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Tag: Olusegun Obasanjo

  • COMEDY OF THE YEAR: Obasanjo’s birthday ‘toast’ to Fayose

    COMEDY OF THE YEAR: Obasanjo’s birthday ‘toast’ to Fayose

    Two public figures introduced what might be called a new dramatic sub-genre: the “comedy of insults.” The actors were former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose.

    It was Fayose’s 65th birthday on November 15, and he had pulled a noteworthy crowd, including Vice President Kashim Shettima, to the celebration at the 10 Degrees Event Centre in Lagos.  No one was prepared for Obasanjo’s sucker punch, but the puncher came prepared. 

    Fayose claimed that Obasanjo, 88, demanded that he and his wife, Feyisetan, stand beside him while he delivered his speech, described as lasting “one hour, 14 minutes.” Also, according to Fayose, “Baba said he would be the one to speak last. I became suspicious.” Shettima, by protocol, had been scheduled to speak last.

    Apparently, Obasanjo had a nasty game plan known to himself alone. His performance vividly illustrated the Shakespearean line: “There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face.”

    The stage was set for a devastating assault on Fayose, who said he had invited Obasanjo to the event in the spirit of reconciliation. 

    In his speech, the former president recalled how Fayose and his wife had visited his residence to invite him to the celebration. “I told your wife, ‘Madam, you and your husband, you are not Omoluabi.’ She admitted and said ‘Baba, you are right. Please, forgive us.’ Then, when you get that, what else can I do?” he recounted. 

    The label was a way of saying the couple were not persons of good character. Obasanjo continued: “So, you have asked for forgiveness and as far as I’m concerned you are forgiven. But the right lessons must be learnt.”

    What followed was a moralistic recollection of Fayose’s alleged ethical failures alongside his political achievements.  The air was heavy with tension as the couple and the attendees were forced to endure the foul atmosphere.

    Thankfully, the event ended without incident. However, after-event incidents showed that worse things could have happened.

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    In an interview with AF24 News, posted on its YouTube channel, Fayose said: “I was enraged. I felt like taking the mic from Obasanjo’s hand and hitting it on his head. This is being sincere.”  He recalled their visit to him, saying, “We took pictures together; all in good faith. I changed $20,000 and gave it to him. How can you accept somebody’s money and come and be spitting on that person?”

    Fayose wondered: “How do you say such things to a man on his 65th birthday?”  He added: “But to show maturity, not by age, but by self-respect and out of consideration for the vice-president’s presence, I kept my cool.”

    He asked regretfully and rhetorically: “If I knew this was how it would end, what do I need Obasanjo for?”

    The drama wasn’t over. Fayose penned a “Thank You” message that was more like a slap in the face. He called Obasanjo’s comments at his birthday party “very irresponsible,” saying, “someone once said you are supposed to be kept away in the zoo. Sincerely that’s where you belong.” He did not elaborate on how Obasanjo would be classified in a zoo. 

    He introduced a distinction related to mental health, stating, “I kept quiet or did not reply to you at the function so that the world will know the difference between a sane and a mad man that you are.”  The question is: Why would a self-defined sane man get involved with a supposedly mad man?

    Obasanjo responded that the message “undisguisedly revealed who and what you are, unchanged and unchangeable.” This suggests he wasn’t fooled when Fayose and his wife visited him. It also suggests he only played along in order to deliver his punches on the intended day.  

    Interestingly, money had changed hands because Obasanjo had to cut short his diplomatic and peace-related mission in Kigali, Rwanda, and Fayose had provided money for the return trip. When Obasanjo announced at the event that the money was intact, he asked the attendees not to laugh. In his response to Fayose’s message, he said the money had been sent back through the person who brought it and in the same bag “unopened by me.”

    The public was well entertained as the drama developed blow-by-blow, in a manner of speaking. The profile of the actors made the dramatic clash a compelling comical show. They made a spectacle of themselves.  

  • I rejected pressure to make El-Rufai my successor – Obasanjo

    I rejected pressure to make El-Rufai my successor – Obasanjo

     Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says  he rejected  a suggestion to back  former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as his successor at the end of his tenure in 2007.

     Obasanjo disclosed this yesterday  during the second edition of the Ajibosin Platform Annual Symposium in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

    He said that he rejected the idea because he was convinced El-Rufai was not yet mature enough to handle the responsibilities of leading the country, adding that former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, recommended the former Kaduna State governor  as his possible successor. Chidoka was the keynote speaker at the event.

