When Jonathan Wins, Where Will Obasanjo Hide His Face?
By Olusina Akeredolu
Olusegun Obasanjo, the cantankerous village champion and Mr. know all is not a hidden person in Nigeria, Africa and even around the world. He himself has never hidden his brute and perish-them behavior to his fellow beings. He touts his arrogance and oppressive traits at every opportunity. He has never seen himself as an untold lucky person or a man that has been unusually blessed by God even without merit. It has never occurred to him that he does not possess any superior quality than so many Nigerians for him to continue to see himself as God who is indispensable. It was not his own making that he has been fortunate to rule Nigeria on two occasions. He became a military head of state through the misfortune of another – the assassination of General Murtala Muhammed, in a military coup. His second coming was circumstantial like the first – the annulment of June 12 1993 presidential election and the death of Chief MKO Abiola, the winner of that election.
I have been searching for another Nigerian like Olusegun Obasanjo, I have not found one. The same Olusegun Obasanjo who came out of prison in 1998 looking tattered with only N20,000 said to remain in his bank accounts, now a multi billionaire has no guts to accuse anybody of corruption. The same Olusegun Obasanjo who wanted third term as president by doling out Naira in millions to members of Nigerian Senate to secretly amend the constitution to suit his ambition has not got any integrity to accuse Jonathan of elongating his stay in office when the latter is only doing what Nigerian constitution allows him to do. The same Olusegun Obasanjo who knew that he had no political base and as a result resorted to a do or die politics, using security agencies to barbarically rig elections in 2003 and 2007 especially in the southwest Nigeria to the knowledge of the world has no iota of dignity to torment Jonathan who fired Obasanjo’s man Friday, Maurice Iwu to appoint Attahiru Jega whose tenure as INEC Chairman the whole world has applauded.
The Halliburton, Siemens and so on kickback allegations against Obasanjo, though in the cooler, but are still there unresolved. It is only a true revolutionary government that can revisit them and who knows, such may not be too far away. On Halliburton, I particularly refer to a paragraph in the interim report of the Okiro Panel of investigation as published by Sahara Reporters on May 18, 2010 as follows: “On Chief Olusegun Obasanjo: “He was President of Nigeria from May 1999 – May 2007. Reports suggest that Stanley met with Chief Obasanjo and then Group Managing Director of NNPC, Gaius Obaseki, in Abuja on 11th November 2001 to negotiate pay-offs in respect of Trains 4&5. On 20th December 2001 Obaseki reportedly met with Chodan and Stanley in London over lunch in furtherance of discussions. In March 2002, TSKJ won the Train 4 and 5 contacts for $3.6 billion USD allegations are the Gen. Obasanjo may have received a minimum of $4 million USD as pay-off.”
The eye suddenly forgets that the rest of the body is watching it. Obasanjo may want to say that he made his money through business but between 1979 and 1999, he was into the same business. Why did he not within that period become a multi billionaire that he is today? Why did he not establish the Bell University, digitalise his farm and build his multibillion naira library in those 20 years? As they say, any river that forgets its source will dry up. It was through the PDP that he became a civilian president where he had the undue opportunity to amass his present untold wealth. He momentarily forgets that when he desecrates the temple that rehabilitated him after a prison sojourn, he is like a river that forgets its source. And some people are hailing him as he wallows unwisely in the mellow-drama. God can purposely endow him with long life so that he could face the retribution of his inhumanity to people.
I read in awe the stories of the uncharitable marriage between Obasanjo and the All Progressives Congress chieftains at the recent time. Obasanjo that called Bola Tinubu all unprintable names in connection with corruption and money laundering is now the best friend of the same Tinubu because the people he commonised in Ogun State PDP easily rendered him useless and inconsequential in that party. Obasanjo and his present co-travellers forget that Jonathan became his enemy because Jonathan showed him that he is Nigerian President and not Obasanjo’s errand boy that he can push and pull at will. They forget to think of what would have been Obasanjo’s position if he is still in a position to call the shots within PDP and if his “I remain loyal” boys have not been fired as officers of PDP. Anyway, APC is so desperate that they are willing to take into their midst just anybody in order to increase their numbers.
I refer to my article titled: “Where are the progressives” that was published in The Guardian of 13 December 2010, and in two other papers and some social platforms. I can safely say that all the steps that ACN, CPC and ANPP members took that gave them APC including their presidential candidate had been suggested in that piece. In the said article I suggested that Buhari having Bola Tinubu or Donald Duke or Babatunde Fashola etc as his running mate in a big merger party to confront PDP can upset the ruling party. I have since changed my mind on that kind of theory due to culminating events since that time which have clearly shown that there is no difference between APC and PDP.
General Buhari jailed the Southwest governors between 1983 and 1985 simply because all of them jointly raised N2.8million for the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). They made a mistake by issuing a cheque, which I think, was signed by Chief Olabisi Onabanjo to make the donation. There was no personal undue benefit from government coffers traceable to any of them. They were as clean as snow yet he threw all of them into long jail. If Buhari has any conscience, he should be praying everyday for forgiveness for jailing those innocent men. Nigerians and the world have watched his elaborate presidential campaign recently which gulped several billions of naira that must have been donated by the APC governors and their de facto party leader. Those monies are government’s and therefore belong to the Nigerian people. Buhari is now doing exactly what he accused Chief Bisi Onabanjo, Prof Ambrose Alli, Chief Bola Ige, Alhaji Lateef Jakande and Chief Adekunle Ajasin of and upon which he threw them into jail.
Coming back to Obasanjo, the ebora Owu has lost it all. He is at loggerhead with his wives, he is at loggerhead with almost all of his over-a-score children. His own son accused him of having affairs with his (son’s) wife! His eldest daughter bitterly accused him of so many bad and inhuman behaviors that she has to write an open letter to him detailing his atrocities. His relationship with very senior army officers of his time is gargantuanly an embittered one that credible senior army officers have to come together recently at the launching of a book written by one of them to call Obasanjo his real name. In politics, he had never had a home base. Nevertheless and in spite of his terrible and inhuman behaviors, members of PDP, the party that brought him back to life and gave him the opportunity to be stupendously wealthy have continued to tolerate him. He got to the apogee of misbehavior when he publicly tore his membership card of that party that sponsored him to the Nigerian presidency.
He celebrated his birthday recently without his heirs in attendance. He was so exuberant and happy in the midst of his long time political foes when there was nowhere else to turn to. Those ones became readily available just for their own immediate political gain. As Obasanjo wallows in ignorance, he has written off Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 elections. The calculation that disenfranchising the people in Jonathan advantaged areas will lead to his defeat in the 2015 election has been busted. Boko Haram the tiger is now on the run and those who would not have voted for Jonathan because of Boko Haram’s earlier unabated insurgency are beginning to like him because the troops are now winning. Since election’s postponement and the turn of events, Jonathan has been gaining in popularity everyday while Buhari’s popularity has been waning. Buhari is the face of APC presently and if he loses, that may be the end of APC as a national party and Obasanjo’s de facto membership of APC. The question will then arise: “When Jonathan wins, where will Obasanjo hide his face?”