Former governor of Nasarawa State and currently, Senator representing Nasarawa West, Abdullahi Adamu has warned former President Olusegun Obasanjo not to carry his luck too far. Reacting to Obasanjo’s statement yesterday, Tuesday, asking President Muhammadu Buhari not to contest the 2019 election for his second term, Senator Adamu said he was not ready yet to address the issues raised in Obasanjo’s statement. Acknowledging that Obasanjo has the constitutional right to say what he had said, the Senator, who spoke to a selected news media in Abuja remarked that what Obasanjo said was not all bad. “When I address the issues Obasanjo raised in his statement, I will look at the positive side of what he said and other sides that need condemnation. But, my advice to Obasanjo is that he must not take his luck too far.” Senator Adamu argued that Obasanjo and his regime committed worse economic, security and constitutional breaches during his time, adding that no Nigerian called for his head. [myad]
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and President Muhammadu Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari has made it clear that the issue of whether he will recontest the 2019 Presidential election for a second term is not in his agenda now. He acknowledged that many Nigerians have been calling on him to run again, while others are opposed to his return. “However, we believe this issue is a distraction for the President at this time. This is because Mr. President spends every waking hours tackling the enormous challenges facing the nation, most of which were bequeathed to his Administration by successive past Administrations. “He is committed to fulfilling the mandate given to him by Nigerians in 2015. And that’s where we are right now!” In a statement today, Wednesday, issued by the minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, after a prolonged meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the President, thanked the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for taking his time to write the statement which he issued yesterday, Tuesday. The Presidential statement, which is a reaction to Obasanjo’s lengthy special statement in which he advised Buhari not to run for second term in 2019 because of poor performance and other negative issues, believed that Obasanjo had no other motive for the statement he made “beyond the well-being of the nation. “We have also taken his admonition in good faith, and we thank him most sincerely for taking time off his busy schedule to pen such a long statement. The Presidential statement acknowledged that Chief Obasanjo is a patriot, and that he has proven this time and time again. “We appreciate what he said concerning the Administration’s performance in two out of the three key issues that formed the plank of its campaign: Fighting corruption and tackling insurgency. Specifically, the former President said President Buhari must be given credit for his achievement so far in these two areas. We thank him for this. “Apparently, the former President believes that the Administration does not deserve a pass mark in the area of the economy, which is the third of our three-pronged campaign promises. “We have no doubt that in the face of massive challenges in this area, this Administration has availed itself creditably. We believe that Chief Obasanjo, because of his very busy schedule, may not have been fully availed of developments in the government’s efforts to revamp the economy, which was battered by the consequences of over-dependence on a commodity as well as unprecedented pillaging of the treasury. “Today, most of the indices by which an economy is measured are looking up. Permit me to say, however, that Nigeria would not have exited recession through a mere order or if the Administration had not made use of “good Nigerians” who could help. “This Administration is making steady progress in its determined effort to revamp the economy, and the results are showing: * Foreign Reserves have peaked at $40b, the highest level in about four years, and up from $24 billion just a year ago, even though when we came in, the price of oil had crashed woefully. * According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBC), headline inflation has fallen for 11 consecutive months, standing at 15.37% as at Dec. 2017. This is the lowest inflation rate since Jan 2017, and it has met and surpassed the target set for inflation in the Administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). * Our determined implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) has stopped the hemorrhaging of the treasury. Some 108 billion Naira has been saved from removal of maintenance fees payable to banks, pre-TSA. The nation is being saved 24.7 billion Naira monthly with the full implementation of the TSA. * The elimination of ghost workers has saved the nation 120 billion Naira * At about 1.8 billion dollars, the capital inflows in the second quarter of 2017 were almost double the $908 million in the first quarter. * In the wake of a stable Naira and increased investment inflows, Nigeria’s stock market emerged one of the best-performing in the world, delivering returns in excess of 40 percent. * Nigeria rose 24 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking, and earned a place on the List of Top 10 Reformers in the world. * According to Q3 2017 figures, agriculture export is up year-on-year by 25%, solid minerals exports are up year-on-year by 78%, raw materials exports are up 70% year-on-year and manufactured goods exports are up 22% year-on-year. * Government agencies such as the Nigeria Customs Service are reporting highest-ever revenue collection, while JAMB, under the new management appointed by President Buhari in 2016, remitted N7.8 billion to the coffers of the federal government. The total amount remitted by JAMB between 2010 and 2016 was a paltry N51 million! These positive indices may not have immediately impacted positively on Nigerians, but Nigerians will definitely get a new lease of life a short while from now. This is because the good news from the agricultural sector, which is recording a bumper harvest, will bring down the cost of foodstuffs, especially such staple as rice, and our massive Social Investment Programme will ease the pain of the most vulnerable in the society. “When we assumed office in 2015, some 6 million farmers were involved in rice