. Love him or hate him, Olusegun Obasanjo is what he is – daring, bold, intelligent, witty, and focused. It is difficult to describe Obasanjo in a few words.

    In 2016 while working on a project, I spent a day in his house in Abeokuta with the erudite Professor Hope Eghagha. After many hours of discussion, I came out with the conclusion that Obasanjo is the direct metaphor of the proverbial cat with nine lives.

    Nigeria’s socio-political firmament recently caught fire following Obasanjo’s endorsement of Labour Party’s presidential candidate Mr. Peter Obi. While many people have praised the former president for his forthrightness, speaking truth to power, many others have maligned him for exercising his fundamental right as a bonafide citizen of Nigeria. Some people throw caution to the wind while insulting the 85-year-old statesman using uncomplimentary, acerbic language.

    Those calling for Obasanjo’s neck are mostly APC and PDP apologists, two political parties of the same degraded genealogy responsible for Nigeria’s vanquished position in the comity of nations in the world.

    APC and PDP lack any shred of honour that is why they have the putrid temerity to present themselves for election in Nigeria after inflicting cancerous conditions on the polity. More regrettably, a section of the Nigerian populace suffer from dementia or loss of memory that is why they will, for a split second, consider bringing the two political parties back to power. No be juju be that?

    APC and PDP have supervised the gradual annihilation of Nigeria in the last 23 years. Under their watch, millions of Nigerians have died through hunger, insecurity, suicide, and summary suffocation. Under their watch, Nigeria has become The Waste Land and Nigerians have become The Wretched of the Earth – apologies to T.S Eliot and Frantz Fanon.

    With the above background, it is therefore disconcerting that the two political parties will attack Obasanjo for stating the obvious. Perhaps, it will be better if OBJ embraces moral ambiguities, lie to himself and endorse Atiku or Tinubu, people whose benighted antecedents he knows so well.

    At the beginning of the current political dispensation, every political party courted Obasanjo, seeking his endorsement and support in the 2023 general elections. I remember clearly that Ahmed Tinubu went to Abeokuta with his entourage to seek the endorsement of the former president. I also remember that serial presidential election loser Atiku Abubakar also went to Obasanjo to grovel for support and endorsement.

    Peter Obi was also not left out. During the visits, all the candidates recognized Obasanjos’ heavy electoral currency in Nigeria. That was why they went there in the first place. Obasanjo has international political clout and is venerated in Nigeria in no small measure. Obasanjo needed to make a choice and all things considered, he endorsed Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate. Immediately after endorsing Obi, all the attack dogs of the other two parties went to work, barking, sniffing, and howling all over Nigeria. In their shameless attempt to justify their pay, these attack dogs maintain that Obasanjo’s endorsement does not have any electoral value.

    The reaction of the APC and PDP apologists towards Obasanjo’s endorsement of Peter Obi reminds me of an Igbo folkloric narrative with the monkey as a principal character. The story is told of a monkey that made several attempts, sometimes at the risk of its life, to pluck a bunch of ripped, tantalizing banana. After several failed attempts, when it became clear to the monkey that it will not have the banana, it turned around to call the banana rotten.

    In the words of the monkey “I am not even interested in the banana because it is rotten”. In the current era, we can use a more direct example to explain the monkey story. A young man tries to woo a lady for marriage and after several attempts, he fails woefully because the beautiful lady realizes that the young man is a criminal and not suitable for marriage. Upon realizing that the lady has rejected him, the young man turns around to call the beautiful lady a prostitute.

    The above analogies provide a concise example of treachery, desperation, perfidy, and double standard of extended version. Today, those who desperately wanted OBJ to endorse them are calling his endorsement worthless. It goes to the heart of the matter and exposes the kinds of characters getting ready to occupy Aso Rock.

    OBJ’s clearly worded letter to Nigerians especially young Nigerians is timely, straight to the point, and nothing short of an axiom. Some disgruntled persons are peddling the empty but spurious narrative that OBJ wants to achieve third-term through Peter Obi’s inevitable victory as president.

    At 85, one wonders what pecks or items of materiality OBJ would be clamouring for which he does not have. Some people have also peddled the very offensive idea that OBJ is jealous of Tinubu – nothing can be more violating.

    Tinubu and his apologists are well aware that Tinubu’s name cannot be mentioned where OBJ’s name is mentioned. Tinubu cannot eat on the same table with OBJ whether internationally, in the Nigerian or Yoruba contexts.

    OBJ is an accomplished man in every ramification. He is a one-time military head of state who fought a civil war to keep Nigeria one. He also served eight years as an elected civilian president of Nigeria. Obasanjo is not a saint, nobody is a saint but to compare OBJ with Tinubu is to explode the foundations of human sensibilities.

    We know those who kept quiet while Fulani terrorists massacred Yoruba people and killed Pa Fasoranti’s daughter. They kept quiet simply because they didn’t want to offend the Fulani power hierarchy and truncate their chances of ascending to Aso Rock.

    Obasanjo’s call to Nigerian youths to take back their country by voting for Peter Obi resonates with millions of Nigerians disenchanted with the twenty-three years of macabre dance of death orchestrated by APC and PDP demagogues.

    While it can be argued that many Nigerian youths are conscious of the prevailing anomalies in the country, many of them are ready to endorse a system which reinforces their hopeless situation. There is no justification why PDP or APC should go near Aso Rock again. These two political parties have gas-lighted Nigerians plunging 133 million people into excruciating peonage and penury.

    In 2015, Nigerians fell for the dubiety masterminded by Tinubu and co. Today, Nigerians can judge for themselves if the country is better or worse than it was in 2015. Today, the same APC that promised heaven and earth are here again promising the same things in the most shameless way. I remember the promises of 2015, they echo in my ears like it happened yesterday. I was part of those who sheepishly fell for the gambit.

    But today, I am part of those who have recovered from the hypnosis of the deceptive mantra of change. OBJ’s letter only reinforced what Nigerian youths already want to do – to vote out those who think Nigeria belongs to them.

    Look around and see the kinds of characters who will be in positions of power and authority in the unfortunate event that APC or PDP returns to Aso Rock. They are still the same characters who have been recycled and proven to be monumental failures in public office. Nigerians know better.