    He  was recounting how El-Rufai introduced him to Obasanjo at the age of 34 when the former president interrupted his remarks and provided detailed information.

    “Let him tell you. He didn’t mention that. He was pushing when I was leaving government that his friend, El-Rufai, should be brought in as my successor. No be so?

    “I did not yield to the pressure. Later, I suggested this person, why didn’t you agree?’ I said El-Rufai needs to mature. You remember?

     “When I left government and, many years later, he saw the performances of El-Rufai, he came back to me and said, ‘You’re absolutely correct. El-Rufai needed to mature,’” Obasanjo recalled.

     OBJ, as the former president is fondly called, took time off to commend Chidoka, El-Rufai, and other members of his former team.

    He  described them as individuals with “special attributes” that contributed to his administration’s achievements.

     Obasanjo noted  that character, exposure, experience, and training are essential qualities for those in public service when  he spoke on leadership,

    “It’s only in politics that I found out there is no training for leadership. Even among armed robbers, I was told there is an apprenticeship. But it’s only in politics that there is no training in leadership. That’s not good enough,” he said.

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     In his keynote address, Chidoka said: “Leadership finds its true measure not in speeches or charisma but in the systems it leaves behind.

    “Moral conviction must translate into the everyday machinery of governance—rules, routines, and institutions that make competence predictable and corruption difficult.

    “Nigeria’s problem has never been a shortage of ideas; it is the absence of systems strong enough to outlive their authors.

    “We must therefore make leadership accountable not to rhetoric but to results: measure by building national dashboards and accountability systems that track every promise, every budget, every outcome. Monitor by strengthening the institutions that evaluate government performance and expose complacency.”

    El-Rufai was one of the key figures in Obasanjo’s government from 1999 to  2007. He initially served as the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises and later as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

  • Broken record

    Broken record

    The one they call Ebora Owu lives the reality of a broken record. Tearing others down  echoes his broken public life, when the subject is not brazen service of self.

    Might his core then be rot, since he sees nothing but rot in others?  Only one full of rot would see only rot in others, over all seasons, in every material particular. 

    Indeed, former President Olusegun Obasanjo ticks all the sickening, stinking boxes, in flamboyant rot.  He, the wannabe Pope of public sector morality, is the very epitome of that harsh Biblical put down: a whited sepulchre, rotten within, glittering without!

    His latest sickly pastime confirms it all: the release of a book, Nigeria: Past and Future, to mark his 88 years, though his birthday was in March.

    In that book, he claimed the late Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) was the worst president since 1999; and that incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) waits, with bated breath, to topple Buhari’s record, just two years into own tenure!

    That’s rich — isn’t it? — coming from a fella whose wayward regime of naked power, powered by holy sleaze, set his PDP on a steady and progressive push to Golgotha!

    Still, if PMB and PBAT are power never-do-wells, and poor President Goodluck Jonathan got crushed by Obasanjo-era systemic sleaze, and the ill-fated Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was too ill to do what Obasanjo dragooned him to do, then who is the best of all times?

    No prize for guessing right: His Excellency, Holy and Immaculate Olusegun Obasanjo, Efficient and Effective, All Wise and All Glorious, Competent and Compassionate!

    Yet, history would reduce his name — and fairly so — to twin-emblems of brazen self-service: Obasanjo Farms Nigeria (OFN) and Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) — both of suspect moral provenance.

    For starters, both are glittering personal trophies from his two tours of duty, first as military junta head (1976-1979), and, as elected President (1999-2007). 

    Then, both are clear policy ambuscades to glorious state capture.  The grund norm of both is the Land Use Decree (now Land Use Act). 

    With the Land Use Act, Obasanjo gamed a huge parcel of land nation-wide (for OFN: incidentally, the twin-abbreviation for his military-era Operation Feed the Nation, OFN); and, in Abeokuta, for his OOPL, his end-term presidential racket.

    As sitting President, for his OOPL — first in Africa! — he proceeded to launch the most bare-faced executive extortion in contemporary Nigeria. 

    Yes, he called it “donation”: president and commander-in-chief — and sitting Oil minister to boot! — glaring down the cream of Nigerian Oil and Gas, opportunistic bankers, brow-beaten PDP state governors, and the emergent local investor class, with sharp eyes for sweetheart deals, coaxing them all to “donate”!