production. “Thanks to the Anchor Borrowers’ programme of this Administration, we have grown that number to over 12 million farmers. “The result is that our rice import from Thailand alone has dropped from 644 metric tonnes to 22,000 MT in just two years. This is phenomenal. “Apart from rice, Nigeria is also doing well in other grains, especially Millet, Sorghum and Maize. We are now the second largest producer of sorghum after the US, the third in millet after India and our breweries are now enjoying local sourcing of those commodities. “For maize, we are producing 10 million tons while we need about 13 million tons for both human and animal nutrition. Nigeria leads the world in the yam and cassava production. We account for 70% of the world’s yam production. In two years, we hope to be the world’s largest exporter of yam! Overall, our ambition is that agriculture should rise from 25% to 40% of GDP, so that we can banish poverty and overcome our economic anxiety. “Our Social Investment Programme is Nigeria’s most ambitious social welfare programme ever. Currently, 5.2 million primary school children in 28,249 schools in 19 states are being fed daily; 200,000 unemployed graduates have enlisted into the N-power Job Scheme, and a quarter of a million loans already distributed to artisans, traders, and farmers. “Finally, our investment in infrastructure is simply unprecedented. “This is because infrastructure is key to faster economic growth and development. “Here is a synopsis of what we have done in this area: * Power Generation at an all-time high of 7,000mw and all can be transmitted * RAIL: Lagos-Kano Standard Gauge is on. Lagos-Ibadan sector ready 2019, Kano-Kaduna ready 2019; The entire stretch ready 2021; Negotiations on for Coastal Rail covering 15 cities from Lagos to Calabar. * ROAD: 25 major highways being funded with the N100b Sukuk Bond, and all geo-political zones are benefitting equally. “This Administration is not unaware of the enormity of the challenges facing the nation, but we are up to the task. We have taken the bull by the horns, and long-suffering Nigerians will begin to experience a new lease of life as our efforts yield fruits. We will not go into a state of funk for whatever reason. “On the Herders/Farmers’ clashes, this Administration is determined to end the crisis resulting from this once and for all, not minding that fact that the clashes predate us. I will urge Nigerians to have faith in the Administration’s ability to resolve the crisis, and to watch out for concrete measures in this regard.”[myad]
Former governor of Nasarawa State and current Senator, Abdullahi Adamu has lamented the anti grazing law enacted by the Benue State government which he said conflicts with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Senator, who addressed selected news media today, Wednesday in Abuja, stressed: “the anti-grazing law in Benue State as it stands, challenges the constitutional right of the Nigerian herdsmen, whether they are Fulani or not, to legitimately engage in lawful economic activities.” He argued that animal husbandry is a major part of the nation’s agriculture and that the law as it stands, seeks to ban Fulani herdsmen from Benue State. “It is patently against our constitution which guarantees all citizens the freedom of movement, the freedom of settlement in arears of their choice and the freedom to engage in lawful economic and political activities.” Senator Adamu, who cautioned politicians from other states of the federation not to cry more than the bereaved said that the anti grazing law is not in the best interest of Benue state or even the middle belt zone. He described the reactions of the governors of those states to the herdsmen killings in Benue state as residual hatred for anything North or Northerner, saying: “we must not allow them to use our collective losses from the herdsmen’s attacks to goad us into making our geo-political zone and our people unsafe.” The former governor, who agreed to the fact that the security architecture needed to be overhauled to serve the needs of Nigerians better, aligned himself with the decision by the Senate to convene a special meeting on national security to critically re-examine the failure of the security system “and why.” Senator Adamu agreed also that at this time when the emotions are high as a result of provocative killings in Benue, leaders could be irrational in their actions and utterances, but cautioned against inflaming the crisis beyond control. “Whatever may have happened and may happen, we must individually and collectively face the challenges of taking urgent steps to lower the high temperature of tension and anger so that we can begin the critical challenge of taking meaningful steps towards addressing and solving the problems that our geo-political zones and the national in general face.” He recalled that as a two-term governor of Nasarawa state, he worked amicably and closely with his Benue State counterpart, now Senator George Akume to defend and promote their common interests and strengthen the bond of unity between their peoples. [myad]
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and President Muhammadu Buhari
Probably the luckiest Nigerian alive today is former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Despite his numerous documented atrocities and inadequacies he still remain a force to reckon with in Nigeria’s political permutations. Thanks to Nigeria’s reversed understanding of patriotism and service to fatherland, people like Obasanjo could afford to remain a recurring decimal in political affairs when they should only appear in the chapter dealing with ignominy in our history books. To political observers it was not a matter of if but when he will go after President Buhari. No Nigerian President has ever escaped Obasanjo’s mischievous onslaughts except perhaps, Shonekan who outwitted him by moving out of the villa before his bags where unloaded. No Nigerian President is good enough for Obasanjo because he is set and determined to remain the best. You may roll Clinton, Obama, Mandela and Gandhi in one and donate to Nigeria still, the result will not be good enough for the prolific dancer. President Buhari’s impeccable quality made him a serious threat and a default target of Obasanjo’s acerbic attacks as I will explain shortly. So, who is Obasanjo? Obasanjo is a megalomaniac operating with a nauseous