    OBJ knows the secrets of this country and the underbelly of almost every politician in Nigeria. OBJ loves Nigeria in spite of his failings as an elected president of the country for eight years. He knows the presidential aspirants more than any Nigerian and he knows the criminals among them. He also knows the committed one among them.

    In 2023, voting for Peter Obi will summarily bring an end to corruption that has held the country by the jugular for many years – crude oil theft, all the shenanigans going on in CBN, ill-equipped army, fraud of monumental dimension going on in the corridors of power – all of these will stop with Peter Obi’s election and OBJ knows it.

    Some people have argued that it will be an aberration for a Fulani man to succeed another Fulani man as if Nigerian belongs to the Fulani. They also argue that a South Westerner shouldn’t be president again after OBJ’s eight years in power. In conclusion, they say it is the turn of the South East to produce the next president of Nigeria.

    While these people may have their points, I do not pander to sectional or ethnic sentiments although these play important roles in politics. The point is that in terms of character, health, background, honesty, and deliverability, Peter Obi towers above Atiku and Tinubu. Nigeria needs a new beginning. We have seen PDP in all their treacherous posturing. We have seen APC in all their incompetent and subversive identities.

    In the Nigerian search for order, accountability, and recovery, Peter Obi is it. The interesting thing is that Peter Obi will not have the luxury of eight years. Nigerians are now fully aware politically. If Peter Obi does not perform, he will be voted out after four years because power right now belongs to the people. Nigeria must be retrieved from the hands of a few who gloat over the grave of the youths and the defenseless, poor citizens.

    Thank you Olusegun Obasanjo. Ndewo Sir!!!

     

    Promise Adiele PhD 

    Mountain Top University

    Promee01@yahoo.com

    Twitter: @Drpee4 

  • Skullduggery as OBJ claims moral authority, writes letter to youth – By Magnus Onyibe

    Skullduggery as OBJ claims moral authority, writes letter to youth – By Magnus Onyibe

    Former president, general ( chief ) Olusegun Obasanjo,OBJ inadvertently revealed his agenda or motive for endorsing mr Peter Obi when he wrote in his 1st January sensational letter to Nigerian youth goading them to vote for Mr Peter Obi as president on 25 February this year. Referring to Mr Peter Obi, he wrote: “In other words,he has people who can pull his ears, if and when necessary.”

    Unfortunately,he forgot that when he thought he could ‘pull the ears’ of Umaru Yar’dua of blessed memory,he failed to realize that Yar’adua was not ready to be his stooge or lackey.

    Hence the president that succeeded him in office in 2007 promptly reversed most of the policies that Baba OBJ had introduced.Chief amongst them is the reversal of the reform policies for the unbundling of the electricity generation and distribution,as well as petroleum drilling,refining and distribution sectors that had been under the management of government,resulting in sub optimal output.

    It is on record that the refineries that had been sold to Dangote Group etc under Baba OBJ/ Wazirin Atiku Abubakar, AA regime were taken back and the billions of dollars spent in acquiring assets to boost electricity supply in our country was wasted as the equipment imported to enable the scaling up of its supply was left to rot away in the seaports when Yar’dua took over as president.The perfidy stated above were the subject of Ndudi Elumelu led committee of the House of Representatives,which delved into the issues surrounding the investments by OBJ regime totaling $16 billion during Umaru Yar,adua/ Goodluck Jonathan regimes between 2007 and 2011.

    In the light of the above,the concept of supporting a candidate so that he/she can be a lackey to do an outgoing president’s bidding has never been an efficacious strategy.

    Which is why l expected that Baba OBJ would not be susceptible to such at this point in time and should have been immune with his level of experience in the leadership of our beloved country.

    How can we also forget that Baba OBJ also lost out with president Goodluck Jonathan whom he had also backed to step up from vice president into a substantive president after President Yar’dua passed away as a serving president in 2010 and there was a leadership lacuna in Aso Rock Villa.

    To get his pound of flesh after what he perceived to be a let down by Yar’adua soon after his ascension to power,Baba OBJ had pushed for his replacement with Jonathan after his passage.That was when in the spirit of presidential power rotation between the south and north,politicians from the north had started clamoring for Yar’adua’s replacement with someone of their own ethnic stock,simply because it was their turn,as Yar’adua was yet to complete his tenure before his sudden demise two (2) years into his first tenure.

    In 2011,Jonathan succeeded in getting re-elected,but it didn’t take long for him as president to seek to detach himself from what was deemed as an over bearing influence of Baba OBJ who had stomped for him to become president as he is currently doing for Obi.

    So,my suspicion is that Baba OBJ is still seeking ways to enjoy the 3rd term that he failed to get legitimately when his term was up in 2007 and he attempted to tweak with the constitution that limits tenure to two terms of eight (8) years and four (4) years per term to accommodate his apparently vaulting ambition.

    The truth is that if and when Wazirin Atiku Abubakar,AA becomes president in 2023, he will be coming back to continue where he stopped when he served as vice president to OBJ,and was in charge of the privatization council.In the likely event that it so happens,petrol scarcity now tormenting Nigerians will be a thing of the past and epileptic electricity supply would also be history, just as he made it possible for Nigeria and Nigerians in October 2001 to witness revolution in the telecoms sector,which we are all currently enjoying because he had the opportunity to start the process and complete it over twenty one (21) years ago.

    But,out of spite,OBJ stripped AA of the duty of masterminding the telecommunications revolution.lt is a decision that was a malicious fall out of the events leading to his (Baba OBJ’s) re-election in 2003.

    In fact,l am of the conviction that if AA had enough time to complete the process of privatizing the electricity power and petroleum refining and distribution sectors while he was chairman of the privatization council,Nigeria would not be in darkness today and a whopping N6 trillion naira ( some would argue in excess of N15 trillion since 2015) would not have been spent on subsidizing petrol pump price instead of subsidizing education in 2022 national budget.

    In the highly caustic letter penned by Baba OBJ released on new year day,he admonished politicians not to make elections a do-or-die affair.

    How hypocritical!

    Nigerians can’t forget that it was baba OBJ that stated in the run up to election that ushered in his successor Umaru Yar’adua in 2007 that election is a do-or die-affair.

