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Tag: Obasanjo

  • Youths to Obasanjo: Atiku should drop Obi or lose

    Ex-governor: I’m eminently qualified to be running mate

    Atiku Abubakar got yesterday a complex challenge on his presidential bid —he should drop running mate Peter Obi or lose.

    Some youths in the North visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo to table the knotty request.

    The Northern Youths Leaders Forum (NYLF) advised  the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to review the  choice of Obi, if he hopes to earn the North’s support.

    The group, which prides itself as the apex  body of 46 youth organisations in the North, threatened to mobilise its over six million members against the PDP and its presidential candidate, if Atiku failed to take its advice.

    The national chairman of the group,  Comrade Elliot Afiyo, who spoke on Tuesday  in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, after a meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday night, claimed that the body had been instrumental to the electoral victories of successive presidents since 1999. It claimed to have played a major role in incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory and it also played a critical role in the reconciliation between Atiku and Obasanjo.

    According to Afiyo, the group had equally intimated  the former President of their position on Atiku’s running mate.

    It was not immediately clear yesterday what Obasanjo, who has just ended a long feud with Atiku and endorsed him, told the youths.

    He said the Obi’s choice was causing friction in the Southeast, which  is largely responsible for the impending defection of the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremandu, from the PDP.

    He added that Obi is strongly viewed as anti-north and a major sponsor of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

    According to him, over 70 percent of Emirs and other traditional rulers in the North will not support Atiku’s choice of running mate and maintained that  PDP will fail to produce the next president, if the party eventually flies the Atiku/Obi ticket.

    Afiyo advised PDP to pick Atiku’s running mate from Southsouth. He suggested that either Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike or his Bayelsa State counterpart, Seriake Dickson, should be considered.

    Afiyo said: “Atiku is an experienced politician, and he knows what happened and as a northern Nigerian, he cannot ignore that group. I have spoken to almost all the Southeast governors and they told me that they remained in PDP because of their governorship elections and after their governorship elections, they will vote somewhere, not PDP.

    “And for us to ignore the stakeholders, it is political suicidal, so we must agree with that fact. That was what we told Obasanjo yesterday, that as far as we want to Atiku to succeed, he has no alternative than to drop Peter Obi and with the contention between Peter Obi’s group and Ike Ekeremadu’s group, it is not political convenient again to pick a running mate from the Southeast.

    Because whichever group you pick from, the other group will work against them.

    “Then, in the North, we consider Peter Obi as anti-North. This is no sentiment. Apart from the way he treated the northeners when he was the governor of Anambra State, we consider him as a bonafide member and major sponsor of IPOB.

    “In fact, 70 percent of emirs, traditional rulers from the North will not support Peter Obi as the vice president.

    “We don’t work on sentiment. As I have told you before, our group staked our lives in 2015 for Buhari. Personally, I was placed under house arrest for two weeks throughout the extension of the presidential election in 2015. I was fighting with the hope that Buhari would change things but there is a cabal and Buhari is completely caged.

    “Also, mind you, Atiku is not a saint, anyone that becomes president, there must be a cabal, so we need a vice president that will tell the cabal ‘no’ and Peter Obi doesn’t have the courage and boldness to be the vice president to challenge the authorities. But if Atiku fails to heed our warning, then, APC will win. Buhari will win hands down because we cannot support a failure. We will work for APC.”

    Obi’s spokesman Valemtine Obienyen dismissed the claims by the group. He said Obi’s choice had been well received.

    He added: “Why protest in Ota? Who is behind the protest? What does the project intend to achieve? Is it true that the planning of the protest was revealed almost a week ago? Why is it that when you have failed to see any fault in Obi, you are bent on inventing one?  These are necessary questions which any sincere inquirer will deem appropriate to start with.

    He said: “ We do not need such  distraction now. What we need is joining of hands together as we collectively seek solutions to our problems.

    “All those that knew Obi very well for what he did in the past, both in his private business and governance of Anambra State and thereafter,  wrote eulogies of him. Researchers went to work. After careful and painstaking analyses of his past, they submitted that he is humble, hardworking, knowledgeable about the economy, aware of the myriad of problems of the country, detribalised and a believe in the unity of the country .

    Since leaving office, Obi has been busy visiting schools all over the country, from Cross River to Sokoto. Obi has been busy diagnosing the problems of the country and offering solutions. Obi has been busy preaching the unity of the country and how good governance will solve the problems in Nigeria, caused by cumulative years of leadership failure that make the protest under review suspicious and, in fact, an attempt to give the dog a bad name in order to hang it.”

     

  • Obasanjo and canonisation of Atiku

    As it is often said, a week in politics is a long time. In just one week, Atiku Abubakar transformed from Saul to Paul. He was also canonized as Saint Atiku. He owes this change of fortune to the trinity of Catholic Church’s Arch-Bishop Mathew Kukah, David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Church and a leading prosperity prophet, and Abubakar Gumi, the Zaria based Islamic scholar and cleric, supported by Pa Ayo Adebanjo of Afenifere, all working for the imperial Obasanjo.

    It all started with Atiku Abubakar clinching the PDP ticket for the 2019 presidential contest at the expense of Bukola Saraki and Aminu Tambuwal in what some have described as the battle of dollars. Immediately the victory was secured, their lords spiritual, who have never hidden their sympathy for PDP, posing as peace makers, took Atiku to his former boss, ex-President  Obasanjo who had shortly before then said: “If I support Atiku for anything, God will not forgive me. If I do not know, yes. But once I know, Atiku can never enjoy my support”.  He went on to document in his “My Watch” what he knew about Atiku, i.e., his “propensity to corruption, his tendency to disloyalty, his inability to say and stick to the truth all the time, a propensity for poor judgment, his belief and reliance on marabouts”.

    With the intervention of their lords spiritual and Pa Adebanjo however, that became ancient history. Obasanjo who  likes playing god (Shagari, 1979, Yar’Adua, 2007, Jonathan, 2011 and Buhari 2015) after canonising Atiku a saint started referring to him as ‘the president to be’.

    Obasanjo who has also been described by his daughter as someone “who sees himself at the epicentre of the Nigerian nation, whose destiny, he literally cages in his pocket and nurtures to feed his whims”, does not believe he owes Nigeria any explanation for his Atiku volte-face. With an overbearing haughtiness, he went on to declare: “We have reviewed what went wrong on the side of Atiku. And in all honesty, my former vice-president has rediscovered and repositioned himself”. The ‘we’, is assumed, refers to the politicking lords spiritual who have all along engaged Buhari in silent war over his anti-corruption crusade, his alleged Islamisation agenda and his handling of the herdsmen’s mindless killings.

    And admonishing Atiku thereafter, imperial Obasanjo, the “ father of the nation” courtesy of PDP, declared: “And when you become Nigerian President which, insha-Allah, you will be, remember what we did together in government – we ran an administration by Nigerians for all Nigerians where merit and performance count more than blood relationship, friendship or kith and kin.”

    But first, what are those things they did together? We have it on record that in 2000, some elected PDP legislators said they needed to recoup their election expenses having sold their houses to raise funds. They created artificial fuel scarcity with queues at filling stations. Within three months, the PPPRA bill became law. A House probe later showed this was the instrument PDP stalwarts and their siblings used to defraud the country to the tune of about N1.7trillion under the fuel subsidy scam.

    It is also on record that Obasanjo delegated Atiku Abubakar to oversee the National Council on Privatisation that presided over the sales of the so-called dysfunctional federal assets between 1999 and 2003. A House probe later showed that what accrued to Nigeria from investment of about $100b between 1957 and 1997 after the exercise was about $1.5b.

    And when there was nothing left to share, they came up with ingenious government policy thrust called monetization policy. It was through this that inherited national structures dating back to the colonial period scattered across the nation including lawmakers and senate president mansions were shared among PDP stalwarts, their sympathisers and civil servants.

    Of course Atiku also secured the contract ‘for the monitoring and supervision of pilotage districts in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Nigeria on terms that permits Intels to receive revenue generated in each pilotage district from service boat operations in consideration for 28 per cent of total revenue as commission to Intels”, a contract which was illegal as it contravened the “express provisions of Sections 80(1) and 162(1) and (10) of the 1999 Constitution.

    Now let us also examine Obasanjo’s claim of merit and performance as the criteria for appointments during his administration.

    Again records show Obasanjo’s appointments from 1999-2007 were driven more by political consideration than merit or performance. For instance, many of those he handpicked and imposed as governors through the massive election fraud of 2003 were found to have exhibited serious character flaws. Many of them are currently in court trying to defend their honour. It is also on record that many of his former ministers have been fingered by various probes as being behind the derailment of many of the infrastructural projects his administration initiated. Their names featured prominently in the current Travel Ban list.

