Why Should We Believe Obasanjo Now!

Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun has made so much outlandish allegations against sitting Presidents in Nigeria in the past that most Nigerians are hard pressed to believe anything he writes, including his recent intervention on the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Many Nigerians will not forget in a hurry the open letter that he wrote to the former President Dr Goodluck Jonathan at the run up to the 2015 presidential election, where he accused the former President of training over 1000 snipers to eliminate his political opponents. He alleged that Jonathan was training these killer snipers where late General Sani Abacha allegedly trained his killer squad. It was all lies, product of Obasanjo’s fertile imagination.

How did Nigerians get to know that it was all made up? When the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) set up an investigative committee to unravel the veracity or otherwise of Obasanjo’s allegations and invited the former President to present his evidence before the committee, so that the law will take its course, Obasanjo refused to show up. Frustrated by the uncooperative attitude of Obasanjo, the National Human Rights Commission’s Committee investigating his allegations against Jonathan winds down, without achieving any result, and wasting taxpayers’ money.

In a typical Obasanjo ‘style and fashion,’ his latest open letter targeting President Muhammadu Buhari at the run up to the 2019 presidential election titled, “ Point For Concern and Action” is full of lies, jaundiced speculations, innuendos and outright mischief. He lied that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman in response to a question on the preparedness of the commission said that the electoral umpire is ready with everything including the results of the yet to be conducted 2019 general elections. “The INEC man is reported as saying in response, ‘we are ready with everything including the results!’” Obasanjo wrote.  He accused the Independent National Electoral Commission of conniving with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig the forthcoming 2019 general elections. Imagine the Election-Rigger-In-Chief complaining about election rigging!

Obasanjo conducted the worst election in Nigeria’s history in 2007 in which his party the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won, but the level of rigging was so embarrassing that even the key beneficiary of that electoral heist, Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua apologised to Nigerians and publicly admitted that the election that brought him to power was anything but free and fair. Till date INEC does not have the result of the 2007 general elections on its website or at its national headquarters in Abuja. When Cable Newspaper invoked Freedom of Information (FoI) Act on INEC to produce the results recently, for some story that the online newspaper said it wanted to do, INEC advised the Cable to go to the states’ headquarters of INEC across the country to get the results. Can you beat that? INEC has no result of elections that it conducted 12 years ago, under Obasanjo’s leadership, because in truth, there was no election. Obasanjo’s PDP and INEC officials then, merely sat down and allocated figures to parties irrespective of the wishes of the Nigerian people. That is the man talking about consequences of election rigging!

Obasanjo also accused President Muhammadu Buhari of intolerance of the opposition, and alleged that the man that Nigerians unanimously elected President in 2015 has changed from being a democratic President and has become another dictator like Late Head of State, General Sani Abacha. At this juncture it is important to point out that Abacha was perhaps the only former head of state that never tolerated Obasanjo’s shenanigan when he was power. He jailed Obasanjo.

But look who is talking about intolerance and undemocratic behaviour in office! Is it under Buhari that the Senate had five Senate Presidents in eight years? Is it under Buhari that a sitting governor, was kidnapped in Anambra State by a political Godfather close to the President? Is it under Buhari that Zaki Biam and Odi was destroyed and many killed by the military? Is it under Buhari that democratically elected governors were illegally impeached? Is it under Buhari that the allocations of Lagos State local governments were withheld by the federal government, despite court orders to the contrary? Is it Buhari that spent billions of naira to bribe National Assembly and others to have unconstitutional Third Term at the tail end of his constitutionally allowed two terms?

Whoever allowed these terrible things to happen under his watch as civilian president is the true incarnate of Abacha, and certainly not Muhammadu Buhari.

Nigerians should therefore disregard the tantrum from Obasanjo and move on. The good thing is that the coming elections will be a leveler. This election will sound the death knell of the Military Industrial Complex apologists that determine leadership for the country since 1966, especially if President Muhammadu Buhari wins reelection as widely expected. The entire military establishment Godfathers are believed to be against the reelection of Buhari, even when it is obvious that the vast majority of ordinary Nigerians think that he is doing a good job. It will therefore be a big deal when Buhari wins. His victory will mark the end of an era. The end of Obasanjo’s meddlesomeness in Nigeria’s leadership recruitment process.