    Nevertheless,it is heartening that after leaving office he has realized that it’s better that democracy is practiced without the autocratic elements that marked his eight (8) years reign as a democratically elected president (1999-2007).

    That is keeping in mind the atrocities committed by the military against civilians under his watch in Odi Bayelsa state where 900 people were killed in November 1999 for allegedly murdering some police men sent to keep the peace and about 200 lives were also snuffed out in Zaki-Biam in Benue state in the month of October 2001 as reprisal action against the alleged abduction of 19 soldiers who are members of Nigerian army.

    Given the abhorrent records above,it is difficult for democracy watchers in Nigeria not to suspect that Baba OBJ’s motive for endorsing Obi and Labor Party,LP are not altruistic.

    That is why skeptics are scoffing at his latest letter.

    In any case,I had concluded long ago that the last sixty (60) days to the general elections would be packed with dramatic events as political actors ramp up activities for the last last leg of the race to Aso Rock Villa-presidential seat of power.

    But l was stunned by Baba OBJ’s 1st of January letter specifically to Nigerian youth and the electorate in general, endorsing Mr Peter Obi who is LP’s presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election.

    Prior to his current open letter promoting the candidacy of Mr Obi for the presidency of Nigeria in 2023,as a keen observer of politics in Nigeria,l had noted long ago that there was an unseen puppeteer behind ex Anambra state governor Obi’s bold move to become president of Nigeria by contesting for the post this year without a solid or established political base.

    Hitherto,Baba OBJ’s signature and if you like his imprimatur was at best a mere suspicion or speculation and never clear and unambiguous until his infamous letter published on 1st day of January.

    That is basically because not many people would have connected the dots to figure out that both Dr Doyin Okupe,the erstwhile campaign Director General for Mr Peter Obi’s presidential campaign that recently stepped down and his successor,my friend,Mr Akin Osuntokun were former aides to Baba OBJ.

    While Okupe was the spokesperson of Baba OBJ as president (1999-2007) Osuntokun was appointed the Director General of News Agency of Nigeria, NAN during the same period.

    And both of them have remained his trusted allies till date.

    And Baba OBJ’s disguise was intentional because he wanted to remain the power behind the masquerade,perhaps for the reason that he might become a burden instead of an asset to Mr Obi as he is turning out to be,if Obi’s candidacy was traced to him very early in the race.

    Invariably,the situation that he appeared to have been trying to avoid seem to be currently manifesting,if the bashing or push back that his letter has elicited especially from the camp of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,BAT and a critical mass of Nigerians should be used as a barometer.

    In the rebuttals which have been brutal ,OBJ’s sordid past have been dredged up and they are not flattering at all.

    “The endorsement is actually worthless because the former President does not possess any political goodwill or leverage anywhere in Nigeria to make anyone win a Councillorship election let alone win a Presidential election. He is a political paperweight.

    “He is also not a democrat anyone should be proud to be associated with,” the statement concluded.

    To buttress how hard Baba OBJ has been scheming to return to the control of Nigeria as the grandmaster and godfather combined after he failed to succeed in extending his tenure also known as third (3rd) term gambit,allow me dwell on how the former president was also the initiator of the so called third force-a political movement that was established to run against APC and PDP candidates, President Mohammadu Buhari,PMB and AA was also populated and driven by his former aids and acolytes such as a former Cross Rivers state governor,ebullient Mr Donald Duke,ex minister of Education,fiery Oby Ezekwesili,and scholarly Professor Pat Utomi etal.

    But the movement failed to gain traction. And it is presently the back-office,while the LP and Peter Obi are the front-office for the fresh push for Nigerian state capture which the contestation for governance of Nigeria is often all about.

    At the inception of Third Force (3rd Force) movement before 2019 elections,Baba OBJ had made statements to the effect that the two main political parties – APC and PDP – were wobbling.

    And reiterated that nothing has happened to convince him otherwise and claimed that he is reinforced in his conviction that the only one choice left to take Nigeria out of Egypt to the Promised Land is the coalition of the concerned and the willing – ready for positive and drastic change, progress and involvement.

    He then made the following declaration: “I am happy to be a member of the Coalition for Nigeria Movement. The movement is a pressure point towards good governance.This is the commencement for our popular and grassroots association. Of course, the membership will be free to collectively decide on whether CNM becomes a political party. If the Movement decides to transform itself and go into partisan politics,I will cease to be a member.”

    It is needless to state that the much hyped political movement that was supposed to have been given wings to fly by OBJ,failed to take off.Some would argue that it was dead on arrival.

    Would he be able to use this same old wine in a new bottle to do what he could not accomplish in previous attempts?

    I have my doubts.

    Probably as a tireless Army General and in tandem with the dictum:old soldier never dies,Baba OBJ has been reinventing the platforms with which he intends to continue to indirectly rule Nigeria and has branded them with different names.

    But the more he plays a pivotal role in them,the less successful he has been.

    Perhaps,that is the reasoning behind his decision to remain incognito about his critical role in Mr Peter Obi’s presidency quest which is hinged on his past experience of being disappointed each time he front-loads his interest in the candidate and the political platforms or movements.

    As stated earlier,l do not see the latest attempt leading to a eureka moment for him.

    That is because both AA and BAT are too formidable political forces for him to walk over.

    As readers may recall, APC and PDP presidential standard bearers that were targeted by the latest letter are veterans of multiple political wars against Baba OBJ,of which incidentally,he (OBJ) has always ended up being worsted in the fight.

    Let us commence by recalling the former president’s battle with BAT who triumphed over him at the polls,when the state remained the only Yoruba enclave that did not fall under the control of OBJ led PDP as his candidate failed to win lagos state governorship election which at that time was being governed by BAT.

    The trick that OBJ applied in capturing south-west Nigeria during his presidency is well documented in elder statesman and ex ogun state governor and media royalty, Aremo Segun Osoba’s book: Battle Lines: My Adventures In Journalism and Politics”.

    Incidentally, Osoba himself was also a victim of Baba OBJ’s political treachery because he was at that time Ogun state governor:

    “Some people should stop distorting history.When Obasanjo was deceiving us, Tinubu was deceiving him also by registering many parties.”