    Such blatant extortion, powered by the most unconscionable abuse of office, is yet to be matched by anyone.  On that, history would be brutally frank, when this generation is long gone.  Yet, Obasanjo tags others “corrupt”!

    But back to his finger-pointing on PMB.  

    Which of the two, for instance, is more public-spirited — even in the eye of a pumpkin, in the Laderin neighbourhood, of Obasanjo’s native Abeokuta?

    The one whose name gloriously adorns a crass business centre for gross personal gain — Obasanjo?  Or the one that silently erected a humming train station, named for Prof. Wole Soyinka, and sworn to total public comfort — PMB?

    That, of course, is the fundamental difference between both: PMB “hurried” with whatever good he had to do — though Obasanjo tagged him “Baba Go Slow” — and bowed out in a blaze of glory.  He made own mistakes, though.

    The tagger, on the other hand, is self-condemned to traducing others, all his very long life; hoping, fasting and praying that others’ “rot”, from his cynical mouth, would bury the putrid stench from own obvious decay, though he were holy Pope.  Nice try!

    Even then, a very special gift from his creator: in Obasanjo’s very eyes, all the tinsel he had packaged as gold would badly unravel, even as he busies himself seeing only the bad in others — before his maker calls him home!  It’s a bond he has with fate!

    All that is playing out in the current PDP misfortune.  It’s grand irony, though: the Great Seer and Grand Visionary, that led that party down that path of perdition, sees nothing!

    Still, you must know: Obasanjo’s obsession with running down others, but exulting self, dated back to 1990, when he released Not My Will, if you discount My Command,(1980), his Civil War tales by the moonlight, in which he framed himself the sole war super-hero.

    But in Not My Will, he went a reckless step further, when he openly mocked — callow, hollow youth! — the great Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s failure to attain federal power, the same power, he bragged, a military junta handed him on a virtual platter!

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    Still, after three years of junta power, and eight years of huff-and-puff presidency; and he still has to drone, now and then, to corral relevance, he is finding out, the bitter way, that greatness hardly correlates donkey years in power.

    The Awo that Obsanjo mocked — after his death, as his latest drivel does PMB — governed the Yoruba-majority Western Region for a scant seven years (1952-1959).  Yet, he turned the place into an irreversible force for good and progress, which still makes it the most prosperous and livable part of all Nigeria.

    Contrast that to Obasanjo’s cumulative 11 power years, and all he is leaving behind are OFN (more, the cynical policy gaming; less, the pristine farming policy); and OOPL — both bawling and screeching the sweet arrogance of self-service! 

    Why, even the rotten provenance of OOPL now attracts a rotten clientele, with EFCC securing conviction for a rash of 419 racketeers using its poolside as merry base! The shallow clearly call to the shallow, just as Awo’s deep called to the deep!

    Awo needed no eternity to put down others.  All he did, with his razor-sharp policies, from his cutting-edge intellect, was hauling up millions, in glorious social democracy!

    On Obasanjo/PMB, history would even be harsher.  For OBJ’s OFN and OOPL, PMB left sundry life-saving public works, to serve Nigerians — and in a season of no cash too: cash earlier finagled during the Obasanjo and PDP ancien regime!

    The taciturn PMB even taught the garrulous OBJ quiet lessons in president/vice-president relations and sane elections; talk less of basic decorum in relations: mutual respect among peers.

    Pray, which military senior or junior hasn’t OBJ abused or traduced with his fashionable rudeness, promoted as high morality?  Gen. Yakubu Gowon?  IBB?  Who?

    It’s the sad tale of avid teacher, lousy learner.  He’s so anxious — arrogant, even — to teach.  But beyond conceit, he has pretty little to impart.  All he projects is he’s too big to learn!  So, how can you teach much, if you had so little in the tank?

    Public-spirited donors must turn the Buhari Centre into a true store of institutional memory, of rich public service — a thunderous rebuke of that loud fakery in Abeokuta.

    In his wild attack on President Tinubu, Obasanjo trained his cynical guns on the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.  But don’t be fooled, it’s same rotten strategy: bad-mouth legacy projects because you boast none!  Besides, the old blackmail that “PMB-knows-no-economics” is gone!  PBAT appears master of that forte.