sense of self-importance which could be picked from his regular outbursts each time elections are around the corner or when he feels his large reserve of consuming ego depleting. Far from the false signals of nationalism and patriotism these outbursts were meant to send to the public, the usually lengthy and carefully scripted sermons are developed to cunningly captivate and hypnotize readers with the specific motive to manipulate them and ensure the sustainability of Obasanjo’s alpha role in Nigeria’s political landscape and his place in history. So far, President Buhari is the only threat to Obasanjo’s claim to political “perfection” in the context of Nigeria’s politics. He is the only contender to Obasanjo’s exclusive throne of honour given to him by fate which blessed him with the singular honour of leading Nigeria twice under different political arrangements. That Obasanjo schemed to remain the life Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees by making the position to be exclusively preserved for former Presidents made this theory plausible. At the time he did so, the only possible threat to his selfish ambition to pocket the PDP for life was the meek Jonathan – if that’s a threat. I doubt if I need to explain that the motive of Obasanjo was to secure and guarantee a permanent role in the processes of leadership selection in Nigeria. Of course, Obasanjo didn’t anticipate an upset from Buhari. The calculation back then was that PDP would rule for 60 years and despite his popularity and grassroot appeal, Buhari was effectively contained using the cumbersome and fully commercialised judicial system. Somehow, Buhari pulled a rabbit out of a hat. Against all odds he managed to organise a formidable force that sent PDP into an early grave along with Obasanjo’s dreams of eternal relevance. To understand the OBJ/PDP arithmetic viz-a-viz Buhari/APC, one need to understand the two men and their political and moral identities. The two accidentally share some similarities. Both men led Nigeria while they were relatively young and later went into political hibernation only to return to power and prominence decades later and against seemingly insurmountable odds. Both men were traded and sold as non-negotiable democratic solutions despite their military backgrounds. However, the two are just as dissimilar. Whereas Obasanjo made his name and fortune by accident, Buhari worked and sweated for it. Obasanjo is a power monger while Buhari abhors it. Against Obasanjo’s magnetic attraction to scandal, Buhari is a levelheaded gentleman very sensitive and protective of his name and dignity. One cannot make sense of Obasanjo’s latest attack to defend his alpha role without connecting his tantrums to those of Farooq Kperogi, a well known cyber-snipper that has been shooting aimlessly at President Buhari without hitting his target. I find it absurd that despite a large collection of assorted local critics, Obasanjo could only rely on Kperogi to inject credibility into his tantrums. It’s neither accidental nor coincidental that Kperogi featured in Obasanjo’s sermon as a credible and reliable base for intelligent argument. I have always suspected Kperogi’s relentless albeit, misguided and clearly needless attacks against President Buhari. Now I know the source of his inspiration. With his record arrogance, Obasanjo would mention Kperogi in this assault only if there’s an established connection between the two for the purpose of painting President Buhari in bad colours. Now that the cat is out of the bag, Kperogi may save us the pretence and concentrate on his ‘consultancy’ services to OBJ who is determined to always have a first timer in the villa; somebody he could easily keep in perpetual fear of a second term to be easy to manipulate. Let’s analyse Obasanjo’s funny allegations. He accused Buhari of nepotism yet, he failed to provide a single provable case of nepotism beside the garbage concocted and fed gullible Nigerians via social media through people like Farooq Kperogi – the consultant he accidentally exposed in his tirade. Of course, he mentioned Maina. How could the manner in which Maina’s case was dealt with be described as nepotism. If it was such a mental exercise for OBJ to make sense of the legal and administrative aspects of Maina’s case, then we can easily understand why he expect President Buhari to turn the farmers/herdsmen imbroglio into a theatre for another Odi and Zaki Biam. Sure, Obasanjo would love to have President Buhari send the army to kill and maim communities wherever there is a clash between herdsmen and farmers just so his record of illegal deadly response to a similar situation in Odi and Zaki biam could be beaten. On the economy, it’s repulsive listening to Obasanjo who supervised a colossal waste of $16bn under the pretext of revamping and upgrading generation, transmission and distribution of electricity yet, failed to make significant improvement in the sector, talking about Buhari not doing it well. Obasanjo should have dedicated a chapter in his message to ask President Buhari how he managed to be magical with the electricity situation by spending less and getting more than him. By the way, why shouldn’t President Buhari constantly remind Nigerians about the rot he inherited when the predators that left the rot are still prowling around searching for opportunities to scavenge on the remains? The most laughable was Obasanjo’s call for President Buhari not to go for a second term on the account of his age. Obasanjo should have told Nigerians how old and fit he was when he dubiously attempted to secure a third term before he reluctantly left office as President. The question of whether President Buhari should contest or not is a question for Nigerian masses not for Obasanjo. Nigerian masses were there for Buhari before and they will be around for him to face whatever coalition Obasanjo have in his kitty. Sure, this is a battle that would definitely demystify one of the two giants. I’m very excited and happy that Obasanjo has finally met his match.[myad]
Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose has described former President Olusegun Obasanjo as a political analogue who has outlived his usefulness to Nigeria.
Fayose, who reacted to Obasanjo’s statement asking President Muhammadu Buhari not to contest the 2019 election, said that the former president contributed to failure of Buhari’s government.