    The second time BAT defeated OBJ was in court after he as president of the federal republic of Nigeria withheld the payment of federal government’s monthly allocated funds to Lagos state.That was done on the excuse that the state under the watch of BAT created Local Government Development Areas, LCDA which in OBJ’s reckoning was in contravention of Nigerian constitution.

    So, he unilaterally decided to seize Lagos state government’s funds in an autocratic manner.

    That was in spite of the fact that Nigeria was operating a democratic system of government,not a dictatorship.

    With the current vice President,Professor Yemi Osinbajo as then Lagos state Attorney General and commissioner for justice,the state went to court to slug it out with the central government led by Baba OBJ and got judgement in its favor at the Supreme Court level.

    And it was PDP government under late Umaru Yar’adua, who is Baba OBJ’s successor in 2007 that graciously released the trapped Lagos state government’s funds to it following the exit of Baba OBJ from Aso Rock Villa presidential seat of power on 29 May 2007.

    I intentionally highlighted the issue of seizure by Baba OBJ of Lagos state funds allocated to it from the federation account because it compelled BAT to seek other means of funding the state.And that desperation to find alternative sources of funding ushered in the use of tax consultants like the controversial Alfa Beta that creatively and massively taxed lagosians in the manner that water would be expected to be squeezed out of a rock.

    As they say in local lingo: Lagosians in particular and Nigerians generally can see from the forgoing when,where and how the rain started ‘beating’ them.

    Frankly,it did not surprise me or folks like me that are close observers of Baba OBJ’s politics going back to his days as a war theater commander of the 3rd Marine Commando during the unfortunate Nigerian civil war (1967-70 ),otherwise known as Biafran war, that he has been keen and still remains fixated on having his hands perpetually on the levers of power over Nigeria like an emperor.

    Baba OBJ’s attempt in 2006/7 to amend the constitution of Nigeria to allow him enjoy a third (3rd term) by subterfuge which is a deal that he had struck with governors (who are powerful leaders at the subnational levels) but of which he failed to keep his own end of the bargain; tends to validate his tendencies and inclinations towards being an emperor of sorts ruling over Nigeria as a puppeteer since he could not amend the constitution of the country to self perpetuate.

    Before proceeding further,l must confess that l have been fascinated by Baba OBJ who is the first to rule over Nigeria both as a military dictator (1976-79) and return in (1999 -2007)as a democratically elected president. The other personality to have achieved such a feat is incumbent president,Mohammadu Buhari,PMB.

    That is why l have written about him multiple times and amongst the plethora of essays that l have had Baba OBJ in focus,l am referencing the particular one which deals with his penchant for letter writing and claiming of moral authority or mounting moral high ground.

    In the essay written and published in my Daily Independent column of February 6, 2016, (some 7 years ago) and featured on other mass media platforms titled: Letter To Buhari: “Is OBJ An Opportunist,Patriot Or Mystic?”, l sought answers to a slew of questions about him that had been agitating my mind.
    Below is a snippet:

    “That is why, to me, this is a kind of déjà vu encore. In 2015, candidate Buhari similarly capitalised on the suffering of the masses ostensibly due to the “clueless government” of Goodluck Jonathan, and rode into Aso Rock on that premise. In 2018, owing to the absence of a credible presidential candidate with mass appeal to challenge Buhari, it became inevitable that OBJ, who still has political firepower in his belly to galvanise public angst against his targets, would seize the moment to muddy the 2019 political water for PMB via his letter. As we all know, nature abhors vacuum, and to that extent, it can be argued that OBJ is only filling a political void. This belief is underscored by the fact that he is not only tagging PMB a bad product, but he is also marshalling his support base through a political platform aptly tagged Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) also known as the Third Force, which is a mystic nomenclature aimed at spoiling the chances of the ruling and main opposition parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and PDP in the 2019 general elections.

    “By so doing, OBJ may be finally stretching his narcissistic traits to new levels by taking the moral high ground of being all-knowing and perhaps the one appointed by God to save Nigeria. An attitude that his antagonists have alluded to in their scathing responses to his letter.

    “In 2007, OBJ pushed for Nigerians to vote for late president Umar Yar’Adua and they did. A little over two years into his tenure, he became gravely ill and OBJ tried to convince Nigerians to vote against him if he fails to resign and even nudged the National Assembly (NASS) to impeach him. But the man passed away before OBJ’s fury could become a storm.

    “Again, he cajoled Nigerians to replace late Yar’Adua with then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. Nigerians obliged him and a few years after, he bayed for the blood of his “blue eyed” political prince Jonathan when the latter sought a second term.

    “Anybody else but Jonathan, he sermonised. OBJ had his way with the incumbent President Buhari by taking advantage of the void created by the schism within then ruling party, PDP, which he masterminded by dramatically tearing up his membership card of the party on whose platform he ruled Nigeria for eight years.

    “OBJ’s larger than life image can be situated within the foregoing strings of successes in determining the direction in which Nigeria’s leadership pendulum swings. But given that under his watch nothing spectacular happened in Nigeria in terms of the deepening of democracy or growing the economy, and he coaxed Nigerians to vote-in or vote-out of office at least two presidents that he handpicked after his exit from power, where does OBJ derive the authority or audacity to keep twisting Nigerians between his fingers?”

    Dear readers,the piece reproduced above was written by me in February of 2016 which is one month shy of seven (7)years ago.

    The full article is reproduced in my book that would soon be on sale in leading bookshops titled: Leading From The Streets. Media Interventions By A Public Intellectual(1999-2019).

    It is a six hundred (600) page book with Foreword written by HE General Yakubu Gowon, Head of State of Nigeria (1966-75) and Afterwords by eight (8) eminent and renown authorities in the subject matters or topics focused in the seven(7) chapters of the book containing seventy seven (77) selected essays that l have written and published in the mass media between 1999 to 2029,which is a period of twenty (20) years since the return of multi party democracy in Nigeria.

    I find it amazing that seven (7) years after the reproduced article was published,Baba OBJ is still mesmerizing or still trying to hoodwink Nigerian voters through his incendiary and often acerbic letters.

    As students of modern Nigerian political history would recall,it was when OBJ between 2003-2007 tried to sideline the governors by getting the constitution amended with their exclusion in the amendment that could have created the opportunity for then political ruling class to enjoy third (3rd) term in office,that the governors literally pulled the plug on him by ensuring that the amendment bill was ‘killed’ in the senate.