    The post Obasanjo/PDP grapes are sour — really sour!  But Obasanjo forgets spite never vitiates the sweetness of honey!

  • Obasanjo restates support for engineers

    Obasanjo restates support for engineers

    Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has reiterated his unwavering support for the engineering profession. He made this known while receiving the President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Margaret Oguntala,  during her recent official visit to the Abeokuta Branch of the Society.

    Oguntala, who visited the ex president in his home, highlighted the modest achievements of her administration and used the opportunity to formally invite the former Head of State to the upcoming International NSE Conference in Ibadan.

    Responding, ex-President Obasanjo expressed appreciation for the visit, assuring of his continued commitment to the Society  and engineering profession, which he noted is a driver of national development.

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    Obasanjo, who subsequently visited the NSE Abeokuta Branch secretariat, was received by the Branch Chairman, Olumayowa Idowu,  who described the occasion as both a privilege and a blessing.

    He emphasised that the visit was highly symbolic as it reaffirmed the strong bond between the National Secretariat and the Branch, while reflecting the President’s commitment to engaging directly with members across the country.

    He praised NSE President’s visionary, inclusive, and innovative leadership, which he noted continues to inspire Engineers nationwide. He reaffirmed the Branch’s loyalty to Oguntala’s administration and commitment to advancing engineering excellence, supporting national development, and improving member welfare.

    The visit concluded with renewed assurances of collaboration and unity, leaving members inspired and proud of the growing impact of the NSE under the leadership of Margaret Aina Oguntala.

  • Obasanjo to governors: create incentives to curb medical brain drain

    Obasanjo to governors: create incentives to curb medical brain drain

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called on Nigerian governors to offer meaningful incentives to trained medical professionals to discourage their migration abroad in search of better living conditions.

    Obasanjo made the appeal while commissioning the remodelled and renovated Yeriman Bakura Specialist Hospital in Gusau, Zamfara State. He emphasised the need to retain skilled healthcare workers, noting that proper motivation could reduce the rising trend of medical brain drain.

    He also underscored the importance of security as the foundation for human capital development, commending Governor Dauda Lawal for his efforts in tackling insecurity and improving various sectors in the state.

    “For human development, the first requirement is security, and you are addressing that,” Obasanjo said. “Secondly, food and nutrition security, and thirdly, healthcare delivery, which brings us here today to commission this outstanding facility.”

    The former president expressed his satisfaction with the hospital’s high standards and infrastructure, praising the inclusion of advanced diagnostic tools such as a CT scan and MRI—facilities he noted were absent or non-functional in some university teaching hospitals across the country.

    “I was pleasantly surprised to see functioning CT scan and MRI machines here—facilities many teaching hospitals lack or have but don’t operate,” he said. He was also impressed that the hospital’s renovation was handled by a contractor of African origin, highlighting it as evidence of local capability when given the opportunity.

    Obasanjo urged leaders at all levels to create an enabling environment for effective healthcare delivery, combining quality infrastructure, medical personnel, and operational support.

    He commended Governor Lawal for successfully integrating these elements and revitalising the healthcare sector in Zamfara.

    “I encourage the hospital’s management to maintain the equipment with utmost care. I also commend the governor for this bold step in transforming healthcare,” Obasanjo added.

    Earlier, Governor Dauda Lawal announced that with the upgrade of Yeriman Bakura Specialist Hospital, patients from Zamfara would no longer need to travel outside the state for medical treatment. He disclosed that Zamfara now pays the highest salaries to medical doctors in Northern Nigeria as part of efforts to retain talent.

    The governor added that his administration had renovated seven general hospitals across the state’s three senatorial districts, including those in Nasarawar Bulkullu, Talata Mafara, Anka, Kaura Namoda, and Gusau.

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    He also revealed that the long-abandoned Shinkafi Hospital, left unfinished since 2007, would be completed in the coming months.

    Governor Lawal reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to working with development partners in the health sector, a partnership he said had already yielded tangible outcomes, such as Zamfara being declared polio-free since September.

    Obasanjo praised Governor Lawal’s leadership, describing it as transformative and impactful. “You are providing a type of leadership that is taking the state to a new, improved and progressive direction,” he said.

    He concluded by thanking the governor for the warm reception and for inviting him back to Zamfara to witness the state’s developmental progress.