    Even where Obasanjo’s appointees were eminently qualified, their appointments were not often without a tinge of mischief.  For instance, in the run up to the 1999 election, Obasanjo had said, Chief Bola Ige, the Afenifere deputy leader was the only Yoruba leader he feared. Obasanjo was to later exploit Ige’s dispute with his Afenifere colleagues over the emergence of Chief Olu Falae’s as AD presidential candidate. He lured him to PDP as minister for power and later Attorney General. He was assassinated in his room in 2001 by yet to be identified assailants.

    Then Obasanjo, who admitted visiting NADECO and Afenifere leader, Pa Abraham Adesanya three times to seek Yoruba support for his 1999 presidential ambition with the old man insisting on each occasion that Obasanjo would not get Yoruba support because ‘he is not one of us”, after winning the election without Yoruba support, decided to appoint his daughter a minister despite Pa Adesanya’s protest. Then Obasanjo went after Awolowo, the sage himself. After working against him during the 1979 election and after claiming in his “Not My Will” that he achieved on a platter of gold what Awo had been fighting for when he Obasanjo was a bare-footed school boy”, he went on to appoint his daughter as Nigeria  ambassador to Holland.

    All the above appointments were but a celebration of Obasanjo’s victory to spite Yoruba voters who rejected him even in his ward in 1999 and their leaders who had told him to his face “he is not one of us”, for refusing to identify with Yoruba aspirations.

    One of the things John Campbell recommended as a way forward for Nigeria during his last book launch besides funding of primary school and women education in the north is bringing back the manufacturing sector. Obasanjo/Atiku and PDP are responsible for the collapse of our once thriving pharmaceutical, ceramics, furniture, textile, shoe, automobile, battery and other industries. They are responsible for the collapse of the health sector when PDP stalwarts without expertise cornered teaching hospital contracts. They also presided over the near collapse of some of Nigeria high flying institutions that produced the likes of Awojobis, Osuntokuns, Chinua Achebes, Soyinkas, Ishaya Audus, etc. through under-funding while they set up their own high fees paying private secondary schools and universities.

    But a people deserve the government they get. Nigerians therefore reserve the right to vote out Buhari if they think he has not met their expectations. But as Campbell has warned, we must be sure his replacement is someone who can outperform Buhari. Definitely such a person cannot be Obasanjo/Atiku who in an era of money without sweat turned our nation to importer of labour of other societies leaving Buhari to now cope with massive unemployment of our youths, hunger  and poverty across the nation.

    Obasanjo/Atiku era of debauchery is no substitute for Buhari’s well-advertised failings such as nepotism, disregard for public opinion and ineffective leadership.

  • Twins Festival: Great tourism potential in Igboora

    Certain peculiarities make some communities different from others. Some communities have a record of multiple births, especially twins or triplets, which, in the yesteryear, was regarded as taboo.

    However, multiple births prevalent in one community than others, gives room for curiosity.

    In the sleepy town of Igboora in the Ibarapa zone of Oyo State, it has become a source of interest. This is so because almost every household has at least a set of twins.

     

    The town Igboora

     

    Sandwiched between Eruwa and Igangan towns in the Ibarapa area of the state, Igboora has six distinct ethnic communities with the Olu of Igboora as the head and permanent member of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs. The town is about 80 kilometres north of Lagos.

    Igboora’s economy is sustained by subsistence farming. Obasanjo Farm is one of the mechanised farms in the community. The town is the headquarters of Ibarapa Central Local Government Area, which comprised Igboora and Idere.

    The town is called “Land of Twins”, which possibly explains the effigy of a mother carrying a baby on her chest with another strapped on her back, conspicuously erected at a junction at the entrance of the town.

    More twins are said to be born in Igboora community than anywhere else in the world, because almost every home is said to have at least one set of twins.

     

    Science and researches on twins

     

    A research carried out at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) suggests that a high level of certain chemical found in the Yoruba women and the peels of yam tubers could account for the high level of multiple births. Multiple births, the report maintains, may be related to the eating habits of the women. But in the same community, some women who spoke with Southwest Report said they have been eating the yam peels and other kinds of foods, yet they have not been delivered of a set of twins.

    In line with the above, some experts are of the view that there is no direct relationship between dietary intake and multiple births.

    A Consultant Gynaecologist at the hospital said: “These substances are usually linked to the release of more than one egg, which usually leads to twin pregnancies. That means there is the possibility that an environmental factor that encourages the high level of this chemical substance do exist.”

    A study conducted by a British Gynaecologist, Patrick Nylander between 1972 and 1982 recorded an average of 45 to 50 set of twins born in Southwestern Nigeria while there are about 30 times in Igboora than there are in the whole of Europe. The scientific researches and findings so far advanced are not enough to justify why Igboora women are delivered of twin babies.

     

    Facts, beliefs

     

    Members of Igboora community regard multiple births as one of their industries. Some years ago, the belief was that twin births ýresulted from constant consumption of okra leaves otherwise called ‘ewe ilasa’. It is also their view that being delivered of twin babies is part of the community’s age-old tradition that has existed for centuries.

    In the main, the people attribute the frequency of twin-bearing to the consumption of Amala and Ilasa meal which is believed to contain some kind of ingredient that boosts production of eggs in women’s ovaries to facilitate the conception of twins and triplets.

    According to them, Amala (a popular morsel meal made from yam powder within the Southwest of Nigeria) and Ilasa (vegetable soups made from dried shredded okra leaves) are largely responsible for the multiple pregnancies. The natives of Igboora also have the feeling that the consumption of a particular vegetable is majorly responsible for their natural ability to conceive and be delivered of twin babies.

    Another belief is that giving birth to twins could be genetic. The facts available clearly reveal that there is hardly a family in Igboora that has no set of twins. The reproduction of twins in the town has become interesting to the extent that people from different parts of the country who are not privileged to have twins or children may have clamoured that they would prefer to visit and stay in the enclave to enable them to conceive and have twin babies.

     

    Changing faces of belief

     

    Currently, beliefs among many residents of the agrarian town might be changing. In a chat with a cab operator who identified himself as Tunde said: “Let no one be deceived. It is a fact that women in Igboora deliver twins in large number, but saying it is as a result of consumption of okra and its leaves has no meaning.

    “There is no scientific proof to support the claim. As if it is only women in Igboora that eat okra leaves or Ilasa as Yoruba call it! Neighbouring towns such as Eruwa, Lanlate, Igangan, Oke Ogun and other parts of the Oyo North or even Ibadan also eat okra.

    “God knows how He does His things in miraculous ways. The issue of multiple births is God’s gift to the people of this town. It is part of the mysteries of God and nothing more. Aside this, many women and men still consume okra leaves in Igboora but do not have twins. So, how do you explain that?”

    Two residents of the community, Mulikat and Munirat are in their late 40s and had married a year ahead of each other. They had lived all their lives in Igboora and ate all the delicacies like every other indigene. Despite their desire for twins, they were not so fortunate to be called mothers of twins.

     

    Delicacies and dietary

     

    In his opinion, the Olu-Aso of Iberekodo (one of the six communities in Igboora), His Royal Highness, Oba Jamiu Adedamola Badmus, Ayeleso III, “giving birth to twins in Igboora is a special gift from God.

    “One astonishing thing in this phenomenon is, however, that unlike in other towns and communities that I know, twins here don’t die at infancy or at youthful age as in other places. Irrespective of the kind of financial status, they always survive.

    “Curiously also, many that have twins are the peasants who don’t have much financial ability to take proper care of them. You can see the work of God in that. It is miraculous like I said. It is our natural gift from God. I also want twins.”

    Oba Badmus, however, introduced another unverifiable dimension to the issue of twins. According to him, people of Igboora add so much quantity of potassium or sodium nitrate (called kaun in Yoruba) into the cooking of ilasa. They believe that the leaves don’t get very soft and slimy unless much kaun is added to it while being cooked.

     

    Beliefs of twins as deities

     

    Virtually every household that has a set of twins still believe that twins are deities.

    On this, Chief Balogun said: “I cook beans for them during annual festivals, but if I don’t feel like, I don’t and nothing happens. I don’t so much hold the superstitious belief just like many others do. As some in other communities dance around or beg for money with the twins, such is not done here because if any woman does so, she will have to meet many other women who are Iya ibeji (mothers of twins) and many Baba ibeji (fathers of twins) who also have their own twins at home. So, such practice is not popular here.

