....Says ‘Pa Adesanya rejected me thrice’ over 1999 Presidency
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo vowed on Wednesday to continue to criticize President Muhammadu Buhari administration, saying he has failed woefully and he did not endorsed the second term bid of Buhari as being speculated in some quarters.
Obasanjo, who stated this in a statement signed by his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, said contrary to report, he has neither recanted his criticism against Buhari nor supported his second term Presidential ambition .
President Muhammadu Buhari has again come under knock as former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Wednesday, said the country is nearing disintegration through the incompetence of the President.The former President described those who are supporting Buhari’s second term and those who are being carried away by the superlative performance when he met US president Donald Trump as mediocre like the President performance, adding that he would support a failure.
The statement read: “It has come to the attention of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo that some elements in the Muhammadu Buhari camp and or support group are desperate to secure a second term, fair or foul.”It this desperation, everything is fair, including telling libelous lies against persons and institutions, instead of addressing the fundamental issues of statecraft and economic management.
“In the last 24 hours the internet has been bombarded with deliberate falsehoods aimed at hoodwinking the unsuspecting Nigerians to believe that Obasanjo has now supported Buhari for his second term because of some perceived Buhari’s ‘superlative’ performance in his encounter with Trump during his visit to the White House in Washington D. C.
“In another breath, these blackmailers insinuated that Chief Obasanjo met with some Nigeria Labour Congress leaders in his house in Abuja on Workers’ Day. What a pathetic fallacy!”Chief Obasanjo never met any Labour man or woman on May 1, 2018 to make any supposed volte face to support Buhari. Furthermore, neither was Chief Obasanjo in Abuja on that date nor does he own a house in Abuja. Any time he visits Abuja, he usually stays in a Guest House or hotel.
“For the record, Obasanjo has not and cannot endorse failure. His position remains as stated in his January 23rd, 2018 statement on the state of the nation. Chief Obasanjo sympathises with the plight of those campaigners and supporters of Buhari.”He doesn’t believe dishing out fake news that can only be believed by imbeciles will turn black into white.”The mediocre performance of Buhari cannot be described by anybody as ‘superlative’ even by morons not the least President Obasanjo.
“From the Buhari/Trump meeting, Chief Obasanjo only saw through three points: One, the US will continue to reduce purchase of crude oil from Nigeria and there is nothing Nigeria under Buhari can do about; two, the US will export agricultural products to Nigeria and Buhari’s government will encourage that; and three – all the killings taking place in Nigeria by herdsmen are being done by expatriates trained by Gadaffi and no Nigerian is to blame and Buhari cannot do anything to stop it.
“For whatever the meeting was worth, President Buhari again bungled another opportunity to self-redeem. No wonder President Trump ordered him in a rather condescending manner to go back home and stop the killings going on in Nigeria! We hope now Buhari will heed Trump’s advice which hopefully will be considered non-abusive.”
“Nigerians know that Chief Obasanjo has only spoken the truth about widening poverty, alienation and social disunity and near disintegration of the country through Buhari’s incompetence.”Obasanjo will continue to exercise his right to free speech and no amount of hate speech will assuage Nigerians who are in need of a brand new leadership.
“Therefore, Chief Obasanjo is more convinced in his statement of January 23rd and will not change his position. No lies, fake news dished out by these desperate and unintelligent supporters is worth believing and these misinformation cartel and social media tigers will do more damage to the flint reputation of their principal.
“Chief Obasanjo understands that the internet has good and bad uses. Those abusing the media should desist from this barbaric act as it will only expose them to greater ridicule at the end of the day.
“Obasanjo will continue to speak out. He will continue to issue patriotic statements under his signature or cause them to be issued on his behalf under the signature of his media representative”.In another development on Wednesday, ex-President Obasanjo on Wednesday gave an account of how Pa Abraham Adesanya, late leader of Pan-Yoruba political group, Afenifere, rejected his candidature for the presidency three times in 1999.
Obasanjo gave the account in Lagos, at the 10th Memorial Symposium of the late National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) chieftain. Adesanya, a politician, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), activist and deputy leader of NADECO, a pro-democracy movement formed in 1994, died on April 27, 2008 at 85.
Obasanjo said: “I did not know late Pa Adesanya in my early days or in his early days in politics. I came to know him when I was going into politics and for necessity, the paths of politicians do cross.’’The former president said having been persuaded to vie for the presidency, he decided to consult and meet with political leaders all over the country.“One of the leaders I had to meet was
Pa Abraham Adesanya . The first time I met him, he received me warmly and that was the first time I met his daughter — Mrs. Dupe Adelaja — who became one of my ministers.
“When I met Pa Adesanya, he did not mince words at all and went straight to ask why I came as I am not with the ‘Afenifere and NADECO’ group. I told him that `as a politician and well-bred Yoruba boy, I have to pay homage and consult you`. Baba told me he will not support me.“I told him it was my duty and responsibility to inform him I was going into politics and we parted. As I went on in the consultation, I met him a second time and the same thing happened. I told him I came to give him progress report and he said again, ‘We will not support you’ and I said alright.