  • Obasanjo preaches unity as Gateway Games Ogun 2024 ends

    Obasanjo preaches unity as Gateway Games Ogun 2024 ends

    Delta crowned champions

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday bade over 10,000 athletes, coaches and spectators at the National Sports Festival(NSF) hosted by Ogun State goodbye and safe journey to their respective states, urging them to keep alive the flame of unity and national pride that was ignited through the festival.

    The festival tagged Gateway Games Ogun 2024 which was declared open by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 18, witnessed 38 teams cutting across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory participating, with Team Delta declared overall winner of the games.

    Obasanjo described it as more than a festival of sports, saying it had been a triumph of unity, display of talents and show of national unity over the past two weeks as Nigeria’s sons and daughters drawn from every region and creed competed not just for medals, but for honour abs to make friends.

    According to him, the NSF in Ogun indicated an unyielding hope of a strong, united and prosperous nation.

    The elder statesman spoke while making his remarks at the closing ceremony of the 22nd  Edition of the National Sports Festival, commending governor Dapo Abiodun for his leadership, commitment and unwavering dedication towards delivering not just a festival, but also a legacy.

    Obasanjo said  Ogun State Governor  Prince Dapo Abiodun used the events to showcase to the world the strength, capacity, and hospitality of Ogun State, even as He also described it as a world-class event in every measure, and raising the standard for all to follow in future.

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    He said: “To the 36 States of the Federation, the Federal Capital Territory and the invited junior teams, 38 teams in total, I salute your courage and sportsmanship. Your participation has reminded us that in every young Nigerian lies capacity for greatness and ability to excel. As you go home, please keep the memories and remember that you are all champions, not only of sports, but of unity, diligence, resilience and national pride.”

    “To the National Sports Commission, the main Organising Committee, the Local Organising Committees, our partners, and the thousands of volunteers who gave their time and talent to bring the dream to reality, thank you all. You have not only organized a festival; you have provided for us proud and exciting moments in our national life and a firm foundation for the future.”

    He added: “As someone who has walked the lanes of leadership and who has always believed in Nigeria’s boundless potential, I urge all of you not to let the flame kindled here in Ogun go dim. Let it burn in our schools, our communities, our institutions and in every young heart determined to contribute to the Nigeria that we must have – a glorious land flowing with milk and honey for the good of all.

    “And as we bid farewell, I wish each of you a safe journey back to your States, cities and places of abode. May you travel in peace and return home telling the story of Gateway Games in Ogun State.

    “May the flame we lit here continue to shine across the land. May Nigeria remain strong and become prosperous. May our youth remain inspired and empowered.

    May our unity endure. And may all our efforts build the Nigeria we must have “ he added

  • Olunloyo stood for peace, progress of Nigeria – Obasanjo 

    Olunloyo stood for peace, progress of Nigeria – Obasanjo 

    Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has described ex-governor of Oyo state and renowned mathematician, Chief Victor Omololu Sowemimo Olunloyo as a patriotic Nigerian who stood for justice, peace and progress of the country till his last days on earth.

    Obasanjo reacting to the passing of the late Mathematician turned politician on Sunday, said Olunloyo, remained one of the notable Nigerians with deep blood of patriotism running in their veins.

    In a statement by this special assistant on media, Kehinde Akinyemi, the former president restated the depleting ranks of the nation leaders particularly at this crucial state of the country when their wise counsel and rich experience were greatly needed was worrisome.

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    “It was shocking and worrisome because we had lost Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Edwin Clark, and now Dr. Olunloyo just in weeks succession. Indeed, the ranks of the nation’s leadership is fast depleting by the loss of our dedicated and resourceful patriots who served the nation in various capacities, particularly at this crucial state in our nation’s history when their wise counsel and rich experience are greatly needed.”

    Obasanjo commiserated with Oyo State governor. Engr Seyi Makinde, the government and good people of the state and consoled them by the facts that Dr. Olunloyo lived a life worthy of communal emulation, touched the soul of his community and he is mourned by all.

    “We pray the Good Lord to grant the soul of Dr. Olunloyo a peaceful rest and the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”

    Late Olunloyo was a Commissioner in the old Western region at age 27, before he served as the Governor of Oyo state from 1st October 1983 to 31st December 1983, before the military regime of General Muhammadu Buhari seized power and truncated the democracy of the Second Republic. 

