The dust over ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter to President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to settle. Joining the fray is a former Deputy Director, Implementation and Coordination, Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mohammed Lawal, who is also a member of the Board of NNPC. He spoke with Managing Editor, Northern Operations, Yusuf Alli and Grace Obike in Abuja. Excerpts
JUST a few days ago, a former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo wrote a stinker to the President, raising some issues including a warning that Buhari should not attempt to contest in 2019 presidential poll.
Well, it is Chief Obasanjo’s view that the President hasn’t performed. By all standard of any rational person in this country, President Muhammadu Buhari has performed wonderfully well. Obasanjo has the right to comment on the performance of the government but he has no right to tell Buhari not to contest; it is not done. Honestly speaking, I am beginning not to be bothered about what is coming from Obasanjo and what he says.
Why?
He is a letter writer. He did it to Shagari, he did it to ex-President Ibrahim Babangida, he did it to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and he did it to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. But what he didn’t take cognizance of is that Buhari is not Goodluck or Yar’Adua. Buhari contested for presidency three times in this country. That experience Obasanjo is claiming to have, Buhari has it more than him. And if you see the way the government and party responded, it was not the way they responded during the past administration. So, since Obasanjo said he wants to work with coalition to destabilize the government, we have taken note of it.
Didn’t Obasanjo give advice to effect change but not to destabilize?
It is to destabilize because if you want to effect change, that is not the way to address the office that he went through for eight years. He was the President of this country for eight years; he knows what it means by Presidential communication. Look, if Obasanjo started his letter by saying that he tried his best to reach Buhari through anybody and he couldn’t, it is a different case. But there is malice in the letter and he is not the patriot he is claiming to be.
But the government itself said Obasanjo’s advisory was in good faith and you are saying that the statement was malicious. Which is which?
Look, there is malice in it. I am speaking to you as Buhari’s supporter not as an appointee or a spokesperson for his government. Obasanjo wants to fight this government and Buhari’s supporters will fight back. We know their plans, more letters are coming and there is a way he wants to turn people to rebel against the government. But the security agencies are watching and we have people in some NGOs and others who would confront him. Look, nobody knows their intention but I am telling you, this would be the last time he would write letter. We are not Goodluck Jonathan.
But Obasanjo is the moral compass of this country? Why will you disagree with a harmless statement?
By what yardsticks? What is the morality in forcefully removing democratically elected people and putting military Generals to oversee some states? What is the morality in attacking peaceful communities of Zaki Biam, Odi? He is saying Buhari did not achieve anything in fighting Boko Haram? When did we have more insecurity in this country than during Obasanjo when a whole Minister of Justice was killed and nothing was done? It was under his supervision that several people were killed. He removed PDP chairmen at will, what kind of moral compass is that? Look; we are not Goodluck or Yar’Adua. Obasanjo did not plant Buhari, he only supported Buhari to become the President. He did not single handedly plant him like he did to others. So, Buhari’s supporters would fight. Let him bring his coalition.
But Buhari benefited from his goodwill, is it out of place to advise Buhari?
The advice is taken in good faith. Where he ad vised, we would accept and work with it but this has been his tradition. Nobody knows anything in this country except him. He did that to Abacha and look at what Abacha did to him and he is trying to do it to Buhari now by galvanizing people to rebel and riot against government. That is the intention but the security people are watching and they must do something about it. But if they fail to do something about it, we are in politics; we will galvanize people and go to the street. He will never write letters to anybody again by the time we finish this war. This is the last letter he would write to any Head of State. So, because Buhari is trying to be more democratic than any president in this country, people now feel that they can say whatever they want? Buhari’s supporters will not take it. The supporters are there and ready to confront Obasanjo’s coalition and we are calling on the attention of the security people to be on the watch.
Is there no sense in some of the issues he raised?
Yes, there is sense in some of them and the party and the government said, they are looking at it. We will work on some of the issues he raised. Is there any government that the people are satisfied with its performance 100 percent in this world? We don’t expect Buhari to perform 100 percent. Who has ever done that? Nobody has ever done that. Buhari came with three cardinal goals—to fight corruption, reshape the economy and tackle insecurity. Tell me, during the 16 years that PDP was in power, Obasanjo supervised eight years of it and we were thrown into deep 16-kilometre shithole and we can’t come out within three years. He supervised eight years of the rubbish his party put us in, so what does he have to say? Even the World Bank said that we are trying and that if we continue, we will get better.
But people are finding it hard to feed during this administration and rate of suicide is higher. Should Nigerians continue to starve to death?
As you see me, I have relatives that hardly eat three square meals. Look, it is easier and always faster to damage something. When Buhari came in, we know how we met this country and the economic situation. You and I know that it is very much impossible to fix the problem of food security, agriculture and farming within two years. If we didn’t take the measures by closing the border and make sure that people go to farm, there won’t be improvement in food production. We had to make sure that people farm what they want to eat. But that cannot be sufficient within the three years. I can also appreciate that people cannot understand if we tell them to please take it easy with hunger or to take it easy with hospital bills but we cannot fix it overnight. Let me tell you, if not because of the love I have for this country, I would have wished that PDP continues so that we will know where we would find ourselves now. We forget too easily in Nigeria.
But there are quick issues you can fix like the Fulani herdsmen. Why was the President complacent?
Do you mean the clashes started during Buhari administration? It didn’t start during this administration. This has been an issue in focus in this country.
But it had been heightened under Buhari, don’t you think so? It was heightened because politics came in. Take Benue for example, you know the problem the governor has is with his people, especially on the management of Paris Club. Workers in Benue State were not paid for the past nine months and he didn’t know what to tell them. He had no explanation but he is riding on the back of communal clashes or disturbances in order to heighten insecurity so that people may forget his shortcomings. When it happened in Taraba and Adamawa states, hundreds of Fulani and children were killed. The Emir of Kano was sent to go and find out; he had the pictures and all the details but we didn’t go viral with them. We didn’t send pictures and throw the news into public domain. Why? It was because we want peace in this country. We don’t want to escalate the tension. If things happened like that, see reason and try to see what would calm the tension. This is unlike what our former President did by bringing the tension up again.
Did the letter Obasanjo wrote bring down the tension or raise the tension, considering the mood of the country? Is he supposed to heighten the tension or lower the tension of insecurity and instability in this country? If he is a patriot and a statesman as he is claiming to be, he is supposed to lower the tension of insecurity and instability. That is why I said there is mischief in the letter. Where the letter said good things, the government would work on it but there was mischief where he mentioned a coalition that would fight government. We are asking security agencies to be on the watch.
Why can’t you focus on the message instead of the messenger?
We have to focus on both. The message is addressed; the good thing about it is that it will be looked at. Also, the messenger who is promoting mischief would also be checked because this has become his antecedent. We are not going to sit down and allow him get a coalition that will come and hit the government and probably put the whole country in trouble. Nobody will sit down and allow that.