    A carpenter and a bricklayer in their early 60s are identical twinsý in Igboora. They are Hassan (Taiwo) and Hussein (Kehinde) Dahunsi. To them, the phenomenon of twins in Igboora is “God’s gift to us here. Just as gold is deposited in some places without the contribution of the residents there, same is the gift of twins to us in this community. It is our own natural endowment. We believe God wants us to be well populated, reason many of us have twins in our families. But the theory that we have twins because we eat ilasa is not sacrosanct to me”, Hussein said.

     

    Twins celebration

     

    To underscore the appreciation for this gift of life, the state government, with the support of other stakeholders, facilitated the maiden “Twins Festival” which brought together twins from all ages, genders, families, young and old ýto be honoured.

    After years of planning, strategising and leg works, the Oyo State Government, through its Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism in conjunction with Ibarapa Central Local Government Area, Igboora Progressive Union, Twins World Creation and the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation organised the maiden “Twins Festival” at Methodist Grammar School Playing Ground, Igboora Oyo State.

    No fewer than 2,500 sets of twins were present at the elaborate event. The festival attracted participants from within and outside the country to celebrate the multiple births in the community.

    Dignitaries at the event included community and religious leaders, traditional rulers, vendors, government officials, tourists, schools and people from all walks of life.

    The festival is in anticipation of the proposed Oyo State Guinness World Record Twins Event to be held next year.

     

    Significance of the celebration

     

    Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Toye Arulogun said: “The state is “celebrating the grace and glory of God in Igboora. God has uniquely blessed Igboora as a world headquarters of twins because in every household in Igboora, you have a set of twins, at least. “This is very unique to Igboora and indeed Oyo State, all over the world. So we are celebrating the glory of God and the blessing that God has bestowed on Igboora.

    “The second thing is that we are now beaming searchlight and spotlight on Igboora as a tourism destination for people to come and witness what God has done here. All the people you have seen here today are those that have the sense of history, sense of heritage and sense of culture. They came from all the local governments in Ibarapa. I am overwhelmed by what I have seen here today.

    “It beats my imagination and the dreams that we had. When I got down and saw gaily-dressed young girls and boys as well as elderly ones, I was happy that this portends a great future for Igboora, and indeed Oyo State. This celebration has great tourism potential.

    “What we have tried to do in this first instance is to do it within Oyo State. Our initial plan was to do it all over Nigeria. We shall take it to the next level since this is a huge success. Next time, we are going to extend it to the whole of Southwest region. We are going to do it from West Africa and all over the world. In the past, they were killing twins, but today, we are celebrating them.

    “Our Twin Ambassadors have been going all over the world for this kind of event. We engage them to partner with us so that they can also bring their colleagues from elsewhere. It also portends a great economic development for the people of Igboora. As at yesterday (Friday), the hotels in this town and the neighbouring communities had been fully booked. Whether we like it or not, the economy of those towns would have been impacted positively today.”

     

    Side attractions

     

    The festival was a huge success. Aside from the usual celebration which witnessed the trooping out of twins in their droves to showcase their similarities and uniqueness, some other side attractions that added glamour to the event included twins’ parade, talent hunt, musical show and acrobatic displays.

    More so, the twins’ effigy of over 300 years on display also caught the fancy of those who attended the festival. Many visitors also tasted some of the delicacies believed to be peculiar to twins. Some of the food items on display at the food tour were special bean cake (akara ‘beji), palm wine and beans, among others.

    Students from various institutions also attended in their numbers, asking questions to satisfy their curiosity.

    International media teams from different continents were also on hand in their good numbers to capture the festival and give it wider projection while photographers had a busy day.

     

    Economic boom

     

    Three days ahead of the event, all hotels and guest houses within the vicinity had been fully booked, especially by visitors and tourists. This, surely, was a boost to the economy of the communities.

    Traders, commercial motorcyclists, taxi drivers, food vendors, petty traders and people with different business interests were also seen smiling as people patronise their wares maximally. One of the traders told Southwest Report that “it is like this festival should not just end. We are already feeling the positive impact and we are already looking forward to another celebration.”

  • Kukah, Oyedepo explain mission to Obasanjo

    Two notable clerics, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah and Bishop David Oyedepo, have been explaining their mission to the Hilltop mansion of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta, Ogun State, last Thursday. The visit, they say, should not be viewed as politically-inclined, but one made to broker peace between the former President and his erstwhile deputy Atiku Abubakar.

    To many, the mission of notable clerics – Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese Mathew Hassan Kukah and the Presiding Pastor of Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) David Oyedepo – to  the Hilltop mansion of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta, Ogun State, was to endorse Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar. But, the clerics say their mission was to reconcile the former President with his erstwhile deputy.

    They spoke through different media.

    Kukah, who explained the resistance he put up to decline being dragged into what he called a forest of politics, stated his position in a statement.

    The fiery cleric said that he could not have endorsed any particular candidate since he has his friends spread across the political parties.

    He, however, admitted that the criticisms that trailed the group photographs, showing him with Obasanjo, Atiku, Oyedepo and Sheikh Gumi among others, were expected, especially at a time that the former vice president had just clinched the presidential ticket of his party.

    In his own defence during the Sunday service in Ota, Bishop Oyedepo said he has no membership card of any political party.

    Oyedepo said he is after a peaceful country.

    The presence of the duo on a day Obasanjo said he had forgiven Atiku and rated him above President Muhammadu Buhari has continued to draw flaks from different quarters.

    Their positions are presented below:

    I wasn’t in Abeokuta to endorse Atiku, says Kukah

    “I have deliberately made this explanatory note long because I think it is necessary that people make up their minds based on the facts, given my central role in the event.

    “I note that Sheikh Gumi has already told his own side of the story. I feel obliged to state my own side so that Nigerians can have a clearer picture of my own involvement.

    “Sadly, I personally did not read President Obasanjo’s statement until two days later on the Internet since I was not physically in the hall.

    “Although trying to reconcile President Obasanjo and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was something I had been working on intermittently in the last few years, nothing could have prepared me for the way things finally shaped up. My focus all along had been with President Obasanjo and I had never brought Alhaji Abubakar into what I was doing. Quite fortuitously, a chance meeting changed the tide in favour of reconciliation.

    “Understandably, the pictures of the four of us (President Obasanjo, Alhaji Abubakar, Shaikh Gumi and I) literally lit up the social media and elicited divergent reactions from the general public.

    “Although over 99 per cent of the reactions that have come to me have been largely those of commendation, with people focusing, rightly, on the reconciliation, there have been others whose focus has been on an isolated development that had absolutely nothing to do with what I had in mind all these years, namely, the endorsement.

    “I must say that I am eternally grateful to God that this reconciliation finally happened. The focus of attention has been on the endorsement of Alhaji Abubakar by President Obasanjo, a development that I can call the third leg of the process which I initiated. I am not sure of President Obasanjo’s other interlocutors after we agreed to meet leading to the participation of other actors and so, I will only clear the air on what I can take full responsibility for.”

    Giving insights into how he was contacted by Obasanjo and how he resisted being dragged into what he described as a “forest of politics.”

    He added: “Let me state first that I am a priest of the Catholic Church and by the grace of God, a Bishop. I have more than a passing knowledge of our discipline and doctrine in matters relating to the role of a Catholic priest in political engagement.

    “My doctoral thesis was on “Religion and Politics in Nigeria”. So, this is an area that I have written and spoken extensively about for over thirty years. I am therefore very clear about the boundaries, the slippery slopes and the contexts. Unlike Sheikh Gumi and Rev. Oyedepo who were invited to this event, I am a central actor. So let me explain what really happened.

    “On Tuesday, October 9th, 2018, I had the honour of being the Guest Speaker for the annual conference of the Four Square Gospel Church in Alagomeji, Lagos. (The Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, a member of this Church had first invited me some years back, but I could not honour the invitation). President Obasanjo was the chairman of the occasion.

    “At the end of the lecture, he indicated that he would have to leave because he had a scheduled meeting. I told him I needed to see him briefly and he obliged. I brought up again the issue of what he thought of his reconciliation with Atiku.

    “My last discussion with him this year was either in January or February. His response was still negative and he told me what he later told the media. I reminded him that I was not interested in the politics of reconciliation but the spiritual angle.

    “After all, I said to him, ‘as a Christian, this is an important thing for you to do’. He was quiet and then said he would speak with me later that evening on his final decision. We parted, he went to his car and I returned to the Church to end the event.

