President Jonathan
Obasanjo
* Obasanjo compares situation with brutal Abacha-rule
* Former leader says Jonathan promised not to seek 2nd term
* Presidency says claims are reckless and baseless
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has been told it would be “morally flawed” for him to run for re-election in 2015, in a scathing letter from his mentor and former head of state Olusegun Obasanjo.
Obasanjo lays down a damning appraisal of Jonathan’s leadership, chiding him on his performance on everything from corruption and insecurity to the economy, in the 18-page letter entitled ‘before it is too late’, seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The former president even likens the current situation to the tenure of General Sani Abacha, whose five years of military rule in the 1990s were marred by human rights abuses and the looting of funds from Africa’s biggest oil producer.
Open criticism from a high-profile figure in the ruling party may encourage politicians to defect to a newly-united opposition and give greater confidence to potential rivals considering standing against Jonathan for the party leadership.
The presidency responded by saying the comments by Obasanjo were “reckless, baseless, unjustifiable and indecorous”, adding that the letter had been deliberately leaked to the media.
The potency of Obasanjo’s criticisms and the public nature of the spat add to a weight of embarrassment for Jonathan, coming days after another leaked letter, this time from the central bank, opened an investigation into missing oil funds.
Nigeria’s Senate on Wednesday launched a probe into the letter to Jonathan from the central bank, which said the state-oil company NNPC failed to account for $50 billion of revenue from 18-months of oil sales.
Africa’s second-biggest economy and top oil exporter is growing as an investment destination but reports of violence, corruption and political instability often tarnish its image.
General Obasanjo, who was president for eight years until 2007, was a strong influence in bringing Jonathan to power but their relationship has since soured.
The former president says Jonathan promised prior to his election victory in 2011 that he wouldn’t run again. Jonathan has previously denied making such promises and he has not said whether he will contest the 2015 elections.
RELIGION
Jonathan’s assumed ambition to seek re-election is a thorny issue in religiously-mixed Nigeria, where alternating the presidency between the majority Christian south and the mostly Muslim north has been considered an unwritten rule.
Jonathan, a southern Christian, was vice president and came to power when President Umaru Yar’Adua, a northern Muslim, died in May 2010, three years into his first term.
Jonathan’s campaign in 2011 angered many northerners who felt it was still their turn to rule for what would have been Yar’Adua’s second term. If Jonathan runs again in 2015 it could create further animosity.
“It would be fatally morally flawed” to run in 2015, Obasanjo, a Yoruba Christian from the southwest, said in his letter. He advised Jonathan not to listen to “sycophantic” advisers and to heed the warning signs in north Africa.
“When the consequences come, those who have wrongly advised you will not be there to help carry the can. Egypt must teach some lesson,” referring to a revolution and upheaval there.
Obasanjo’s own reputation was tarnished towards the end of his presidency by attempts to make changes to the constitution, which would have allowed him to run for a third term.
Jonathan has brushed off several corruption scandals and personal attacks in the past but opposition is mounting.
Last month, several powerful governors defected from Jonathan and Obasanjo’s ruling People’s Democratic Party and joined the All Progressives Congress, a coalition opposition formed in February which now poses the biggest threat to the PDP since the end of military rule in 1999.
The PDP still controls a strong majority in the national assembly and has the biggest power base and financial muscle.
Jonathan is also struggling to quell an insurgency from Islamist sect Boko Haram in the north and rampant oil theft in his home Niger Delta region, which is straining the economy.
Every Nigerian president has had to cope with insecurity, governance and human rights problems, and each has been hit by eye-popping corruption scandals. Obasanjo thinks the situation is worse than ever; Jonathan says it’s on the way to recovery.
