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Obasanjo Is An Important Witness To The Nigerian History, What He Told Buhari Is The Bitter Truth
Feb 7, 2018 – Obasanjo Is An Important Witness To The Nigerian History, What He Told Buhari Is The Bitter Truth
By SKC Ogbonnia
Without a doubt, Dr. Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ) is an important witness to the Nigerian history. He is also known to often speak his mind, whether good or bad. But ignoring him is to do so at one’s own peril. That is why the controversy trailing his recent open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari may never subside.
To start, Obasanjo has good intentions to declare that things are not going well in Nigeria, and there is a need for real change. In short, the letter is similar to the one he wrote to the then-sitting president, Goodluck Jonathan, which was then hailed by many, including those of us in the All Progressive Congress (APC).
Even Buhari himself commended Obasanjo at the time, saying that, “No right-thinking Nigerian will choose to ignore the appalling descent to anarchy that Nigeria” was experiencing under Jonathan. Hence those now criticizing Obasanjo’s admonition to Buhari need to have a serious rethink.
Obasanjo was very candid to remark that Buhari has shown a measurable improvement on the war against corruption among other accomplishments. He is also objective to state that President Buhari is performing below expectations overall. Very tellingly, he is patriotic to insist that the President Buhari is neither in good state of health nor has the capacity to pilot the affairs of the nation and thus needs to exhaust his tenure and retire with some sense of dignity in 2019.
More relatively, OBJ had good intentions when he mooted the need for a Third Force to rescue Nigeria. To him, the two major political parties, APC and PDP, only differ by name. But Obasanjo’s action on the Third Force might have become a poisoned chalice.
First of all, though Obasanjo insists that the Third Force will remain as an ordinary movement, its stated objectives clearly mirror that of a political party. Even if Obasanjo decides to walk away in event the movement metamorphose into a political party, as he alluded, the other political figures in the movement are likely to stay put thereby occasioning the emergence of another strong party in Nigeria. That will be a big blow to the country.
Multiplicity of political parties is not good for Nigeria’s turbulent democracy. It only goes to weaken opposition activity. That explains why most political insiders (including the two most reliable barometers of military opinion in Obasanjo himself and Ibrahim Babangida) have never failed to quip that Nigeria’s history with weak opposition not only contributed to past leadership crisis but also created the chances of military takeover of government.
Accordingly, instead of a new political party, all hands ought to be on deck in strengthening the two major parties, thereby producing strong opposition activity by consequence.
The Third Force, therefore, should emerge and operate as change agents within the two major parties. Its goal should be to provoke power shift to the masses, including new breed politicians and the youth who are not part and parcel of Nigeria’s shameless corrupt oligarchy.
SKC Ogbonnia, [email protected].
Metu Nyetu
February 7, 2018 at 6:00 AM
PMB HAS failed Nigerians, and there are only two people who would argue this:
1) A very dishonest man, and
2) A man who cannot make good use of his brain.
DB
February 7, 2018 at 8:03 AM
He is an important witness in nigerian history who has failed to learn from history. He is as guilty as Buhari because he institutionalised impunity. The fact that he made a failed attempt for a 3rd term shows that he has alterior motives for every of his actions. Buhari has failed woefully, no doubt about that but did Obasanjo get a pass mark? Imposing a sick man on the nation was his sole plan to make it look like nobody else beside him could handle the country. There were far better people but for reasons best known to him, he drove the country 20yrs backward with his over sabi attitude.
Mon
February 7, 2018 at 12:59 PM
Whoever think or contemplating to reason that election or change of president will make any difference in Nigeria is actually deceiving him/herself or hoping against hope…If masses do not come out now and demand for this aboki and all those talking senators to adopt restructuring and implement it,then 2020, Nigeria will finally burn down.
iron bar
February 7, 2018 at 3:51 PM
Mr writer,obj will soon employ u as his next chief of staff.why were u when he single handedly support buhari,his fellow military junta who wanted another shot at the presidency.let him deal with the demon he brought upon us.
Jilo
February 7, 2018 at 11:28 PM
Obasanjo should shut up his mouth and stop talking in the public forum because he was the one that laid the foundation of Nigeria downfall. He deprived his own people of providing the best president in 1979. He made sure that Awolowo never had the opportunity to ascend to the seat of presidency. He made sure that he handed over to Fulani candidates. He pitched his tent with Hausa Fulani and even snitch against his own colleague who was a yoruba man Retired Major General Olutoye who is now Oba of Ido-Ani. This man told Obasanjo to fight for his own people not Fulani. Obasanjo reported him to Danjuma who was then Chief of Staff and Olukoya was forced to retire.
Folks, we may get upset about incompetency of Buhari till thy kingdom come but do we have any candidate from South who is ready to take us to promised land. If anyone thinks we can produce a good president in Nigeria, that is a lie. Just tell me who have not dine and wine with these cabals. We can only produce a recycling leader. In as much people like Babangida, Obasanjo, Atiku are still in politics, just forget about rebirth of Nigeria. Also don’t forget some of these unscrupulous politicians are always playing their games towards 2019. I don’t think we need democracy to restructure Nigeria.
Elvis
February 8, 2018 at 8:00 AM
Obasanjo and his daughter stole our energy billions of dollars and no one is holding them to account, Obasanjo was Nigeria president for eight years and could only deliver GSM, Buhari is now busy sorting out roads and rails which has gainfully employed Nigerians in construction sector. Nigerians has gone back to agriculture to feed the nation programme that was abandoned years back, we no longer import unnecessarily commodities that are not essential, Nigerian foreign reserve has grown under three years of Buhari regime. Though fulani herdsmen are everywhere those in senate should wake up to their responsibility with a law to banish herdsmen. bokoharam is on their last breath. So what is the best Nigerian?