He asked Obasanjo to leave the political scene for the younger ones, saying: “Obasanjo and Buhari are like the accuser and the accused; two of them are analogue and they do not represent the Nigeria of today.
“Obasanjo (the accuser) and Buhari (the accused) are both expired people that Nigerians are desirous of getting rid of. They both don’t know when they were born and have outlived their usefulness in the political life of Nigeria.
“Content of OBJ’s letter is a welcome development but the messenger is also culpable in the enthronement and colossal failure of Buhari.
“Though we warned them ahead of this tragedy, it is therefore the decision of Nigerians that Buhari has failed and he must go, not that of OBJ.” [myad]
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has made it clear to the former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo that the country cannot afford to create what t called political quicksand in the third force as the country prepares for the 2019 general elections.
In a statement today, Tuesday, reacting to Obasanjo’s letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, the PDP rejected Obasanjo’s call for a third force, which it said would amount to repeating the same blunder that brought in the ideologically vacuous that had wrecked havoc on the nation.
In the statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said that “the fact that President Buhari and the APC had irredeemably failed our nation is obvious to all, but that the solution to the nation’s problems does not lie in creating another political quicksand in a third force but consolidating on a rescue mission with the repositioned PDP which Nigerians have already embraced.
“The PDP is now standing on a truly democratic ground that perfectly represents and reflects the hopes and aspirations of all Nigerians irrespective of their class, creed or tribe.
“That is why our great party has now, more than ever before, become a center of the new patriotic and broad-based engagements by well-meaning Nigerians and coalitions across board, including past leaders, in rekindling our democratic process that places priority on returning power to the people.
“The fact is that Nigerians overrated President Buhari in 2015 but they have now seen that he never possessed the capacity and the required aptitude to effectively govern our great nation and pilot a healthy economy.
“This accounts for the reason former President Obasanjo, just like most Nigerians today, are concerned about the quality of presidential candidates to be presented by various parties for the 2019 election.
“The fact is that while the APC is already caught up with President Buhari, the PDP is open for a new engagement that will throw up the President, which our nation truly deserves at this crucial moment.
“We therefore call on Nigerians, including all our leaders across board, to come together to rebuild our nation on PDP’s consolidated base rather than traversing on another learning curve.” [myad]
The Presidency has chosen to ignore former President Olusegun Obasanjo who launched an attack on President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) during which he askede Buhari not to contest the 2019 election for a second term in office.
The Presidency, after a meeting between President Buhari with national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the former Interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said it would not respond to Obasanjo’s comments.
Both Akande and Tinubu who arrived presidential Villa at 3:50pm, refused to speak to news men after the hour long meeting. They left the President’s official residence at 4:50.pm.
Also, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu told inquisitive news men: “we will not react for now.”
This was even as Akande had once said: “Buhari is my personal friend, he is running a very difficult system of government. Even if Angel should come to run the system of government he’s running, he cannot succeed.
“Nigeria democracy is the military democracy of sharing. The longer you practice American democracy, the poorer you become in Nigeria.
“The system is unworkable. Any law under any unworkable constitution is a bad law. They are doing a difficult thing under a very bad system. So long we continue with this form of system, Nigeria will not succeed.”
Meanwhile, the spokesman to Asiwaju Tinubu, Tunde Rahman said in a statement that the meeting between his boss and Chief Akande with the Presidenti Buhari was scheduled last week.
He said that President Buhari periodically schedules talks with Asiwaju Tinubu and Baba Akande, as he does with other Nigerians and APC figures, to discuss substantive issues pertaining to the governance of the country and matters concerning the party.
Rahama said that today’s visit was one such meeting, emphasizing that the meeting had nothing to do with the statement of former President Obasanjo.
“It is totally unconnected. At the time of the meeting, Asiwaju Tinubu and Baba Akande were even unaware that President Obasanjo had released his statement.” [myad]
Mathew Okikiola Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo, simply abbreviated as OBJ, has always amused me whenever he speaks, especially on national issues.
What many people may not understand about this man, who had had the privilege of riding this country’s military and political tides, is that one: he is very patriotic; two, he often, in a more cunning way, ties such patriotism to the popularity he always find opportunity to gather and, of course, with a price which may not be pronounced and three; he has this ability of displaying what one would call ‘an act of god’ at every critical moment of this nation’s life.
Obasanjo, as usual, just as the nation prepares for the next crucial election in 2019, has exploded on the present government led by Muhammadu Buhari. The same thing happened in 2014 when he exploded on the then President Goodluck Jonathan, who he virtually brought from Bayelsa, dusted, made to be ‘elected’ and installed as Nigeria’s President.
In fact, I doubt if anybody remembers now, his boast in 2007, when he was leaving office after two-term of a total of eight years, that Nigerians would long for him or beg him to come back to lead them, long after he would have left office, having lost the dogged fight to break the constitutional provision by canvassing for third-term.
And, when today, Tuesday, January 23, Obasanjo did his usual act, of assessing and condemning the reigning government, I wasn’t surprised. As a matter of fact, I would have surprised if he had not come out the way he did, the trade-mark with which he had long been identified.