    The task of hobbling the amendment of the constitution was executed by then senate president,senate president,Ken Nnamani who led his colleagues in the 5th senate under the influence of,or tele-guided by then very powerful governors who charged him with making sure that the constitution amendment bill was not passed.

    Nnamani was later to pay the price by being stopped from returning to the senate when he was denied the ticket by his then mentor and governor of Enugu state,currently a senator of the federal republic,Dr Chimaroke Nnamani.

    Again an account of the high wire political shenanigan is well documented in the book written by the former senate president,Ken Nnamani and victim of what l would like to term OBJ’s brand of politics that brooks no opposition,for lack of a better nomenclature. Remarkably, Nnamdi has no regrets.

    On page 261 of the book “Standing Strong: Legislative Reforms,Third Term, And Other Issues Of The 5th Senate” while recapping his conversation with Obasanjo’s chief of staff, Major General Abdullahi Mohammed shortly after the matter was laid to rest, Nnamani wrote: “Tell him (Obasanjo) that we followed the procedure and it (the Constitution amendment) failed. Tell him it is over”.

    As it may be recalled,Baba OBJ was in Paris,France signing the infamous Green Tree agreement that handed over Bakassi to Cameroon when the terrible news of the killing of the constitution amendment to accommodate his tenure elongation plans was announced to him.

    So much for the political battles that OBJ had lost to BAT.

    At this juncture,let us bring to the fore,similar battles that OBJ also fought and lost to Wazirin Atiku Abubakar,AA.

    As a former army general and head-of-state of Nigeria as well as the first to serve Nigeria both as a military-of-head and as president in a democratic political setting,Baba OBJ never shied away from wars so he has been synonymous with conflicts which he has lost and won.

    And it is apropos that l apprise readers of the battles staged against AA by calling to remembrance the fact that owing to the raft of dictatorial actions taken by Baba OBJ during his first tenure (1999-2003), about seventeen (17)governors under the platform of PDP, including chief James Onanefe lbori, governor of Delta state and Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia state (1999-2007) as arrow heads,it was resolved that Baba OBJ would not be given the PDP ticket for a second term.

    The governors were angling for the vice president to OBJ, in the person of AA, to be given the opportunity to fly the party’s flag. So Baba OBJ was in a fix and a cul-de-sac when then PDP chairman, Chief Audu Ogbe conveyed the message from the rebelling governors to him.

    Multiple accounts of what transpired thereafter abound.But for the purpose of this discuss,l would like to go with the account by Orji Uzor Kalu,presently a senator of the federal republic and senate minority leader,who in a media interview granted many years ago,(which is currently trending in the social media) divulged how AA went down on his knees to beg the governors opposed to Baba OBJ’s second term,while besieging them to sheath their swords.

    According to Kalu,the aggrieved governors were initially implacable,but eventually got persuaded by AA,who incidentally was the potential beneficiary of the coup de grass, but graciously pleaded for mercy for his then boss, OBJ.

    But after OBJ’s re-election,salacious and sadistic stories have been told of how he visited Ogbe,had pounded with him and proceeded to sack him as PDP chairman the next day.

    Thereafter he was believed to have directed his vengeance against lbori ,late Diepreye Alamiesegha,then Bayelsa state governor and Orji Kalu,the perceived arrow heads of the OBJ must not be re-elected.

    The vendetta was taken a tad too far when in the bid to stop lbori from being eligible for re-election,he was framed for stealing zinc or roofing sheets enough to cover the whole of Apo in Abuja,Federal Capital Territory, FCT. It was an allegation without proof and lbori had to slug it out in court with OBJ where he also prevailed over OBJ.

    Considering how the current Central Bank of Nigeria,CBN governor,Godwin Emefiele is appearing to have been framed as being Boko Haram sponsor in the bid to arrest him and lock him away,which is a ploy that Emefiele’s camp aver is an attack triggered by his naira redesign policy that would negatively impact the ability of politicians to engage in vote buying during polls coming up in less than 60 days;the aphorism: give a dog a bad name so that you can hang it,rings true.

    In the light of the above,readers can imagine how far some powerful foes can go in trying to get their pound of flesh against their opponents in the political arena.

    To cut the story short,besides lbori ,Alamiesegha and Kalu’s ordeals, OBJ allegedly also did everything possible to ensure that AA did not succeed him as president in 2007. In fact he openly vowed to work against allowing AA become the president of Nigeria.There was the issue of PTDF where both of them fought dirty by washing dirty linen in public.

    But AA being a never-say-die fighter went on to clear his name in a long drawn battle in court with his principal ,OBJ after having been accused of corrupt practices which are in fact orchestrated charges by his traducers for the purpose of making then vice president ineligible to contest for the post of president of Nigeria.

    The courts cleared him of all the charges of fraud leveled against him and was therefore declared eligible to contest for the presidency,which he did in the primaries against Umaru Yar’adua of blessed memory,who won the contest and became the flag bearer of PDP and subsequently won the presidency in 2007.

    Now,it is worth pointing out that it is in the bid to revenge the perceived treachery by AA against him resulting in his debacle with the 17 governors that were against his second term bid,that Baba OBJ engaged in the personal vendetta fight during his second term resulting the stripping of AA of the responsibility of leading the privatization council that he had successfully driven to delivering GSM telephone services in Nigeria by licensing Econet of Zimbabwe (now Airtel) and MTN of South Africa that were the first to roll out their services in year 2001.

    It would interest readers to know that if AA had remained in charge of the privatization council during OBJ’s second tenure,perhaps the unbundling of the electricity power production and distribution services as well as petroleum drilling,refining and distribution services from from the control of government would have been completed by handing such public utilities to private sector operators in the manner that GLO , MTN and Airtel as well as 9Mobile are operating the telecommunications sector successfully.