    “At about 9pm the same Tuesday, he called to say that he had thought over the issues I had raised and finally decided to accept my suggestion and that yes, he would be happy to reconcile with Atiku. When did he think we could meet then, I asked him? He said he would look at his diary and get back to me later.

    “Then, just before 11pm the same Tuesday, I received another call from him saying his diary was full, that the earliest date for him was October 21. I accepted happily and told him that I would try and reach Alhaji Atiku either directly, or through his aides to convey the news.

    “My initial intention had been to return to Abuja that same evening from Lagos, but my hosts at the Four Square Gospel had suggested that I should get some rest. Next morning, Wednesday October 10, after I had finished celebrating the Holy Mass, I received a call from President Obasanjo: ‘Bishop, listen, I have changed my mind’. My heart nearly sank, but before I could ask why, he said: ‘Let us do it tomorrow if you can reach Atiku. I am going to deliver a lecture in Ife and will be back home before 1pm. “So, tell him to come at 1pm’. I started frantic efforts to reach Alhaji Atiku without luck. I reached one of his aides, Paul Ibe, and asked him to please let him know I am trying to reach him. Finally, at about 1pm, I received a call from him. I told him what had happened with President Obasanjo. He agreed and said he would be in Abeokuta for 1pm on Thursday.

    “I got back to my hosts, the Four Square Gospel Church to tell them about the change in my travelling plans, especially as I had no car to take me to Abeokuta.

    “I didn’t want to ask President Obasanjo’s people to send me a vehicle because I believed I needed a leeway of independence and trust. My hosts were exceedingly gracious in making a vehicle available, a driver and an aide to take me to Abeokuta.

    Getting nervous

    “Earlier that morning, President Obasanjo had called me a second time and told me that he wanted Alhaji Atiku to come with the Chairman of the PDP, and two or three others. He also told me he had also invited both Sheikh Gumi and Bishop Oyedepo. This was welcome news – Bishop Oyedepo is a kinsman of his, and the presence of Sheikh Gumi made sense. I was a bit nervous, seeing that the circle was getting larger for something I thought was between three of us.

    “I arrived at Abeokuta about 12.15pm ahead of both President Obasanjo and Alhaji and his team. Alhaji Atiku and his team arrived, and then I saw more and more people coming in. “I saw familiar faces of different people who turned out to be the leaders of Afenifere. All these years, whenever I brought up this matter of reconciliation, my idea has always been for the three of us to sit down together. I still believed that the meeting would be between the two of them and the three religious leaders.

    “When President Obasanjo appeared, I walked up to him and said I wanted to know the protocol for the meeting. He suggested that we would meet in a hall and that I should say a few words about how we got here.

    “I declined because it seemed again that at this point, we were in small forest of politics and I had no wish to be caught in it. I was happy that what I wanted to achieve had been achieved, namely, getting these two men to put the past behind them.

    “My personal preoccupation was a pastoral one, and not a political one. I was uncomfortable with this and I decided to make my position clear. I offered a different proposal to help us sift the moral grain from the chaff of politics via a three-step process so as to insulate the three of us from the political fallout.

    “I proposed that the first step would be for he and Alhaji Atiku to sit down behind closed doors, sort out their issues and then the next step would be for both Sheikh Gumi and I to go in and listen to the two of them as Bishop Oyedepo had not arrived.

    “After that, I said, they could continue with the third phase which from what I could see, was high wire politics and I had no wish to be caught in the web. After they both finished their brief meeting, Sheikh Gumi and I went in and sat down with the two of them.

    “We had some small briefing and then both of us spoke briefly on what they had done, encouraging them to ensure that this reconciliation holds. I even said jokingly that I am a Catholic priest and our marriage vows are indissoluble! After that, we prayed and then took what has now become the famous photograph behind closed doors.

    “At this point, I felt that my spiritual duties had been achieved and I was prepared to maintain my independence. Sheikh Gumi and I shook hands and although I was hungry and food was being laid out, I skipped lunch.

    “I quietly let myself out by the side door, got into the Four Square Gospel Church car and we drove off to Lagos. Despite the dread of Lagos traffic and the disruption of flights at the Airport in Lagos, I had declined the offer of a seat in the Aircrafts which had flown them to Abeokuta.

    “Although flying with them was the best (and most convenient) assurance I had of getting to Abuja in time for a speaking engagement at an event with the Sultan and Cardinal Onaiyekan for 9am the next day, it was necessary to ensure that I took no favours from any of the two parties.

    “I was not in Abeokuta to endorse Alhaji Atiku, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). I perfectly understand the feelings of many of my friends and members of the opposition who believe that I travelled with Alhaji Atiku and his team to attend his endorsement by President Obasanjo, but I reiterate that this was not the case.

    “All the bills for my travel were settled by the Four Square Gospel Church hosts for the earlier dated programme who had bought my tickets, booked accommodation for me and took care to get me to the airport for my flight to Abuja and Sokoto.

    “I am a strong believer in a peaceful and united Nigeria, ideals for which I have striven and served my entire adult life as a thinker and a priest. My instincts for reconciliation and peace were sharpened during my involvement and experience with the Oputa Panel. When the Generals refused to respond to the invitation of Oputa Panel, I personally undertook to visit both generals Babangida and Buhari (he was not at home) at a time that today’s latter day Buharists were asking the panel to compel them to come or risk being blacked out of national life.

    “Objective-minded people will remember that back in 2001, when the Christian community and many of President Buhari’s opponents claimed that Gen Buhari had said that Muslims should vote only for Muslims, many people in the Christian community were disappointed that I wrote a long article to explain the context of what he had said after speaking with the Gen. “His party, the ANPP later used part of my article for their 2003 campaigns! My faith and experience have taught me to learn to suspend judgment till I have heard both sides of a story, no matter what.

    “I hope that this clarification helps to allay the concerns of those who may have seen all of these in a different light. Many minds will remain set no matter the reasonableness of my comments here, and this is to be expected- one cannot please everyone. This is why it is often best to seek to please only one’s own conscience, and here, mine is very clear.

    “I have been involved in a few behind-the-scene shuttle diplomacy for years, largely on my own initiative, taking advantage of my knowledge of those engaged in the conflict or at the invitation of third parties. Some have succeeded and some have not. As priest, it is not in my place to publicize what we have achieved.

    “I am the Convener of the National Peace Committee (NPC). This alone is enough to place a moral boundary which I am bound to respect. The NPC able to accomplish much because of trust and that is not what I can treat lightly. When it became clear that both President Obasanjo and Atiku were on the verge of making peace, I alerted the Chairman of the NPC, Gen Abdusalami. Since I happen to be in Lagos, I drove to the Ikoyi home of Chief Emeka Anyaoku and alerted him. I spoke to my Metropolitan, the Archbishop of Kaduna, Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso. All in all, everyone believed this was a very good move if we could achieve it. None of us imagined the third phase of this meeting.

    “Both theoretically and practically, I have come to know that peace making is a very risky business and often a thankless job. I recall listening to the late Kofi Anan speak about his on two different occasions. Anyone involved in peace making from domestic quarrels to larger battles, must be ready for the good, the bad and the ugly.

    “In the end, we must wear the shoes of the long distance runner, believing and trusting that the truth never ever sinks to the bottom of the sea. The truth will always have a stubborn way of defying the hostile elements and popping up at the right time, no matter how long it takes.

    “I perfectly understand that with Alhaji Atiku, having just picked up the presidential ticket of his party, without providing this context, definitely, I can appreciate why many people will have a lot of anxieties. They will definitely be right to question my neutrality.

    “However, I have far too many friends across party lines for me to openly endorse one candidate or party against the other. It will be against the principles of the Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church which regulates our public life in the political space.

    The President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference has signed a statement to the effect that no altar of the Catholic Church must ever be open to any politician, something we have all taken seriously. I therefore hope that this clarification helps those whose minds are open.

    “I am thankful to God and quite pleased that this reconciliation took place and that I was a small instrument in making it happen. However, I am sorry that it has been given a different colouration and doubts to many people. Its timing was purely fortuitous and purely circumstantial not a contrivance. Personally, I will never relent in the very urgent task of making peace and reconciliation across the spectrum of our country.”

     

  • Obasanjo and the president Nigeria needs

    SIR: The Nigerian political field, a vicious and brutal field, is full of landmines. Those who for selfish reasons did not allow the “best president Nigeria ever had” to rule are teaming up again to foist looters on the hapless majority and block the chances of the “best president that can curtail corruption in Nigeria.