-Reuters
On social media, Nigerians reacted swiftly. Below are samplers:
OBJ vs GEJ (Head-to-Head)
Under 8 yrs of OBJ, 16 Billion dollars power funds wasted, Tambuwal was chairman House committee on power, in 2/half years GEJ has unbundled power and even made money from the sales
Under OBJ, Sharia laws (the precursor of Boko Haram) began in some states, OBJ said it would die a natural death: GEJ inherited
Under OBJ, Notable politicians were murdered in cold blood: Bola Ige, Marshall Harry, Dikibo, etc. OBJ even spoke before the police he said armed robbers killed Dikibo
Under OBJ, Benin-Shagamu was a mess, go and look at the improvements today
Under OBJ, Idris sang Nigeria Jagajaga, OBJ said it was Idris family that was Jagajaga, today he is telling us about jagajaga.
Under OBJ, Railways were dead with billions pumped in, but today, Lagos to Kano is back alive and PH-Maiduguri will commence in a few weeks
Under OBJ, SW states were all under PDP except for Lagos, today under GEJ, no SW state is PDP even with the Salami-ing of court judgments
Under OBJ, Certain ministerial positions were made the exclusive preserve of born-to-rulers (EG Rilwanu Lukman was Petroleum minister/sec for 12 years back-to-back),
Under OBJ, policemen collected 20-20 naira on our highways and streets, today it is almost unheard-of, if caught, we see people on you tube and they are dismissed
Under OBJ, EFCC hounded perceived political opponents, today, due process of our WEAK LEGISLATIONS take its course
Under OBJ, The vice-president was ostracized, today, GEJ and Sambo are in good terms
Under OBJ, Our airports and aviation sector were dead,today, Kano Airport and tens of other airports have had a makeover and the South East has international airport/flights for the first time ever.
Under OBJ, Old men and women were murdered in Odi, but he couldn’t confront an unprecedented sharia system that later became Boko Haram
Under OBJ, Nigerians queued endlessly for petroleum products, but today for 3 straight years, only pockets of few queues occasioned by tanker drivers strikes (due to kidnapping of their wives) are experienced.
OBJ is not the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which stipulates the terms of contesting elections. GEJ has asked those making that noise to show proof, and till date, nothing forthcoming.
46,000 Federal Civil Service ghost workers inherited from OBJ have been ghost-busted and 119 billion naira saved by GEJ.
Under 9 months Nigeria won 2 major trophies in football and qualified for tthe FIFA World Cup. It never happened at this level under OBJ’s entire 8 years full of age cheats etc
Agriculture has increased our GDP under GEJ. Farmers and other agro-allied producers are better off under GEJ. For the first time, almost 1 billion dollars worth of cocoa has been exported. Hides and skins exports are back. Cotton ginneries kicking back to life, fertilizer scams nipped off and Farmers will soon start exporting produce from the aerotropolis under construction…
The same people vilifying PDP for 14 years of failure are suddenly praising OBJ for the indecorous letter to GEJ, when 8 of those years were headed by the same OBJ? GEJ is just 2 and a half years old in his statutorily recognized tenure and ”they” want 50 years of ROT undone in that time frame?
Prof. Imo Eshiet
Prof. Imo Ben Ubokudom Eshiet:
Decca
Kelechi Deca:
There is a thing called the Law of Constant Replacement.
I dont think I will ever join the fray of the battle over a letter from one initiate to another when I do not know what happen in the coven that led to their quarrel. This is because as far as I know,the interest aggregation of initiates can never be for the good of non initiates. It is a pity how non initiates have willingly given jumped onto the mega chessboard called Nigerian and have submitted themselves as willing pawns in the hands of the initiates whose disagreement have nothing to do with the best interest of Nigeria rather pecuniary interests.
But come to think of this. Power is really transient, and failure to recognise this is in itself a failure of life.
Dont these people know that inspite of their lawless conduct of the affairs of men,that there are still laws guiding everything?
It is important for the one out of power to know that nature has taken its toll and for the one in power to know that one day he too will be out of power.Recognition of this very fact will help each of them to wear the garb of humility.
I have no care about the Russian Roulette they are playing with the destiny of this nation, for if this nation is not set to break up, a 1000 page letter full of all the allegations in the world will not make it breakup.
But when and if the set time comes, there is no need for a letter nomatter how irrelevant. The assassination of one man, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife on the streets of Sarajevo led the entire world to the First World War. But before then,there has been high profile killings.