When I received the text of Obasanjo’s press conference, I read it with a great deal of concentration, so much that I clashed with my wife (in the other room), who had expected me to eat the food she kept for me on the dining table, as the food was getting cold.
Why did I have to engage in concentrating on the text of Obasanjo’s latest release?
It was not his deconstruction of President Muhammadu Buhari and his government that attracted me, as he (Obasanjo) did in the case of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, when he deconstructed the same Jonathan in favour of Buhari in 2015.
As I read the text of his press conference, I was eager to know what alternative to Buhari he offered for the rapid development of the country of his dream, or who the giant political gladiators he named as an alternative to Buhari in 2019.
Even though, the title of the text of the press conference suggested the direction of his long assessment, but I wanted to know how he put it for my understanding.
The totality of Obasanjo’s long ‘grammar’ was his suggestion that all citizens of the country should come together and form Coalition of Nigerians movement (CN), with headquarters in Abuja, the nation’s capital territory.
Two issues which he raised in the press conference transparently pointed the direction to which he wanted Nigeria go: one: he refreshed our memory that Nigeria was in the same precarious socio economic and political as well as security situations before 1999 when he came in as President, implying that it was his government that resolved the logjams. And two; that he will not be party to using the proposed Coalition to search for Presidential candidate for the country. These two points put together, show the desperation of Obasanjo to become the leader of the country once more: one, that it is only him that can lead the country to Eldorado as he did between 1999 and 2007 and two, that he will lead the Coalition for Nigeria and eventually the country.
Forget about all the good things he rolled out to justify the formation of Coalition of Nigeria movement, the question is: what type of system will the government under CN called, especially, when he ruled out further existence of all the political parties that were registered constitutionally? What will happen to the nation’s constitution? What will happen to INEC and elections? What will become of National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly? It is not very clear whether what Obasanjo is advocating is not an interim government or a military form of government. Indeed, until he explains the concept and practice of CN, as he abbreviated it, it will be very hard to describe the system in which political parties and elections, the constitution, as well as perhaps, the lawmaking bodies are cancelled.
As a matter of fact, one has never argued that things are in bad shapes in this country, but no one has provided an answer to the way to go from here: to name one or two political giants that will be able to perform better than President Buhari, in terms of providing security for the citizenry wherever they are, in terms of stopping herdsmen/farmers clashes and killings, in terms of eliminating Boko Haram in a jiffy, in terms of providing abundant employment for millions of jobless Nigerians, in terms of making items cheap in the markets, in terms of stopping the Niger Delta militancy, in terms of bringing dollar down against naira, in terms of stopping seasonal queues in petrol stations across the country, in terms of bringing the price of fuel down to N50 per litre and so on.
The options which Obasanjo has just announced: the option of CN government or the conglomerate is certainly self-serving, and a third-term agenda being dusted for implementation.
And it is obviously his own way of justifying the fact that it is only him that can right all the wrongs of Nigeria; a prediction he made before bowing out of office reluctantly in 2007.
Former Nigeria’s two-term civilian President, Chief Mathew Okikiola Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo has come out with an idea of returning to power in different name, after serving eight years allowed by the constitution, advocating the formation of what he called ‘Coalition of Nigeria (CN) movement with him in charge.
He said that the movement, which should be none political, should succeed the All Progressives Congress (APC), the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other political parties that are registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Obasanjo, in a special press conference today, Tuesday, made it clear that President Muhammadu Buhari has failed to resolve many challenges for which he recommended him for the electorate in 2015, even as he said: “I have had occasion in the past to say that the two main political parties – APC and PDP – were wobbling. I must reiterate that nothing has happened to convince me otherwise. If anything, I am reinforced in my conviction.”
Obasanjo who was also a military Head of State in the 70’s said: “we need a Coalition for Nigeria (CN). Such a Movement at this juncture needs not be a political party but one to which all well-meaning Nigerians can belong. That Movement must be a coalition for democracy, good governance, social and economic well-being and progress. Coalition to salvage and redeem our country. You can count me with such a Movement.”
He said that if neither APC nor PDP is a worthy horse to ride to lead Nigeria at this crucial and critical time, Nigerians should not just sit down lamenting and wringing their hands desperately and hopelessly.
He believed that the situation Nigerians are in today is akin to what and where the country was in at the beginning of this democratic dispensation in 1999, adding that the nation was tottering. “People became hopeless and saw no bright future in the horizon. It was all a dark cloud politically, economically and socially. The price of oil at that time was nine dollars per barrel and we had a debt overhang of about $35 billion. Most people were confused with lack of direction in the country. One of the factors that saved the situation was a near government of national unity that was put in place to navigate us through the dark cloud. We had almost all hands on deck.
We used people at home and from the diaspora and we navigated through the dark cloud of those days. At that time, most people were hopelessly groping in the dark. They saw no choice, neither in the left nor in the right, and yet we were not bereft of people at home and from the diaspora that could come together to make Nigeria truly a land flowing with milk and honey. Where we are is a matter of choice but we can choose differently to make a necessary and desirable change, once again.