    To start with, one does not need any specialized knowledge in economics to become a president or to govern well. President Buhari’s sterling qualities as a rugged anti-corruption fighter has no equal yet. His aides or assistants are people who possess specialized knowledge in economics. However, no Nigerian, living or dead, has equalled his records in the efficient management of resources. We can say the same thing about President Buhari’s antecedents and records in the anti-corruption campaign. He is just as much a knowledgeable person as anyone with specialized knowledge in his chosen team. When you are in power – power defined here as a “coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose”, you must use discrimination in the selection of those who will work with you to achieve your objective.

    There must be harmony. However, when moles dig in and infiltrate your team, that ends the spirit of harmony. I think this explains the charge of nepotism levelled against President Buhari. I pitched my tent long ago alongside the tents of those that war against corruption.

    Two movements have emerged: One with records that show that the fight against corruption will be a mere rhetoric when they come to power; the other movement is presently headed by President Buhari, who is the undisputed champion of the fight against corruption. The dark horses in his camp are balanced by the brightness of his own impeccable records of honesty, and I believe it will set a pattern for the future when Nigeria will be inevitably ready for restructuring.

    To vote against corruption now is a sure vote against poverty and a guaranteed investment to free the poor from elitist domination and enslavement. A few strange bedfellows are coming together to foist corruption on the majority impoverished from 1960 to date.

    The elites have always ganged up against the poor to perpetuate themselves and their off-springs in power. The poor must remember that if they vote for corruption in 2019, then they should keep quiet and not complain of the mud and slippery ground that will stagnate them until God Himself intervenes to deliver them from themselves.

    History must not be allowed to repeat itself come 2019.Remember the Tiv riots between 1960 and 1964? There was the “Wetie” in the “wild, wild West”, all brought about by corruption.

    The revolutionaries struck in January, 1966. However, due to lack of the spirit of harmony (betrayals), the reactionaries took over instead. Later, General Gowon and the now billionaire generals took over. The scars of their exploits (primitive wealth acquisition) still remain with us as millions have been impoverished and are still living in abject poverty. How can the billionaires in our midst explain their stupendous wealth in the midst of abject poverty? The elites should not use the perceived conquest agenda of the Fulani to hoodwink us into voting for corruption come 2019.

    For now, who are the politicians on ground that will govern the restructured country? What is their antecedent?

     

    • John R. Jimoh,

    Sagamu, Ogun State.

  • I was not in Abeokuta to endorse Atiku, says Kukah

    The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Mathew Hassan Kukah on Monday said he was not at the Hilltop mansion of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta last Wednesday to endorse the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Alh. Atiku Abubakar.

    He said he only went to reconcile the former President and his hitherto estranged deputy.

    He said he declined moves by Obasanjo to drag him into what he described as a “forest of politics.”

    He insisted that his personal preoccupation was a” pastoral one, and not a political one.”

    He said as a convener of National Peace Committee(NPC), he has a moral limit which he sticks to.

    He said when it was clear that both President Obasanjo and Abubakar were on the verge of making peace, he alerted the Chairman of the NPC, General Abdusalam Abubakar and a former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Sir Emeka Anyaoku.

    Kukah, who made the clarifications in a statement, said he was “a bit nervous, seeing that the circle was getting larger for something I thought was between three of us.”

    He said he rejected moves by Obasanjo to drag him into a hall to go and say how he and others got to Abeokuta because it had a tone of politics.

    He said he also skipped lunch after the session and avoided flying in the same aircraft with Atiku when he was offered a seat.

    He said having been conversant with Catholic doctrine, he knew the limit of a priest in political engagement.

    He said the widely circulated photograph of the reconciliation meeting was taken behind closed doors.

    He explained that nothing could have prepared him for the way things finally shaped up.

    He said theoretically and practically, he has come to know that peace making is a very risky business and often a thankless job.

    The statement said: “I have deliberately made this explanatory note long because I think it is necessary that people make up their minds based on the facts, given my central role in the event.

    “I note that Sheikh Gumi has already told his own side of the story. I feel obliged to state my own side so that Nigerians can have a clearer picture of my own involvement.

    “ Sadly, I personally did not read President Obasanjo’s statement until two days later on the Internet since I was not physically in the hall.

    “Although trying to reconcile President Obasanjo and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was something I had been working on intermittently in the last few years, nothing could have prepared me for the way things finally shaped up. My focus all along had been with President Obasanjo and I had never brought Alhaji Abubakar into what I was doing. Quite fortuitously, a chance meeting changed the tide in favour of reconciliation.

    “Understandably, the pictures of the four of us (President Obasanjo, Alhaji Abubakar, Shaikh Gumi and I) literally lit up the social media and elicited divergent reactions from the general public.

    “Although over 99% of the reactions that have come to me have been largely those of commendation, with people focusing, rightly, on the reconciliation, there have been others whose focus has been on an isolated development that had absolutely nothing to do with what I had in mind all these years, namely, the endorsement.

    “I must say that I am eternally grateful to God that this reconciliation finally happened. The focus of attention has been on the endorsement of Alhaji Abubakar by President Obasanjo, a development that I can call the third leg of the process which I initiated. I am not sure of President Obasanjo’s other interlocutors after we agreed to meet leading to the participation of other actors and so, I will only clear the air on what I can take full responsibility for.”

    Kukah gave insights into how he was contacted by Obasanjo and how he resisted being dragged into what he described as a “forest of politics.”

    He added: “Let me state first that I am a priest of the Catholic Church and by the grace of God, a Bishop. I have more than a passing knowledge of our discipline and doctrine in matters relating to the role of a Catholic priest in political engagement. My doctoral thesis was on Religion and Politics in Nigeria. So, this is an area that I have written and spoken extensively about for over thirty years. I am therefore very clear about the boundaries, the slippery slopes and the contexts. Unlike Shaikh Gumi and Rev. Oyedepo who were invited to this event, I am a central actor. So let me explain what really happened.

    “On Tuesday, October 9th, 2018 I had the honor of being the Guest Speaker for the annual Conference of the Four Square Gospel Church in Alagomeji, Lagos. (The Presidential Spokesman, Femi Adesina, a member of this Church had first invited me some years back but I could not honour the invitation). President Obasanjo was the Chairman of the occasion.

    “ At the end of the lecture, he indicated that he would have to leave because he had a scheduled meeting. I told him I needed to see him briefly and he obliged. I brought up again the issue of what he thought of his reconciliation with Alhaji Atiku.

    “My last discussion with him this year was either January or February. His response was still negative and he told me what he later told the media. I reminded him that I was not interested in the politics of reconciliation but the spiritual angle.

    “ After all, I said to him, ‘as a Christian, this is an important thing for you to do’. He was quiet and then said he would speak with me later that evening on his final decision. We parted, he to his car and I returned to the Church to end the event.

    “At about 9pm the same Tuesday, he called to say that he had thought over the issues I had raised and finally decided to accept my suggestion and that yes, he would be happy to reconcile with Alhaji Abubakar. When did he think we could meet then, I asked him? He said he would look at his diary and get back to me later.

    “Then, just before 11pm the same Tuesday, I received another call from him saying his diary was full, that the earliest date for him was October 21st. I accepted happily and told him that I would try and reach Alhaji Abubakar either directly, or through his aides to convey the news.

    “My initial intention had been to return to Abuja that same evening from Lagos, but my hosts at the Four Square Gospel had suggested that I should get some rest. Next morning, Wednesday October 10th, after I had finished celebrating the Holy Mass, I received a call from President Obasanjo: ‘Bishop, listen, I have changed my mind’. My heart nearly sank, but before I could ask why, he said: ‘Let us do it tomorrow if you can reach Atiku. I am going to deliver a lecture in Ife and will be back home before 1pm. “So, tell him to come at 1pm’. I started frantic efforts to reach Alhaji Atiku without luck. I reached one of his aides, Paul Ibe, and asked him to please let him know I am trying to reach him. Finally, at about 1pm, I received a call from him. I told him what had happened with President Obasanjo. He agreed and said he would be in Abeokuta for 1pm on Thursday.

    “I got back to my hosts, the Four Square Gospel Church to tell them about the change in my travelling plans especially as I had no car to take me to Abeokuta.

    “ I didn’t want to ask President Obasanjo’s people to send me a vehicle because I believed I needed a leeway of independence and trust. My hosts were exceedingly gracious in making a vehicle available, a driver and an aide to take me to Abeokuta.”
    Kukah admitted that Obasanjo expanded the scope of the session beyond what he anticipated.

    He said the development made him to walk up to the former President to ask for the protocol for the meeting.