    Had the process not been truncated by the internal schism from 2003 to 2007,it is very likely that Nigerians would not be suffering epileptic electricity power supply and petroleum products shortage which is currently having a debilitating effect on society.The two aforementioned malaise are the bane of Nigerian economy that would have been consigned to the dustbin of history basically because without stable and optimum supply of electricity,it has been impossible for Nigerian economy to transit from a consumption to production one without electricity to power factories that could lead to the much sought Industrial Revolution or facilitate an economy that would be open twenty four (24/7) hours a day which could boost the GDP of Nigerian economy currently put at $430 million to at least $1.1 billion where Indonesia,her peer in the 1960s is currently.

    By directing his 1st January letter to Nigerian youth , Baba OBJ was trying to stand on moral high ground by pontificating about corruption,integrity, age, etc.And he also tried to pitch youth against the older generation of politicians by invoking ‘It Is Your Turn’ in parody of BAT’s ‘emi lo kan’ rhetorics.

    Well,is Baba OBJ entitled to such moral high ground?

    The facts below do not support such assumptions:

    On the issue of corruption, a video where Ayodele Fayose , ex governor of Ekiti state is calling out Baba OBJ to refund the ten (10) million naira that he compelled all the 36 governors in the country to contribute towards the building of his presidential library in his Ota, Ogun state farm and country home.
    The source of funds for the construction of that library has been a sore point and subject of public discuss as it has since been described as perverse,even as private entrepreneurs were also believed to have been coerced to provide funds for Baba OBJ’s personal project.

    Dr Oby Ezekwesili in a trending media comment,just raked up issues of corruption within PTDF and she fingered AA as a culprit. Well , if my memory is not failing me , l can recall that PTDF was the subject of an epic battle for Baba OBJ and AA wherein both fought dirty by washing their dirty linen in public as they traded accusations about how the institution served as a source of slush funds for purchasing cars etc for the consorts of both the president and vice president.

    To the best of my recollection, PTDF scandal was a plot to stop AA from contesting for the presidency by Baba OBJ, but AA turned it around by exposing Baba OBJ when he drew public attention to his perversion of the system and absolved himself of any wrong doing in the law courts by getting a not guilty verdict. Thereafter,he was green lighted to contest for the presidency which he did but lost to Umaru Yar’adua of blessed memory, perhaps because he had been handicapped by starting late and not being in Baba OBJ’s good book.

    How can the youth that his 1st January letter is targeting relate to his sermonizing,when his real persona and public office records are nothing to emulate, but everything vile and unenviable?

    In my reckoning,Baba OBJ’s record in the public arena is a case of of Jekyll and Hyde or a Saint during the day and the devil at night ?

    From the same public records,Baba OBJ appear to be a terrible dad.

    His daughter Dr Iyabo Obasanjo has ascribed all sorts of unprintable names to him which for the sake of decency,l loathe to reproduce here and his son,Gbenga also amongst sundry allegations,accused him of sleeping with his (Gbenga’s) wife-incest.

    How many youths did Baba OBJ engage in government during his reign?

    When did he suddenly become a youth champion ? Only in 2015,he supported Buhari who was 72 against Goodluck Jonathan in his 50s. Less than eight (8) years after he is goading Nigerians to reject octogenarians in 2023 general elections.

    During his first tenure in office as president in 1999,he had oldies such as Mallam Adamu Ciroma as finance minister, Chief Anthony Anenih as minister of works,Chief Philip Asiodu as Economic Adviser and Chief Audu Ogbe as chairman of the party amongst other elders.

    Apparently, all these men of caliber and timber were not found wanting in the delivery of their duties. Or did they? And if they failed to discharge their responsibilities creditably,Baba OBJ did not indict them. Instead,he extolled their leadership virtues of which they are deserving.He also boasted in his lightening-rod-like new year ‘homily’ that all the current presidential candidates are his mentees that are aiming to take our country back to the high level that he had taken it during his tenure. Does that not sound like someone being megalomaniacal?

    Baba OBJ must have achieved the superlative success that he ascribed to himself with the help of the aforementioned grand daddies.

    Is it not therefore curious that they are suddenly being de-marketed by Baba OBJ?

    May l remind Baba OBJ that the president of the United States of America,USA Joe Biden is 80,the outgoing speaker, Nancy Pelosi is 82 and former president,Donald Trump that has thrown his hat into the ring for 2024 presidential contests is an octogenarian too?

    Baba OBJ’s point about disparaging elders of which he is one remains unfathomable to me.

    If at 85 years of age,he feels qualified and he has the mental capacity to counsel our youth and Nigerians in general as to who to vote for as our president in 2023,it means he is confident of his capacity to lead at his octogenarian age.

    Why does he think that those less than his age and are not suffering from any health debilities would not be able to perform the task of governance?

    I implore readers to allow me conclude by recalling the scathing comment below by Baba OBJ’s contemporary in the army Brigadier General,Godwin Alabi-lsama(rtd),who is the author of a seminal book on Nigerian civil war titled:The Tragedy Of Victory. On-The-Spot Account Of The Nigeria-Biafra War In The Atlantic Theatre “which is a 670 page tome published in 2013 where he debunked Baba OBJ’s claims of heroism during the war.

    Thereafter,Alabi-Isama had engaged in a public spat with Baba OBJ during which he made the following caustic statement:

    “I am not qualified to comment on Obasanjo’s political achievements, if any, for this country. The people and posterity will do that.

    “There is no president in this country that he has not condemned. Haba! He always thinks that he has the preserve of knowledge on how to rule this country. Did the country move forward when he was Head of State or President? He destroyed the heart of the national security. We can see the result today. He destroyed education in many ways. We see the result today. He destroyed a lot of other things. “As for how he has treated his family shabbily, his wife and children have openly made their comments. Those comments are in public domain today and forever, even though Obasanjo cleverly brushes them aside in his current book.I implore Obasanjo to stop lying before he dies.”

    With the above ‘scud missiles’ hurled at Baba OBJ by someone he admits he knows very well (having played games with him) and they have fought together in real war fronts,it is now left to the youth and indeed Nigerians in general to decide if Baba OBJ has the moral standing to advise them on who to cast their vote for during the forthcoming general elections to be held on 25 February and 11 March this year.