“Wherever I go, I hear Nigerians complaining, murmuring in anguish and anger. But our anger should not be like the anger of the cripple. We can collectively save ourselves from the position we find ourselves. It will not come through self-pity, fruitless complaint or protest but through constructive and positive engagement and collective action for the good of our nation and ourselves and our children and their children.
“We need moral re-armament and engaging togetherness of people of like-mind and goodwill to come solidly together to lift Nigeria up. This is no time for trading blames or embarking on futile argument and neither should we accept untenable excuses for non-performance.”
Obasanjo agreed that the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has done what it can do to the limit of its ability, aptitude and understanding, adding that the administration and its political party platform must also agree with the rest of Nigerians that what they have done and what they are capable of doing is not good enough for the country.
“They have given as best as they have and as best as they can give. Nigeria deserves and urgently needs better than what they have given or what we know they are capable of giving. To ask them to give more will be unrealistic and will only sentence Nigeria to a prison term of four years if not destroy it beyond the possibility of an early recovery and substantial growth. Einstein made it clear to us that doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the height of folly. Already, Nigerians are committing suicide for the unbearable socio-economic situation they find themselves in. And yet Nigerians love life. We must not continue to reinforce failure and hope that all will be well. It is self-deceit and self-defeat and another aspect of folly.” The former Nigerian leader wrote off APC, PDP and other political parties, saying: “I can categorically say there is nothing to write home about in their new team.”
He stressed that only choice left to take by Nigeria is the coalition of the concerned and the willing – ready for positive and drastic change, progress and involvement. Change that will give hope and future to all our youth and dignity and full participation to all our women. Our youth should be empowered to deploy their ability to learn, innovate and work energetically at ideas and concepts in which they can make their own original inputs. Youth must be part of the action today and not relegated to leadership of tomorrow which may never come. Change that will mean enhancement of living standard and progress for all. A situation where the elected will accountably govern and every Nigerian will have equal opportunity not based on kinship and friendship but based on free citizenship.”
Obasanjo argued that democracy is sustained and measured and not by leaders doing extra-ordinary things, but by citizens rising up to do ordinary things extra-ordinarily well.
According to him, Nigeria’s democracy, development and progress at this juncture require ordinary citizens of Nigeria to do the extra-ordinary things of changing the course and direction of our lackluster performance and development.
“If leadership fails, citizens must not fail and there lies the beauty and importance of democracy. We are challenged by the current situation; we must neither adopt spirit of cowardice nor timidity let alone impotence but must be sustained by courage, determination and commitment to say and do and to persist until we achieve upliftment for Nigeria. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and we believe that our venturing will not be in vain. God of Nigeria has endowed this country adequately and our non-performance cannot be blamed on God but on leadership. God, who has given us what we need and which is potentially there, will give us leadership enablement to actualize our potentiality.”
He stressed that the development and modernization of Nigeria country and society must be anchored and sustained on dynamic Nigerian culture, enduring values and an enchanting Nigerian dream.
Today, Nigeria needs all hands on deck. All hands of men and women of goodwill must be on deck. We need all hands to move our country forward.
“Last time, we asked, prayed and worked for change and God granted our request. This time, we must ask, pray and work for change with unity, security and progress. And God will again grant us. Of course, nothing should stop such a Movement from satisfying conditions for fielding candidates for elections. But if at any stage the Movement wishes to metamorphose into candidate-sponsoring Movement for elections, I will bow out of the Movement because I will continue to maintain my non-partisan position. Coalition for Nigeria must have its headquarters in Abuja.
“This Coalition for Nigeria will be a Movement that will drive Nigeria up and forward. It must have a pride of place for all Nigerians, particularly for our youth and our women. It is a coalition of hope for all Nigerians for speedy, quality and equal development, security, unity, prosperity and progress. It is a coalition to banish poverty, insecurity and despair. Our country must not be oblivious to concomitant danger around, outside and ahead. Coalition for Nigeria must be a Movement to break new ground in building a united country, a socially-cohesive and moderately prosperous society with equity, equality of opportunity, justice and a dynamic and progressive economy that is self-reliant and takes active part in global division of labour and international decision-making.
“The Movement must work out the path of development and the trajectory of development in speed, quality and equality in the short- medium- and long-term for Nigeria on the basis of sustainability, stability, predictability, credibility, security, cooperation and prosperity with diminishing inequality. What is called for is love, commitment and interest in our country, not in self, friends and kinship alone but particularly love, compassion and interest in the poor, underprivileged and downtrodden. It is our human duty and responsibility so to do. Failure to do this will amount to a sin against God and a crime against humanity.
“Some may ask, what does Obasanjo want again? Obasanjo has wanted nothing other than the best for Nigeria and Nigerians and he will continue to want nothing less. And if we have the best, we will be contented whether where we live is described as palaces or huts by others and we will always give thanks to God.