    He said: “ Earlier that morning, President Obasanjo had called me a second time and told me that he wanted Alhaji Abubakar to come with the Chairman of the PDP, and two or three others. He also told me he had also invited both Shaikh Gumi and Rev. Oyedepo. This was welcome news- Rev. Oyedepo is a kinsman of his, and the presence of Shaikh Gumi made sense. I was a bit nervous, seeing that the circle was getting larger for something I thought was between three of us.

    “I arrived Abeokuta about 12.15pm ahead of both President Obasanjo and Alhaji Abubakar and his team. Alhaji Abubakar and his team arrived, and then I saw more and more people coming in. “I saw familiar faces of different people who turned out to be the leaders of Afenifere. All these years, whenever I brought up this matter of reconciliation, my idea has always been for the three of us to sit down together. I still believed that the meeting would be between the two of them and the three religious leaders.”

    Kukah said he rejected moves by Obasanjo to drag him into a hall to go and say how he and others got to Abeokuta because it had a tone of politics.

    He added: “When President Obasanjo appeared, I walked up to him and said I wanted to know the protocol for the meeting. He suggested that we would meet in a hall and that I should say a few words about how we got here.

    “ I declined because it seemed again that at this point, we were in small forest of politics and I had no wish to be caught in it. I was happy that what I wanted to achieve had been achieved, namely, getting these two men to put the past behind them.

    “My personal preoccupation was a pastoral one, and not a political one. I was uncomfortable with this and I decided to make my position clear. I offered a different proposal to help us sift the moral grain from the chaff of politics via a three-step process so as to insulate the three of us from the political fallout.

    “I proposed that the first step would be for he and Alhaji Abubakar to sit down behind closed doors, sort out their issues and then the next step would be for both Sheikh Gumi and I to go in and listen to the two of them as Rev. Oyedepo had not arrived.

    “After that, I said, they could continue with the third phase which from what I could see was high wire politics and I had no wish to be caught in the web. After they both finished their brief meeting, Sheikh Gumi and I went in and sat down with the two of them.

    “ We had some small briefing and then both of us spoke briefly on what they had done, encouraging them to ensure that this reconciliation holds. I even said jokingly that I am a Catholic priest and our marriage vows are indissoluble! After that, we prayed and then took what has now become the famous photograph behind closed doors.

    “At this point, I felt that my spiritual duties had been achieved and I was prepared to maintain my independence. Sheikh Gumi and I shook hands and although I was hungry and food was being laid out, I skipped lunch. I quietly let myself out by the side door, got into the Four Square Gospel car and we drove off to Lagos. Despite the dread of Lagos traffic and the disruption of flights at the Airport in Lagos, I had declined the offer of a seat in the Aircrafts which had flown them to Abeokuta.

    “ Although flying with them was the best (and most convenient) assurance I had of getting to Abuja in time for a speaking engagement at an event with the Sultan and Cardinal Onaiyekan for 9am the next day, it was necessary to ensure that I took no favours from any of the two parties.

    “I was not in Abeokuta to endorse Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party. I perfectly understand the feelings of many of my friends and members of the opposition who believe that I travelled with Alhaji Abubakar and his team to attend his endorsement by President Obasanjo, but I reiterate that this was not the case.

    “All the bills for my travel were settled by the Four Square Gospel hosts for the earlier dated programme who had bought my tickets, booked accommodation for me and took care to get me to the airport for my flight to Abuja and Sokoto.

    “I am a strong believer in a peaceful and united Nigeria, ideals for which I have striven and served my entire adult life as a thinker and a priest. My instincts for reconciliation and peace were sharpened during my involvement and experience with the Oputa Panel. When the Generals refused to respond to the invitation of Oputa Panel, I personally undertook to visit both General Babangida and Buhari (he was not at home) at a time that today’s latter day Buharists were asking the Panel to compel them to come or risk being blacked out of national life. Objective-minded people will remember that back in 2001, when the Christian community and many of President Buhari’s opponents claimed that General Buhari had said that Muslims should vote only for Muslims, many people in the Christian community were disappointed that I wrote a long article to explain the context of what he had said after speaking with the General. His party, the ANPP later used part of my article for their 2003 campaigns! My faith and experience have taught me to learn to suspend judgment till I have heard both sides of a story, no matter what.

    “I hope that this clarification helps to allay the concerns of those who may have seen all of these in a different light. Many minds will remain set no matter the reasonableness of my comments here, and this is to be expected- one cannot please everyone. This is why it is often best to seek to please only one’s own conscience, and here, mine is very clear.

    “I have been involved in a few behind-the-scene shuttle diplomacy for years, largely on my own initiative, taking advantage of my knowledge of those engaged in the conflict or at the invitation of third parties. Some have succeeded and some have not. As priest, it is not in my place to publicize what we have achieved.

    “I am the Convener of the National Peace Committee. This alone is enough to place a moral boundary which I am bound to respect. The NPC able to accomplish much because of trust and that is not what I can treat lightly. When it became clear that both President Obasanjo and Abubakar were on the verge of making peace, I alerted the Chairman of the NPC, General Abdusalam. Since I happen to be in Lagos, I drove to the Ikoyi home of Chief Emeka Anyaoku and alerted him. I spoke to my Metropolitan, the Archbishop of Kaduna, Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso. All in all, everyone believed this was a very good move if we could achieve it. None of us imagined the third phase of this meeting.

    “Both theoretically and practically, I have come to know that peace making is a very risky business and often a thankless job. I recall listening to the late Kofi Anan speak about his on two different occasions. Anyone involved in peace making from domestic quarrels to larger battles, must be ready for the good, the bad and the ugly.

    “In the end, we must wear the shoes of the long distance runner, believing and trusting that the truth never ever sinks to the bottom of the sea. The truth will always have a stubborn way of defying the hostile elements and popping up at the right time, no matter how long it takes.”
    Kukah took time to explain that he was not in any way involved in politics.

    He said: “I perfectly understand that with Alhaji Abubakar having just picked up the Presidential ticket of his Party, without providing this context, definitely, I can appreciate why many people will have a lot of anxieties. They will definitely be right to question my neutrality.

    “ However, I have far too many friends across party lines for me to openly endorse one candidate or party against the other. It will be against the principles of the Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church which regulates our public life in the political space. The President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference has signed a statement to the effect that no altar of the Catholic Church must ever be open to any politician, something we have all taken seriously. I therefore hope that this clarification helps those whose minds are open.

    “I am thankful to God and quite pleased that this reconciliation took place and that I was a small instrument in making it happen. However, I am sorry that it has been given a different colouration and doubts to many people. Its timing was purely fortuitous and purely circumstantial not a contrivance. Personally, I will never relent in the very urgent task of making peace and reconciliation across the spectrum of our country.”

  • Obasanjo, Atiku and 2019 calculations

    After backing his opponents thrice to block him from becoming President, former President Olusegun Obasanjo made a U-turn yesterday. He threw weight behind the presidential ambition of his erstwhile deputy Atiku Abubakar. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU writes on the new-found love between the political foes and the implications of the alliance for 2019.

    The cold war between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his former deputy, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, may be over. Or so it seems.

    For 12 years, the Owu-born chief, as Obasanjo is fondly called, stood against the presidential ambition of the Waziri Adamawa. After leaving bowing out of power in 2007, stopping Atiku from taking the driver’s seat became his major priority. But, following a sudden, inexplicable rapport at Obasanjo’s Abeokuta, Ogun State residence yesterday, the General and civil war hero ate his words.

    Obasanjo, who described the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate as the “president-to-be,” congratulated him in advance. Having encouraged the formation of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which cannot fly, the former president, who is bent on stopping President Muhammadu Buhari in next year’s election, saw hope and an alternative in Atiku. The presidential candidate of the ADC, the party believed to enjoy his backing, Obadiah Mailafia, got no consideration.

    Yesterday, there was no reason for Obasanjo to write a lengthy letter to anybody again. Reality has also dawned on him that he lacked the structure to either intimidate effectively the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Buhari. Therefore, he looked for a new ally in an unusual quarter. But, will the realignment last?

    Obasanjo explained the change of heart, although his reasons, according to observers, may not be convincing. The former leader suddenly recalled the succession plan he dropped in 2007, saying that it was actually designed to herald an Atiku presidency. Although he had branded the former number two citizen as a disloyal deputy then, he said the Adamawa-born politician has now “re-discovered and repositioned” himself.

    In Obasanjo’s view, Atiku has shown remorse; he has asked for forgiveness and mended fences. Therefore, in his reckoning, he is more competent to govern than President Buhari. The proofs, as highlighted by Obasanjo, are that Atiku understands the economy; he is a Wazobia man. He believes in appointment based on merit, not blood relationship and friendship. Also, he is more accessible.