    He was also the Balogun of Oyo Kingdom.

  • Obasanjo, Jonathan, Soyinka on Rivers emergency

    Obasanjo, Jonathan, Soyinka on Rivers emergency

    If newspaper headlines are to be believed, three eminent Nigerians were reportedly among those who made fiery comments on President Bola Tinubu’s state of emergency proclamation in Rivers State. The headlines were, however, strident and difficult to correlate with the tone and nuances of their views on the controversial subject. In fact, in the case of ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, the one many Nigerians love to despise for his disdain for consistency and truth, it is difficult to understand from his brief remarks at the Emeka Ihedioha 60th birthday colloquium in Abuja where he spoke pointedly about the state of emergency in Rivers. From the time he took the microphone and defused tension by joking with the compere, to the very end when he spoke soberly and frankly about the fate of liberal democracy, there does not seem to be anywhere he talked about Rivers State directly or even obliquely. He generally limited himself to the colloquium’s theme which addressed Africa’s ‘failing democracy’.

    Chief Obasanjo spoke about democracy not just failing, but actually dying, considering how deeply conceptually flawed it had been almost from the beginning. He called for definitional exactitude, insisting that it was disingenuous to expect Africa, going by its long and illustrious history, to practise with any degree of success Western liberal democracy. He may be overly simplistic to suggest that corruption had become the bane of democracy, but at least he embraces this correlation without throwing his customary tantrums. And though he regarded democracy as conceptually weakened by borrowed traditions, he felt no sense of urgency to do anything about it for the eight years he spent in office. It is also not clear why he leaves the job of fashioning African democracy to unidentified experts, while failing to provide at least a skeletal rubric for general understanding. Then he finally lathered his remarks with wisecracks and almost fooled everyone by doting on Mr Ihedioha, yes the same Mr Ihedioha, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives between 2011 and 2015, and for almost a year Imo State governor between 2019 and 2020.

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    On his own, and complete with foreign proverbs and other literary ornaments, former president Goodluck Jonathan also offered his perspective on the emergency matter on the prodding, he said, of the people who wanted him to say something. Two Saturdays ago, as Chairman of the Haske Satumari Foundation Colloquium, a foundation that focuses on promoting social change and empowerment through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), he remarked: “Of course, what is happening in Nigeria today regarding the situation in Rivers State is like an Indian proverb which says that if somebody is really sleeping, you can easily wake up that person, but if someone is pretending to sleep, it will be difficult to wake the person up. They are pretending to sleep and waking up such a person is extremely difficult. Whatever happens in a country, the decisions taken by the executive arm of government, the parliament and the judiciary affects everybody. Whatever we do affects everybody, and if we must build a nation for our children and grandchildren, no matter how painful it is, we must try to do what is right.”

    Characteristically, the media blew his remarks out of proportion, suggesting that he had denounced state of emergency. It is true that he neither praised it nor considered it the right or appropriate response to the Rivers crisis, but the stridency insinuated into his speech was simply impalpable. Instead, he waffled, perhaps torn between placating his Ijaw kindred and unsure whether to denounce the Tinubu administration. In his opinion, after arming his point of view with an Indian proverb, Dr Jonathan blamed everybody, rather than one arm of government (presumably the executive). Unlike Chief Obasanjo, however, Dr Jonathan was more homiletical as he admonished everyone to recognise that all Nigerians bear the consequences of bad governance. The treatment given holders of Nigerian passports, he summed up, is perfect proof of how Nigerians incompetently conduct their affairs.

    If newspapers and the social media could not handle the less nuanced remarks of Dr Jonathan, they fared much worse in handling the deeply nuanced remarks of Prof. Wole Soyinka on the same Rivers subject. He was quoted as blasting, condemning or kicking against the state of emergency. But here is what he said. “If it is constitutionally right, then I think it is about time we sat down and amended the constitution to ensure that it operates as a genuine federal entity. The government is over-centralised. The debate will continue on whether this (state of emergency) was, in the first place, a wise decision, but in terms of fundamental principles, I believe this goes against the federal spirit of association. I find that the constitution has placed too much power in the hands of the president. The system we are operating right now is not the best for a pluralistic society like ours. That is a fundamental principle I have always held…The federal spirit of association is a cardinal principle and, for that reason, some of us have called again and again for a national conference to really accord ourselves an authentic people’s constitution. Right now, in principle, this action is against the federal imperative.”