“Again, he asked me why I was not in their group and I told him their group was alright but it was limited, and I believe that we should not be limited. He told me again that they will not support me.“I visited him a third time; this was just before the election. I told him I came to give him update and the third time Baba said ‘we will not support you’.“And of course, as the results of the election turned out, I was not supported by the Yorubas in the South West for the 1999 election,” he said.
Obasanjo said he did not regret appointing late Chief Bola Ige and Mrs. Dupe Adelaja, daughter of late Adesanya, who were members of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), as ministers during his administration.“But then, Pa Adesanya did not know how her daughter Dupe became a minister in my government because I did not consult him. On two occasions when I visited Baba, Dupe was the one who served drinks and refreshments.
“When after the election I decided that I was going to bring people from parties other than PDP, on my own I decided to take Bola Ige and Dupe Adelaja to represent AD in my government and Baba never talked to me about it and I never talked to him about it. “Dupe played her role — dutiful and diligent minister — and I have no regret for taking Dupe and Bola Ige as ministers in the administration that set up the present democratic dispensation,” he said.
Obasanjo commended the children and families of late Adesanya for organising the event, describing him as a man who deserved to be honoured.“My prayer is that the legacy of Pa Adesanya will continue to influence the way things move in this country. People like them are not many; we need to create more of Adesanyas,” he said.
Dignitaries that graced the occasion include a former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga, Deputy Governor of Ogun State; Mr Gbenga Daniel, a former Governor of Ogun State; and Mr. Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State.Also on the occasion are APC chieftain, Chief Bisi Akande, KOWA Party leader, Prof. Remi Sonaiya and PDP chieftain, Chief Bode George, among others.
Meanwhile, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged Nigerians to rise to change the present state of affairs in the country if they truly desire to continue to have a country. Atiku who observed that Nigerians have never had it this bad since the civil war, predicted that Nigeria may soon have between 25-27 PDP States, as the people are already fed up with the hardship and intolerable disposition of the present APC government.
Speaking at the PDP Secretariat during a consultation visit in Uyo on Wednesday, the PDP presidential hopeful regretted that those who are making Nigeria unbearable for its citizens today were not part of the struggles towards the actualization of democracy.
His words : “The country is in its worse state today. I have never seen it since the civil war. Ethnic division, north against south, this is very very dangerous for our survival as a country. We must do all what we can to address this situation. We have to unite together to arrest this, otherwise you would one day wake up and find out that we don’t have a country, God forbid”.
“We may end up with 25-27 PDP states in Nigeria, because every part of this country is fed up with this government. And this is the most intolerant government I have ever seen in this country. And unfortunately for us, he was not even part of this struggle”.”The situation in APC states is horrible. You cannot even meet like this. They are intolerable because they were not part of the struggle for actualization of democracy. If PDP was like this, there would not have been any opposition party in this country”.
“Let us therefore unite and make sure that we free this country and our people from this situation. The political restructuring of this country is inevitable, whether we like it or not. We must deploy resources and powers to the federated units of this country. If states and Local Government Areas are given more resources and powers, the people would hold them accountable”.
He decried the disunity, ehnicity, division and religious intollerance so far promoted by the present federal government, noting that such was quite dangerous for the continued survival and oneness of the country. He maintained that given the extent of decay in the country at the moment, Nigerians would need to support a candidate with the qualities, capacity, experience and the qualification to face the challenges. “I can do that job, but only with your support”. He assured.
Earlier, the former National Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, Chief Jim Nwodo said Nigeria has reached the lowest point where hunger, poverty and killing of the people have become the order of the day.He described Nigeria as a country under sieze when there is no war. Adding that the present federal government has failed to fulfill its campaign promises.
“We have never had it this bad. We were promised we’ll never go abroad for medical treatment, but the person who made the promise is first to go. Someone we’ve not seen his school certificate calls our youths lazy. In this state of total hopelessness, we bring a Messiah today;. an exemplary entrepreneur, who recognizes intellect.
In their goodwill messages, stakeholders of the Peoples’ Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom State unanimously expressed optimism that Atiku has the pedigree and the distribalized disposition to pull Nigeria out of its present predicament.
The party leaders consisting the state Party Chairman, Obong Paul Ekpo, Senator Anietie Okon, Sen. Helen Esuene, chief Ndueso Essien, former Governor Chris Ekpenyong recalled Atiku’s role during the resource control struggles. They unanimously stressed the need for restructuring Nigeria and assured that Akwa Ibom practices PDP as a religion. “if the state governor this time around gives a directive that is not in our collective interests, we the elders of the party would deviate”, Ekpenyong assured.
Source:championnews.com.ng
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