Chief Obasanjo wrote that the last seven and a half years have been stressful for many Nigerians. And I ask: was Obasanjo talking about seven and a half years of the on-going construction of Lagos-Ibadan expressway compared with the eight-year under him during which the road became a death trap to many Nigerians?
Was he talking about the period when the 2nd Niger Bridge was constructed to ease stress that Nigerians suffered on that axis, but which Obasanjo in the whole of eight years treated as something of a rocket science?
The former president also mentioned in his letter that Nigeria of today had been dragged down below the beginning of his presidency. Perhaps Obasanjo thought that Nigerians have forgotten all that transpired during his administration which almost brought the country to its knees.
Between 2003 and 2007, the people of Oyo and Anambra states will never forget the political violence they experienced and witnessed under Obasanjo’s watch. This was the when both governors of the states were not allowed to perform their constitutional duties. Former governor of Oyo State, Rasheed Ladoja, was removed from office by a ‘gangaroo’ House of Assembly endorsed by Abuja. Oyo State witnessed total breakdown of law, and insecurity, which no one will like to experience again in the state.
Also in Anambra state in 2003, a sitting governor, Chris Ngige, was kidnapped. He went through hell in the hands of Chris Uba, a member of PDP Board of Trustees and a close ally of Obasanjo. Interestingly, our president saw nothing wrong in the kidnap of a sitting governor.
Another statement that caught my attention in the letter was what Chief Obasanjo said that ‘Emi lo kan’ (My turn) is a wrong attitude and mentality for the leadership of Nigeria. It’s really a surprise to hear Obasanjo – who always accrues all what he thinks he had achieved in government to himself alone – accusing Tinubu of claiming his right which every member of the APC was aware of. Even in his recent letter, Obasanjo did not forget to tell us that his achievements then were his alone.
Hear him: “I have interacted with the major contestants and I find it interesting that, in one form or the other, each of them claims to want to do what I did during MY PRESIDENCY and to take Nigeria back to where it was at the height of MY PRESIDENCY… .
In the letter, Obasanjo declared his support for Peter Obi. In 2011, Obasanjo wholeheartedly endorsed Goodluck Jonathan, but before Jonathan’s first term ended, changed the tone. In 2015, Chief Obasanjo swore he would never support Atiku Abubakar to become president in Nigeria. He said a lot of unprintable things about Atiku. But in 2019, perhaps because President Buhari refused to be subservient, Obasanjo, who had promised to have nothing to do with Atiku’s ambition then made a U-turn, ate his words, and supported Atiku against Buhari.
With all these back and forth, Nigerians surely can no more be expected to trust Obasanjo let alone his judgement. His endorsement of Peter Obi is nothing but an illusion and a mirage.