     

    Magnus Onyibe, an entrepreneur,public policy analyst,author,development strategist,alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy,Tufts University, Massachusetts,USA and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from lagos.
    To continue with this conversation,pls visit www.magnum.ng

  • What Obasanjo’s endorsement of Peter Obi means to us – LP Chieftain

    What Obasanjo’s endorsement of Peter Obi means to us – LP Chieftain

    A chieftain of the Labour Party (LP) in Ondo State, Mr Stephen Adeyeri, has described the endorsement of Mr Peter Obi by former President Olusegun Obasanjo as a harbinger of better times to come.

    Obasanjo had in a letter on Sunday disclosed that Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, was his preferred candidate among the contenders jostling for the apex seat of power in the country.

    The endorsement, however, elicited mixed reactions from political actors and watchers as some severely criticised the endorsement of the LP candidate.

    In a statement on Wednesday in Akure,  Adeyeri lauded Obasanjo and described him as a true lover of democracy and defender of the country.

    He said the decision of the two-time former president reflected the wish of the masses.

    Adeyeri, an LP candidate for the Akoko South West/South East Federal Constituency, said that it was only those who were against nation building that would pick offence from what Obasanjo had said.

    “Baba is entitled to his own views on politics and others, and as an elder statesman, he wants the best for our dear nation,

    “It is apparent that all is not well with Nigerians and we can’t continue to languish in excruciating pains”

    “With the track record of Obi, I must say he has what it takes to pilot Nigeria and Baba Obasanjo has critically examined him and discovered the potential, sagacity and the wherewithal to move Nigeria from consumption to production,” he stated.

    According to him, any right thinking person will not tag the former president, who is highly regarded in world politics as being inconsequential.

    He assured the people in his the federal constituency of the better time to come.

    “Since bigwigs are backing Obi for the betterment of the country, I want to assure the people of Akoko South West/South East Federal Constituency that the same wind of change will blow down to them very soon,” he said.

  • Obasanjo commiserates with AfDB President Adesina over mother’s death

    Obasanjo commiserates with AfDB President Adesina over mother’s death

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has commiserated with Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, the President, African Development Bank (AfDB) over the death of his mother, Mrs Eunice Adesina.

    The former president in a letter addressed to Adesina, said late Eunice was a hardworking personality, who dedicated her life to her family and the church of Christ.

    He said the deceased, who passed away on Dec. 22, 2022 at the age of 92, lived a fulfilled life, adding that her impact on her family was evident in the achievements of her children.

    “It is with sadness I read the passing on to glory of Mama, Chief, Mrs Eunice Adesina.

    “On behalf of my family, please accept our profound condolences and prayers as you go through the permanence of her absence.

    `The loss of a mother is never an easy moment to bear, you should, however, be consoled as she lived a life of lessons, hard work and dedication,’’ he said.

    Obasanjo said the grace of God, which Eunice enjoyed with her late husband, Mr Roland Adesina, led to the impact they made before their demise.

    While urging the bereaved to take solace in the fact that she had contributed her quota to human development, the former president said, “mama was one in a million.

    “The evidence of her motherhood is well reflected on her children and daughters-in-law.

    “I can attest to the fact that her children and you in particular are men of strong character and great achievements in their respective rights.

    “Those of you she left behind should be comforted even as you celebrate her time on earth.’’

    Obasanjo said while all mankind would take same path someday, it was important to be prepared for what one would be remembered for.

  • I had no altercation with Obasanjo – Obi of Onitsha counters presidency

    I had no altercation with Obasanjo – Obi of Onitsha counters presidency

    The Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Achebe has countered the presidency, saying there was no time he had an altercation with former Presiden Olusegun Obasanjo.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports this is contained in a statement released on Tuesday by Chinyelugo Osita Anionwu, Chief of Staff to the Ime Obi Onicha.

    Recall that Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman in a statement on Monday criticised Obasanjo for criticising the present administration under President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Shehu also said Obasanjo deceived the south-east during the flag-off for the construction of the Second Niger Bridge, adding that the Obi of Onitsha had some altercation with the former president.

    “Obasanjo laid the sod for the bridge in his first term as elected President and work never started. When he sought re-election for his second term in office, he returned to the site to turn the sod for the bridge the second time.

    “When the Obi of Onitsha, forthright and scholarly, reminded him that he had done this in the past, Obasanjo told the foremost Southeast traditional ruler that he was a liar, in the full presence of the Chiefs and Oracles in his palace,” Shehu stated.

    However, in the statement on Tuesday, the Obi of Onitsha said he wasn’t involved in any sod-turning ceremony for the bridge during Obasanjo’s first tenure.

    The statement reads: “The attention of Ime Obi Onicha(The Palace) has been drawn to a State House Press Release of January 2, 2023 by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), titled MORALLY SQUALID OBASANJO ATTACKS LEADERS OUT OF FRUSTRATION.

    “His Majesty, Nnaemeka Achebe, CFR, mni, Obi of Onitsha, by his position as traditional and natural ruler, should normally not engage publicly in high level discourse on affairs of State between two of our highly respected national leaders, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR.

    “However, the Palace deems it absolutely necessary to ensure that public statements relating to our monarch are factually correct. Accordingly, the Palace would like to state categorically that His Majesty was never involved in any sod turning ceremony for the second River Niger Bridge during the first tenure of President Obasanjo as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and, therefore, could not have engaged in any altercation with the then President as stated in the above press release.

    “The only involvement of His Majesty with President Obasanjo regarding the Second River Niger Bridge was at the very tail end of his second term as President during a low-keyed flag-off of the project when His Majesty prayed that the succeeding administration would construct the bridge expeditiously.

    “Onitsha people will continue to express their utmost gratitude to President Buhari and his Government for successfully constructing the magnificent bridge.

    “This is solely a statement of facts and nothing more or less”.

  • 2023: Gov Samuel Ortom backs OBJ in endorsing Peter Obi

    2023: Gov Samuel Ortom backs OBJ in endorsing Peter Obi

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has received the backing of Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom in endorsing Peter Obi of the Labour Party as his preferred candidate for the 2023 presidential election.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Governor Ortom especially commended former President Obasanjo for endorsing Peter Obi as the right candidate to win this year’s presidential election and provide the leadership that Nigerians desire.

    In a statement released on Tuesday by Terver Akase, Ortom’s Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, the Governor stated that if he were not a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), he would have personally led Obi’s campaign across the country.