“I, therefore, will gladly join such a Movement when one is established as Coalition for Nigeria, CN, taking Nigeria to the height God has created it to be. From now on, the Nigeria eagle must continue to soar and fly high. CN, as a Movement, will be new, green, transparent and must remain clean and always active, selflessly so. Members must be ready to make sacrifice for the nation and pay the price of being pioneers and good Nigerians for our country to play the God-assigned role for itself, for its neighbours, for its sub-region of West Africa, for its continent and for humanity in general. For me, the strength and sustainable success of CN will derive largely from the strong commitment of a population that is constantly mobilized to the rallying platform of the fact that going forward together is our best option for building a nation that will occupy its deserved place in the global community.”
To President Buhari, Chief Obasanjo, after rubbishing his possible candidacy for the 2019 election said: “I only appeal to brother Buhari to consider a deserved rest at this point in time and at this age. I continue to wish him robust health to enjoy his retirement from active public service. President Buhari does not necessarily need to heed my advice. But whether or not he heeds it, Nigeria needs to move on and move forward.” [myad]
We were legions who started professing General Muhammadu Buhari’s way of life and politics, we saw in him a man we can trust with redirecting the nation’s affairs; a country economically raped, humanly cannibalized, politically manipulated and administratively destroyed by bandits and their cohorts. Some of us did not just become Buharist because PMB won election, we have stood with his integrity and ultra patriotism right from his military incursion into leadership. I know so many astute Buharist who are in this fast moving train with no stake for personal benefits, we give what we give because we believe in what Muhammadu Buhari represents, whether in or out of power. Among the legions of Buharist are the turncoats, they came with a mindset to celebrate a repeat of what Buhari is in his 20 months as military head of state. They thought, thieves will be thrown into gallows with the grinding patience of the courts, they forget that his second coming is one of rule of law. Don’t blame them, they are patriots who are angry and are against the monumental corruption that had taken firm and uncompromising grip of Nigeria. But, they forget that at this second coming, PMB is limited by the frustrating democratic structures to which he must govern. Most so-called Buharist have lost their way in the labyrinth of politics, their hopes are daily been dashed because they fail to see the frustrating machineries of government, they want results but ignore the tripod that holds democracy. It is not their fault, they have never truly seen the pathetic mess 16 years of PDP maladministration left the nation. Being a Buharist comes with sacrifices, genuine followers of PMB do not live in another clime. We all experience the conundrum that stares us all, we are not immune to poverty and lack, but we know the prices that needed to be paid to get Nigeria out of the woods. It is disheartening seeing supposedly Buharist who joined the train for selfish reasons, either for appointment or some form of benefit become trumpeters of disharmony. Genuine Buharist make sacrifices daily knowing that PMB is human and will make mistakes, some of which are acts committed by lieutenants that wants to cleave to the evil of the past. We will continue to support Buhari because healing does not come easy neither does change of a nation comes with whispers. My consolation and that of several others is that, the more they try to demonize PMB, the more we will stand by him. We will not falter, we will not fear and we will not give up on him and Nigeria. For those who are so frightened of their believe in him, you never were a part of us. We thank you for showing us that believes for you is tied to personal satisfaction with no sense of history. For the millions on the street who daily caress their PVC in preparation to reelect PMB, I say thank you for not drifting with the wind and buying into the demonic messages sold to you by harbingers of criminality. The street does not care for the erroneous messages of PMB’s enemies on social media or the mainstream media conspiracy, they know their hopes lie with the innocence of Buhari. Let all those pretentious Buharist leave now, their infantile diatribes and antics will be in the open for all to see. Politics is local, the locals are the true, unadulterated Buharist and when the time comes, the victory dance will shame the enemies. On this note, I thank all the true Buharist; we came, we are seeing and we will conquer. [myad]
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Former governor of Nasarawa State and currently, Senator representing Nasarawa West, Abdullahi Adamu has warned former President Olusegun Obasanjo not to carry his luck too far.
We were legions who started professing General Muhammadu Buhari’s way of life and politics, we saw in him a man we can trust with redirecting the nation’s affairs; a country economically raped, humanly cannibalized, politically manipulated and administratively destroyed by bandits and their cohorts.
Obasanjo Has Finally Met His Match In Buhari, By Maiwada Dammallam
Probably the luckiest Nigerian alive today is former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Despite his numerous documented atrocities and inadequacies he still remain a force to reckon with in Nigeria’s political permutations. Thanks to Nigeria’s reversed understanding of patriotism and service to fatherland, people like Obasanjo could afford to remain a recurring decimal in political affairs when they should only appear in the chapter dealing with ignominy in our history books.
To political observers it was not a matter of if but when he will go after President Buhari. No Nigerian President has ever escaped Obasanjo’s mischievous onslaughts except perhaps, Shonekan who outwitted him by moving out of the villa before his bags where unloaded. No Nigerian President is good enough for Obasanjo because he is set and determined to remain the best. You may roll Clinton, Obama, Mandela and Gandhi in one and donate to Nigeria still, the result will not be good enough for the prolific dancer. President Buhari’s impeccable quality made him a serious threat and a default target of Obasanjo’s acerbic attacks as I will explain shortly. So, who is Obasanjo?