    Being a former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deputy governor, ADC presidential candidate Dr. Mailafia, cannot be a novice in the field of economy.

    The journey to the Hill Top, Abeokuta was carefully planned. Atiku was accompanied by eminent clerics, who like Obasanjo, are experts in theology, and some notable politicians. They include: Living Faith Ministries (Winners Chapel) Presiding Bishop David Oyedepo; Sokoto Catholic Diocese Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah; Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Sheik Gumi Abubakar; former governors Brig.-Gen. Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Osun); Otunba Gbenga Daniel (Ogun); Liyel Imoke (Cross River); Otunba Oyewole Fasawe; Senator Ben Murray-Bruce and PDP National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus.

    The politicians on the delegation are PDP chieftains or sympathisers.  What could not be ascertained was the political leaning of the eminent Muslim and Christian leaders, and their motivation for accompanying the PDP flag bearer? Did they go there as true peacemakers between two politicians, or friends-turned foes? Is there any personal or political motive behind it?

    Are the clerics spiritual consultants to PDP and Atiku? Are they silent patrons of the PDP or the Atiku Campaign organisation? How will they convince their congregation that they are “apolitical?” Is the pulpit now another altar for partisanship? What is the implication of lack of neutrality? Will they start asking their congregation to emulate the politics of Atiku? Or the politics of Obasanjo?

    The visit, and previous ones made by politicians gazing at 2019, may have inflated the ego, influence and relevance of the former military and civilian president. Although essentially designed for ego massaging, they may have also robed the Ekerin Egba and Balogun Owu as a co-member of the cult of political principals and principalities, who despite their inability to effect power shift on their own, have managed to remain somehow relevant on account of old glory.

    General Obasanjo is able to study the national mood. He is capitalising on the expectations of Nigerians that may not have been met. He is playing down the achievements of the Buhari administration and amplifying its shortcomings. The onus is on the government to step up its efforts and meet public expectation.

    But, is Obasanjo so critical to Atiku’s ambition? Does it mean that the eminent politician cannot make it without him? What is the electoral worth of the combative Owu chief? Is Atiku’s structure not more formidable than any machinery offered by Obasanjo? Is Obasanjo a better politician than Atiku?

    Obasanjo, the self-acclaimed gerontocratic monitor, may be trying to undo the damage he had done to his erstwhile deputy. The old soldier recanted in a hard way. It may be a disservice to strong principles.  To analysts, it was doubtful, if Obasanjo was motivated by national interest, which he often professed. He was driven by an uncanny, morbid hate for President Buhari, who has refused to operate from his armpit.

    The party card Obasanjo tore four years ago starred him in the face. Is Obasanjo, who claimed that he has retired from active politics, returning to the party he repudiated? Will his new party, ADC, now wind up and team up with the PDP, or Atiku, for the 2019 battle? What is actually responsible for the retracing of steps? What is the worth of an endorsement informed, not by national interest, but personal interest?

    In an open letter early this year, the former president had written off the ruling APC and the opposition PDP as parties that can never get Nigerians to the Promised Land. He called for the formation of a “Third Force”, which he promised to midwife. He went further to rally like-minds to form the Coalition for Nigeria (CN)

    It is up to Nigerians, especially, those who bought into the “Third Force” and CN ideas, to decide the fate of the platforms with unfolding developments.

    During the military rule, Obasanjo was at loggerheads with Gen. Buhari, self-styled military President Ibrahim Babangida and the late Gen. Sani Abacha. Although he imposed his successor, the late Umaru Yar’Adua in 2007, he later disowned him two years later, saying that the Katsina-born politician lacked capacity. Yar’Adua’s successor, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, whose re-election he supported in 2011, was brought down by a stroke of his pen.

    In his self-imposed duty of looking for national solutions, he aligned with Buhari in 2015. Next year, his plan is to campaign to oust Buhari and install Atiku. What is the assurance that Obasanjo, “the all is wrong and I alone is right statesman,” will not disown Atiku again? How many presidents have lived up to the expectation of a leader who is not nationally acknowledged as a mentor and role model?

    In 2003, Obasanjo and Atiku parted ways. Since his hand was heavy on the governors, they resolved to deny him a second term. The symbol of the ‘coup’ was Atiku, who the governors wanted as the PDP candidate. More vociferous were James Ibori (Delta State), Alams Alamieyeseigha (Bayelsa) and Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia) in the campaign against Obasanjo. They all paid dearly for the effrontery.

    Yet, Atiku was undecided. Desperate for a second term, Obasanjo had to prostrate for his deputy, who later gave his nod at the PDP presidential primary to the consternation of the aggrieved governors. It became Atiku’s undoing.

    Hell was let loose. Atiku became a spare tyre that a vice president was in Aso Villa. He was shoved aside. An inter-ministerial panel in the image of the power-loaded president was set up to try him. Atiku was found guilty. It was evident that he was unwanted as a successor. Atiku fought back. He became an anti-third term crusader. Sources said when the third term project was truncated, Obasanjo’s anger against Atiku grew beyond proportion. He swore that Atiku will be president over his dead body.

    Obasanjo had outlined his grievances against his deputy, ahead of 2007. He described Atiku as a disloyal deputy, unworthy of the crown. Asked to react to Atiku’s presidential ambition, he said: ‘I dey laugh o.’ It was loaded with meaning. During the 2011 PDP presidential primary, he joined forces with Dr. Jonathan to abort Atiku’s bid. At a lecture in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, he also doubted Atiku’s competence, saying that he was unfit for leadership. Few months ago, Obasanjo said God will never forgive him, if he ever supported Atiku. The former vice president dismissed the tirade, urging Obasanjo to reconcile with his creator.

    In his book: “My watch,” Obasanjo explained his grievances against Atiku and why he will not support his presidential ambition. He may need to write a new book to capture his change of mind, in view of how his words on mortal have created credibility crisis for Atiku.

    He stated: “I settled for Atiku Abubakar. Some of the reasons were he worked hard for the project, he never indicated interest in the job to me, he had worked closely with Shehu Yar’Adua and Shehu never passed any adverse comment on him, he had been elected as a governor which already put him on the pedestal to move up politically, but he had been short- changed in the election that would have put M.K.O.Abiola in power, and he seemed to have some national outreach.

    “What I did not know, which came out glaringly later, was his parental background which was somewhat shadowy, his propensity to corruption, his tendency to disloyalty, his inability to say and stick to the truth all the time, a propensity for poor judgment, his belief and reliance on marabouts , his lack of transparency, his trust in money to buy his way out on all issues and his readiness to sacrifice morality, integrity, propriety truth and national interest for self and selfish interest.

    “May be some of these traits and poor attributes are not easy to see until you work with the person concerned. And those who should tell would keep quite so that they would not be accused of running others down. For instance until later, when a distinguished chief from Bauchi pointed out to me the value of pedigree, queried Atiku’s pedigree and blamed me for making a wrong choice, I did not pay attention to Atiku’s parental background.

    “Furthermore until all efforts to help Atiku change had failed – and having stumbled upon a report of inquiry carried out on him – I asked one of my predecessors why he did not inform me of how bad the report was and he said that he thought I knew. He said: “This was a man I wanted to dismiss and jail, but for the intervention of Shagaya and Shehu Yar’Adua.

    “I took him at face value. However if his appointment was an error, I fully accepted responsibility for the genuine mistake. And knowing all that I discovered about him, what would have been an unpardonable mistake and sin against God would have been to foist him on Nigeria.”

    There are questions begging for answers: what has Obasanjo seen now that he did not see before? What is the justification for the summersault? Will his new alignment herald defeat for President Buhari? Will his endorsement sway the votes? Will it make Atiku win?

    Time will tell.

     

  • Gang up ’ll fail, says Buhari as Obasanjo endorses Atiku

    They’ll lose together, says Presidency

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday endorsed his one-time deputy, Atiku Abubakar, for president — after scorning him relentlessly as unfit for the job.

    But in a swift reaction, the Presidency described it as a gang up that won’t stand.

    On his Twitter handle, presidential spokesman Femi Adesina tweeted: “The harder they come, the harder they fall. 2019 presidential election on my mind.”

    In a statement, the Senior Special Assistant (Media and Publicity) to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu, said Obasanjo and Atiku would lose together in next year’s election.

    At his sprawling Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Obasanjo, who had in the past vowed never to back Atiku, yesterday made a U’ turn and tipped the Turaki Adamawa for the top job.

    He said he had forgiven Atiku.