There is always a set time.
Until the Kronos and Kairos align on a course, there will be no manifestation.
The man who is outside of power should realise that he is out of power, and should also appreciate the enormity of the power he sets out to confront which he himself made even more powerful to handle deeds and executive emergencies such as presented itself now.
The man who is in power should also know how transient and ephemeral this thing called power is.
There macabre dance reminds me of the Law of Constant Replacement and eventually every active actor on the scene now will be replaced..
THE LAW OF CONSTANT REPLACEMENT
”Just like a prince in his own principality, you call all the shots and make all the rules; they all have to play your own game, according to your statues because it is your show. That is why you treat them the way you like. You manipulate, use and subject them to all sorts of cruel treatment. This you do because you have got nothing to loose, you thus abuse them even those sent to you.
Beware my brethren, there is a law that prevails in any domain a man occupies and any position ones attains. It is called The Law Of constant Replacement.This law states that, any quantity, form or being that occupies a given system, in time; undergoes a constant replacement or displacement. A continuous transit into a higher or lower domain.
So therefore, think again. Because everything you see will be replaced. There is nothing constant in time, only the law of replacement even that would eventually get replaced. Don’t ever say to yourself,”I have reached the highest peak one can attain, its time to sit back and relax”, because that is the very point your declining starts.
So my brethren, you must be careful with the things placed under your care. Every entity has its value and relevance in time. If you abuse them; you expose the replacement factor.
There is no limit to height, neither is there to depth. You either keep getting better or worse ,richer or poorer, bigger or smaller. You can never be the same as you were a second ago. So make every moment count”.
They say I should not bother with the messenger,only focus on the message. I agree. But if I am told to expect a parcel via DHL, and it was delivered by a NIPOST Post Man, bearing my name.I will be worried. The quality of the process determines the outcome of the result.
When all these might have died down,because it will soon die down.I will make comments on it. But for now, I will never take part in a battle that started in a coven I do not belong too, and by initiates that serve a different master from the one I serve. They should go back to their meeting place and sort themselves out.
He talks of not fighting corruption.
Yet during OBJ’s reign, and just after when he still had control over Yaradua, we saw a lot of “OBJwood”. Things that bubbled up but just died the Nigerian death.
1. His man Sunday Afolabi, “ID card scam”
2. Makanjuola, a Perm Sec in the Ministry of Defense, now the Owner of Caverton Helicopters
3. Iyabo Obasanjo – then a serving Senator and the matter of some funds that were not properly accounted for
Yet in this present government, that of GEJ, the sons of prominent party men and loyalists are currently undergoing prosecution.
1. Ahmadu Alli – son being prosecuted for fuel subsidy involvement
2. Aare Arisekola Alao, Ibadan strong man – son being prosecuted for fuel subsidy involvement
3. Tukur – son being prosecuted for fuel subsidy involvement
Political interference
In Imo state OBJ’s choice of candidate was Ugwu for the INEC run and monitored party primaries. He came 4th, yet OBJ announced him the winner. The real winner, Ararume, had to fight all the way up to the supreme court to regain his nomination. OBJ went as far as announcing in Owerri that the party had no candidate. Why did OBJ do this? Simply because Ararume is Annenih’s son-in-law and Annenih did not support OBJ’s third term plan.
Yes this is the man that wants to talk about interference!
This same man imposed UMY, and by default GEJ, on Nigeria and now that he has been told to embrace retirement he refuses!
Nigerians need to wake up and understand who is fighting for them in this very rough fight. OBJ is still to comment about the ASUU matter. Anyway, his own is working abi?
The instance of Imo is not the only one. Ohakim in PPA against PDP comes to mind, as does the imprisonment of house members in Asaba for them to impeach Peter Obi. The running riot of Uba in Anambra was under who’s watch? Ask those who know in Ondo, Edo and Lagos. Yet in two of these three places GEJ has ensured that the voice of the people has been heard. It should be noted that in neither to the benefit of PDP. GEJ works within the rules for the Nigerian people!
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