    The eminent professor took a more structural rather than legalistic approach to the crisis. It was only Daily Trust newspaper that captured that nuance on its front page. The professor did not pronounce on the rightness or wrongness of state of emergency, for he was unaware of the whole facts of the case. He acknowledged that in a democracy a state of emergency proclamation was both an aberration and overkill, but in the case of Rivers, and without prejudice to what the constitution provides, the crisis, he believed, beckoned for a reconsideration of the country’s founding principles to help procure sound federal principles and arrangements. He also spoke about federalism as an abstract concept and made reference to what he believed was the unfettered power located in the presidency. And speaking directly about the state of emergency proclamation, he summed it up ‘in principle’ as negating the ‘federal imperative’. The professor was wise not to get bogged down with the legal interpretation of the constitutional provisions regarding state of emergency. But the media assumed they knew where he was headed.

  • Reliance on rainwater for agriculture hurting food production, security – Obasanjo 

    Reliance on rainwater for agriculture hurting food production, security – Obasanjo 

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday said that relying on rain water for farming is not the right thing for the country, stressing that it is already having telling effects on food production and security.

    Obasanjo, who called for elimination of wastages of water resources, lamented the abysmal failure of Oyan Dam he built in 1977 as Head of States to address the challenges of water scarcity in Abeokuta.

    He said that residents of Abeokuta have resorted to digging boreholes everywhere to source for water due to the pitiable failure of the Oyan Dam project, warning that this however comes with a repercussions that nobody for now may know how devastating it could be tomorrow.

    The elder statesman spoke when he received the management and staff of Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authority led by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Adedeji Ashiru who paid him a courtesy call at his residence inside the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta

    Obasanjo explained that Oyan Dam was actually designed to generate power and water for the residents of Ogun and Lagos State but sadly, 48 years after, it has not met the lofty objective it was constructed for.

    He said: “This was why as Military Head of State in 1977 I realised that strategic water management must be part of our food sufficiency drives and food security and we created 11 River Basin including the Lake Chad. 

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    “And what are we trying to achieve, if we have to only depend on rain fed agriculture, we shall definitely not get it right. Rain may come too early or too late, there may be droughts or flood all of which have telling effect on food production and security. 

    “So the first thing to do as part of measure designed to achieve food security is effective management of water for agriculture. All of the river basins therefore have facilities for irrigation to ensure all year round farming.”

    The visit to Obasanjo by the management and staff of Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authority was the climax of the programmes the agency lined up to mark this year World Water Day with the theme “Glacier Preservation”.

    The management team and the staff led by the Managing Director kicked off the celebration with a sensitisation and road show from its head office along FUNAAB Road, Abeokuta.

    The long motorcade waited at Camp, Gbonagun, Kuto where the MD urged Nigerians to stop wasting water but embrace the culture of using water responsibly to enhance sustainability.

    The Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo who had earlier received the O-ORBDA team also commissioned a solar powered borehole built by the agency for the residents of the state.

    The former President said that the dam is said to have the capacity to generate 9 Megawatts saying that if this dam could be made to generate such Megawatts of electricity, it would have a profound impact in boosting power supply to the people and help reduce the challenge of inadequate power supply. 

    He added that “Oyan Dam was built to supply water for Abeokuta and Lagos but it has been neglected and ignored just like the turbine for the power supply. 

  • Obasanjo releases two new books to celebrate 88th birthday

    Obasanjo releases two new books to celebrate 88th birthday

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo will make public presentation of his two new books as part of activities to commemorate his 88th birthday celebrations, which hit climax in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital on March 5.

    The books are: “Lest we forget: Slavery, Slave Trade, Emancipation and Reparation” and “Nigeria: Past and the Future.”

    A statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi on Tuesday, hinted that the ceremony would also include a public lecture on slavery and colonisation. 

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    The Director General, Nigerian Institute for International Affairs, Prof. Eghosa Osaghae  will deliver the lecture on “Echoes of the Past, Visions of the future: reflections on slavery and colonisation and Nigeria’s journey towards a promising future.”

    The celebration will include children performances, drama, dances, songs and goodwill messages with His Majesty, King Mswati III, Ngwenyama of Eswatini, Royal Palace Lobamba, Eswatini.