    Atiku, who picked the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) presidential ticket at its convention in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Sunday, was in Abeokuta to seek Obasanjo’s blessing for next year’s election.

    He went with Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church (aka Winners Chapel), Bishop David Oyedepo, Sokoto Catholic Diocese Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah and Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmed Gumi.

    Others in his entourage were PDP National Chairman Uche Secondus, former Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke, former Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel and former Deputy National Chairman of PDP Bode George.

    Lagos lawyer Chief Ayo Adebanjo led his faction of the Yoruba socio-political group Afenifere, to the meeting. It was the second time in 48 hours that he was leading the group to Obasanjo’s home.

    Obasanjo, who once said “God will not forgive me if I support Atiku” explained that the former vice president “has rediscovered and repositioned himself”.

    He and Atiku, he said, had reviewed what went wrong between them, adding that his former stand on Atiku was not personal but based on what he had done against the PDP and the country.

    Obasanjo had accused Atiku of corruption and disloyalty.

    The elder statesman, however, said Atiku had apologised and “I have forgiven him”.

    He said: “From what transpired in the last couple of hours, you have shown remorse, you have asked for forgiveness and you have indicated that you have learnt some good lessons

    “ You have also promised to mend fences and make amends as necessary and as desirable.

    “Whenever or wherever you might have offended me, as a Christian who asks for God’s forgiveness of my sins and inadequacies on a daily basis, I forgive and I sincerely advise you to learn from the past and do what is right and it will be well with you.

    “Obviously, you have mended fences with the party and fully reconciled with the party.

    “ That’s why today, you are the presidential candidate of the party.”

    Obasanjo advised Atiku to appreciate all that the PDP had done for him, imploring him to work with all other presidential aspirants as a campaign team.

    The former president noted that there were still national and international fences for Atiku to mend.

    “ I am convinced that if you continue with the attitude that brought you here with these distinguished leaders of goodwill, with remorse and contrite heart, the rest of the coast within and outside the country can be cleared.

    “And if there is anything I can do and you want me to do in that respect, I will do.

    “I am sure with the right attitude for change where necessary, and by putting lessons learned by you to work, you will get the understanding, cooperation, support and mandate of Nigerians.

    “ With Nigerians voting for you, it will mean that you secure their forgiveness and regain their confidence.

    “It will be with the hope or assurance of a Paul on the road to Damascus Conversion. After all, change and conversion are of man and I believe that with a contrite heart, change is possible in everybody’s life and situation.

    Obasanjo noted that among all PDP presidential aspirants, Atiku possessed the widest and greatest exposure, experience, outreach and possibly the best machinery for seeing the “tough and likely dirty campaign ahead” through.

    He claimed that Atiku has a better understanding of the economy than others.

    “You surely understand the economy better and you have business experience, which can make your administration business-friendly and boost the economy and provide jobs.

    “You have better outreach nationally and internationally and that can translate to better management of foreign affairs.

    “You are more accessible and less inflexible and more open to all parts of the country in many ways.

    “As Pastor Bakare, one-time running mate of the incumbent President said, ‘You are a Wazobia man.’

    ”And that should help you in confronting the confrontable and shunning nepotism.

    ”As you know, along the road to where you are today, many leaders and ordinary people cooperated and overtly and covertly worked hard.  On your behalf, I thank them all.  May their coast continue to be expanded.

    ”And when you become Nigerian President which, Insha-Allah, you will be, remember what we did together in government – we ran an administration by Nigerians for all Nigerians where merit and performance count more than blood relationship, friendship or kith and kin.

    “Although some time and ground have been lost, you should endeavour to start from where we stopped and recover some lost ground, if not time.

    Please uphold truth, integrity, principles, morality and fight corruption, crimes and insurgency.

    “ The fundamental law of the land, our constitution must be scrupulously defended. I make one demand and one demand on you today, I need you to say before God and man that you will always remain irrevocably committed to upholding all the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the whole country will remain your single indivisible constituency.

    ”Constitutionalism, popular participation and inclusiveness are pre-conditions for reversing the deficits of the past three-and-a-half years. They will ensure abiding faith in our indivisibility, oneness and faith in the survival of all against none.

    ”The fundamentals for our development, economic growth and progress are hard and soft infrastructure.  Remember to always give adequate places in your administration to our youth and women.

    “All the authorities involved with the preparations, all processes and conduct of the election must ensure that the election is free, fair and credible.

    ”Once again, congratulations and I wish you well.  My distinguished brothers and leaders of goodwill, thank you for making this happen.  I will now count on you to encourage all hands to be on deck to take Nigeria to the level God has created it to be – autopilot level. God bless you all and God bless Nigeria.”

    Obasanjo advised Atiku to run an inclusive government where merit and performance count more than blood relationship, friendship or kith and kin like they both did between 1999 and 2007

    In his opening remarks, Atiku described the meeting as historic for him, Obasanjo and Nigeria.

    He reiterated that he could not have become relevant without the training and tutelage from Obasanjo’s leadership.

    Atiku, who described the day as one of the happiest days in his life, said it was time for well-meaning Nigerians to come together for the repositioning of the country on the path of unity and prosperity.

    He pledged to dedicate and commit his tenure, if elected as president, to the continuation of the Olusegun Obasanjo- led administration.

     

  • Presidency: Obasanjo, Atiku will lose together

    THE Presidency last night said former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his anointed candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, will lose together in next year’s presidential election.

    Reacting to Obasanjo’s endorsement of Atiku, the Presidency said President Muhammadu Buhari would not be distracted by the endorsement.

    In a statement, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu said the Presidency was not surprised by the development.

    Shehu said: “The Presidency has received the news of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s predictable U-turn and somersault on the endorsement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, at a meeting on Thursday, and to say that we are the least surprised by the well-rehearsed theatre.

    “They will lose together. Listening to the prepared statement of the former president after the meeting showed the usual ego trip and ‘I know it all’ character of Chief Obasanjo.

    “In the first place, we dare to say that a pompous statement from the former president advising Nigerians on a vote against President Buhari is the best recommendation that can come at this time.

    “It also betrayed a lack of understanding of today’s politics which is about good governance.

    “The country voted for change in 2015 and a leader that ensures good governance which only President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) can provide.

    “Bent on these laudable goals, we will not allow ourselves to be distracted.”

    The administration, Shehu said, was busy on various national issues including the restructuring and the diversification of the economy, fighting corruption, terrorism and other threats to national security; increasing the availability of electric power, improving education, health, and providing long-delayed infrastructure – roads, rail, airports and so forth.

    Stressing that many governments have come and gone, he noted that they did not care about some of the projects.

    He said: “We were talking about these things for 16 years under the PDP and nothing was done.

    “President Buhari is proud of his record because his achievements are verifiable, while that of the PDP is manifested by the devastating social and economic impact of large scale corruption during their governance.

    “The President will not relent in the war against corruption because the ordinary people are the ultimate victims if we surrender to corruption and let its perpetrators go unpunished.

    “Abandoning the war against corruption is not an option. President Buhari is in this battle against graft because he cannot allow a few, rapacious, and selfish class of the elite to divert the resources meant for the well-being of the ordinary people to their private pockets.

    “Nigerians trust President Buhari in this effort because they are convinced he is not in government for personal financial benefits, or for an ego trip. It is just 11 years ago that the former president and vice president in their ugly fight for power accused each other of corruption. Nigerians are yet to forget all that.”

     

  • Atiku: Obasanjo’s endorsement means nothing, Says APC

    …”He will be demystified”

     

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that Thursday’s endorsement of Presidential candidate of the main opposition People Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo will not in any way affect the fortunes of the party in the 2019 Presidential election.

    National Vice Chairman South south of the party, Utufam Hilliard ETA told newsmen on Thursday evening that the former President has lost political value saying his endorsement has no effect.

    Eta, who said the endorsement is not a threat to his party stated repeatedly: “Obasanjo will be dimistified.”

    When reminded that the same Obasanjo endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 presidential election, Eta said: “His (Obasanjo) endorsement has nothing to do with our (APC) victory in 2015.

    Read Also: 2019: You’re next President of Nigeria, Obasanjo tells Atiku

    “I know that politics is more of deception but I tell you that Obasanjo’s electoral value is little to nothing. Remember that Obasanjo in all the elections lost from his ward level to everywhere. Obasanjo is more loved away than at home and like I said earlier, Obasanjo will be dimistfied.”

    On the presence of some religious leaders at Obasanjo’s home during the endorsement, the APC chieftain said: “One of the political wing of the PDP is one organisation called Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), so one is not surprised that CAN can do all they can do,” he said.