    The statement reads: “Governor Ortom strongly recommends Peter Obi to Nigerians as the man who has the capacity to effectively tackle the economic, security and other challenges facing the country.

    “He is convinced that Obi possesses the qualities of a leader who will be a true President of this country by guaranteeing justice, equity and fairness for all Nigerians.

    “The Governor stresses that for some years, the country has been tottering on the verge of collapse, owing to leadership failure and its attendant consequences of poverty, heightened insecurity with banditry, kidnappings and other acts of terrorism threatening the very foundations of the nation.

    “He says the President that Nigeria needs at this challenging time in the country’s history is one who understands the urgent need to unite the people and speedily initiate policies and actions to redirect the ship of the nation on the path of growth and development, and emphasizes that Peter Obi has all such qualities.

    “Governor Ortom lauds Chief Obasanjo for once again demonstrating objectivity, truth and patriotism as a statesman whose views on national issues must be taken seriously”.

  • Obi’s endorsement: Labour Party youth leader writes Obasanjo

    Obi’s endorsement: Labour Party youth leader writes Obasanjo

    The National Youth Leader of the Labour Party, Prince Kennedy Ahanotu has penned an open letter to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo after the former president’s endorsement of the presidential candidate of the party.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Ahanotu in the open letter hailed Chief Obasanjo for endorsing Peter Obi, stressing that the endorsement is very significant and that it shows that the former president cares about the state of affairs in the country.

    The open letter reads: “It’s with great joy and gladness, un-behalf of Nigerian Youths and Obedient family both in Nigeria and in diaspora, I respectfully wish you our dear revered elderly statesman a blessed Happy New Year 2023.

    “I enjoin millions of Nigerians to say Amen to your prayers and to declare ‘May all our national calamities disappear this year 2023’. In addition we pray may all the labors of our heroes past, including your own sacrifices never be in vain.

    “Your Excellency, no doubt the last seven and half years have been painfully eventful and stressful for Nigerian youths with unprecedented increase in unemployment rate, number of out of school children, severe poverty, endemic insecurity and FOREX exchange rate which negatively affected businesses. Indeed, we truly have moved from frying pan to fire, and from mountain top to the valley.

    “For many youths it has been hell on earth and incessant scourge of poisonous whips. The worst of it was the long stay at home as a result of protracted Federal Government face-off with lecturers which kept Nigerian students away from school for about 8 months.

    “Indeed the challenge thrown is for Nigerian Youths to arise, and we are very much determined to Take Back our Country (Awa lokan). Nigerian Youths are willing to obey this clarion call and do not wish to fall prey again, as we have been trampled beyond our resilient abilities.

    “Let me sincerely and humbly thank you for inspiring us with your letter and clearly giving the Nigerian Youths a specific direction with respect to 2023 Presidential election.

    “There is a proverb in Igbo parlance which says that “an elder does not watch the goat give birth in tatters”. These clear endorsement of Mr Peter Obi on the 1st January 2023 among other presidential candidates by you our elder statesman is timeously very significant and has equally shown that you care about Nigeria’s state of affairs, and the stellar excellent leadership qualities you will want Nigerians to support.

    “Your message to Nigerians is clear, succinct, refreshing and it has built more confidence in our heart.

    “I am pleased to inform you that we are further motivated, inspired, encouraged, re-energized, united, resolutely committed to stand up and take our future in our hands.

    “Finally, it is always emboldening when a father stands in support for his children to succeed. Your letter to Nigerians, especially youths is enough to spur us to stand for our right and to vote without being bias along ethno-religious lines.

    “With renewed energy and God being our helper we shall make a statement come February general election by massively supporting and voting Labour Party’s candidate – Mr Peter Gregory Obi and Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed as we join hand together to build a prosperous nation where peace, equity, justice, credibility and excellence reigns.

    “While wishing you a healthy and prosperous year 2023, do accept my warmth regard of the highest consideration”.

  • 2023: PDP reacts to Obasanjo’s endorsement of Peter Obi

    2023: PDP reacts to Obasanjo’s endorsement of Peter Obi

    The Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation says the “subjective support” for Mr Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Candidate, by former President Olusegun Obasanjo is his personal wish.

    The Spokesperson of the organisation, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, said in a statement in Abuja that Obasanjo’s wish did not reflect the opinion or position of the overwhelming majority of Nigerians across the country.

    He however said while the former president was entitled to his personal opinion; as remarkable as it may appear, it remained individualistic.

    He added that the wish could not redirect Nigerians from their determination to rally with the more experienced, more proficient and more accepted Presidential Candidate of PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to rescue and rebuild the nation.

    Ologbondiyan said surprisingly in the face of the alarming challenges facing Nigeria, which required a tried and tested hand, Obasanjo was not suggesting a candidate with experience in governance at the national level.

    Ologbondiyan said that in any case, Obasanjo’s opinion could not sway Nigerians remembering he made a similar endorsement in last election.

    He added that it would be extremely difficult for Nigerians, particularly the youth demography, to accept Obasanjo’s opinion as the solution to the myriad of challenges facing the nation today knowing the reality of the country today.

    “Our campaign holds that none of the Presidential candidates has the experience, capacity, tenacity of purpose, presence of mind and readiness to serve like Abubakar.

    “Abubakar remains the most widely accepted candidate, whose choice is not predicated by sectional, tribal, ethnic or religious sentiments or the endorsement of any individual, high or low.

    “This is predicated by record of ability and performance, authentic vision, honesty and character; physical and mental capacity; the very indices set by the former President,” he explained.

    Ologbondiyan said it was instructive to state that every claim by Obasanjo on the success of his administration is a reflection of the performance of Abubakar as his Vice President and Chairman of the National Economic Council.

    This, he described as the period during which our nation achieved unprecedented economic growth to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

    “It therefore amounts to a disservice for the former president to make subjective suggestion.

    “This is even when it is clear that if a hand like Abubakar with their shared experience is brought to the forefront of governance, our nation will be rescued from this current sullen state,” asserted the spokesman.

    Ologbobdiyan said the PDP campaign team therefore urge Nigerians not to be distracted by subjective opinions.

    He also advised the electorate to remain focused on the resolve to salvage the nation by electing Abubakar as the next president of Nigeria on Feb. 25.