Obasanjo is a megalomaniac operating with a nauseous sense of self-importance which could be picked from his regular outbursts each time elections are around the corner or when he feels his large reserve of consuming ego depleting. Far from the false signals of nationalism and patriotism these outbursts were meant to send to the public, the usually lengthy and carefully scripted sermons are developed to cunningly captivate and hypnotize readers with the specific motive to manipulate them and ensure the sustainability of Obasanjo’s alpha role in Nigeria’s political landscape and his place in history.
So far, President Buhari is the only threat to Obasanjo’s claim to political “perfection” in the context of Nigeria’s politics. He is the only contender to Obasanjo’s exclusive throne of honour given to him by fate which blessed him with the singular honour of leading Nigeria twice under different political arrangements. That Obasanjo schemed to remain the life Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees by making the position to be exclusively preserved for former Presidents made this theory plausible. At the time he did so, the only possible threat to his selfish ambition to pocket the PDP for life was the meek Jonathan – if that’s a threat. I doubt if I need to explain that the motive of Obasanjo was to secure and guarantee a permanent role in the processes of leadership selection in Nigeria.
Of course, Obasanjo didn’t anticipate an upset from Buhari. The calculation back then was that PDP would rule for 60 years and despite his popularity and grassroot appeal, Buhari was effectively contained using the cumbersome and fully commercialised judicial system. Somehow, Buhari pulled a rabbit out of a hat. Against all odds he managed to organise a formidable force that sent PDP into an early grave along with Obasanjo’s dreams of eternal relevance.
To understand the OBJ/PDP arithmetic viz-a-viz Buhari/APC, one need to understand the two men and their political and moral identities. The two accidentally share some similarities. Both men led Nigeria while they were relatively young and later went into political hibernation only to return to power and prominence decades later and against seemingly insurmountable odds. Both men were traded and sold as non-negotiable democratic solutions despite their military backgrounds. However, the two are just as dissimilar. Whereas Obasanjo made his name and fortune by accident, Buhari worked and sweated for it. Obasanjo is a power monger while Buhari abhors it. Against Obasanjo’s magnetic attraction to scandal, Buhari is a levelheaded gentleman very sensitive and protective of his name and dignity.
One cannot make sense of Obasanjo’s latest attack to defend his alpha role without connecting his tantrums to those of Farooq Kperogi, a well known cyber-snipper that has been shooting aimlessly at President Buhari without hitting his target. I find it absurd that despite a large collection of assorted local critics, Obasanjo could only rely on Kperogi to inject credibility into his tantrums. It’s neither accidental nor coincidental that Kperogi featured in Obasanjo’s sermon as a credible and reliable base for intelligent argument. I have always suspected Kperogi’s relentless albeit, misguided and clearly needless attacks against President Buhari. Now I know the source of his inspiration. With his record arrogance, Obasanjo would mention Kperogi in this assault only if there’s an established connection between the two for the purpose of painting President Buhari in bad colours. Now that the cat is out of the bag, Kperogi may save us the pretence and concentrate on his ‘consultancy’ services to OBJ who is determined to always have a first timer in the villa; somebody he could easily keep in perpetual fear of a second term to be easy to manipulate.
Let’s analyse Obasanjo’s funny allegations. He accused Buhari of nepotism yet, he failed to provide a single provable case of nepotism beside the garbage concocted and fed gullible Nigerians via social media through people like Farooq Kperogi – the consultant he accidentally exposed in his tirade. Of course, he mentioned Maina. How could the manner in which Maina’s case was dealt with be described as nepotism. If it was such a mental exercise for OBJ to make sense of the legal and administrative aspects of Maina’s case, then we can easily understand why he expect President Buhari to turn the farmers/herdsmen imbroglio into a theatre for another Odi and Zaki Biam. Sure, Obasanjo would love to have President Buhari send the army to kill and maim communities wherever there is a clash between herdsmen and farmers just so his record of illegal deadly response to a similar situation in Odi and Zaki biam could be beaten.
On the economy, it’s repulsive listening to Obasanjo who supervised a colossal waste of $16bn under the pretext of revamping and upgrading generation, transmission and distribution of electricity yet, failed to make significant improvement in the sector, talking about Buhari not doing it well. Obasanjo should have dedicated a chapter in his message to ask President Buhari how he managed to be magical with the electricity situation by spending less and getting more than him. By the way, why shouldn’t President Buhari constantly remind Nigerians about the rot he inherited when the predators that left the rot are still prowling around searching for opportunities to scavenge on the remains?
The most laughable was Obasanjo’s call for President Buhari not to go for a second term on the account of his age. Obasanjo should have told Nigerians how old and fit he was when he dubiously attempted to secure a third term before he reluctantly left office as President. The question of whether President Buhari should contest or not is a question for Nigerian masses not for Obasanjo. Nigerian masses were there for Buhari before and they will be around for him to face whatever coalition Obasanjo have in his kitty.
Sure, this is a battle that would definitely demystify one of the two giants. I’m very excited and happy that Obasanjo has finally met his match.[myad]