I wanted to quit and avoid interfering with political issues but I failed to understand why I can never keep shut from wrong to be right.
Chief Dr. Obasanjo, I respect you a lot as an elder statesman and a father. I went through some of your letters written to different leaders and I found so many of the accusations made away from truth and closer to selfish interest. Sir, You were once a sitting Democratic President for good Eight years plus three years as Military head of state totaling good eleven years, but still after your open letter to Former President, Good luck Ebele Jonathan, you got a sound reply from Sen. Amen Abute, former Senate President with accusation of planting corruption, where he said “while Nigerian accuse the regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida of institutionalising corruption, it is common knowledge that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo planted the seed of corruption and elevated it to unimaginable heights”.
In a hard task, you had an interview with BBC correspondence shortly after you handed over power, your administration was accused with high corruption and you agreed to that, though, you censured your Vice, Alh. Atiku Abubakar of corruption but your administration hasn’t convicted him hitherto. I still wonder, if Atiku Abubakr was the President not you that he wasn’t answerable to your orders if you couldn’t give the absolute order to your Vice, then, were you competent to lead?. I consider this issue of you and Atiku personal.
Dr. Sir, in your letter to the sitting President, MuhammaduBuhari, you wrote “I believe strongly that God has endowed Nigeria so adequately that no Nigerian should be in want or in despair”
I wonder, what you did with these adequately abundant resources when you were president. With all these endowments Mr. Ebute remarks your administration by saying “the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo ran one of the sleaze filled administration in Nigerians History”.
He further accused you of mismanaging the nation’s oil and gas revenue in your eight years as president during which you personally supervised the Petroleum Ministry, while your “Kingsman and protege”, Funsho Kukpolokon, held sway at the Nigerian National Corporate Company.
Another issue to shallowly look at is the third term agenda. I do not know whether then, you were not a good patriot, may be that was why you sought for the third term, if you were patriotic that put Nigeria first and any other issue second, you would have done one tenure as Sir, Nelson Mandela did, you wouldn’t have sought for second and third term through your tenure elongation agenda, though you falsified that, but the then Senate President, Ken Nnamani claimed that you informed him beforehand about the third term agenda, he said “immediately, I became senate president, he told me of his intention and told me how he wanted to achieve it. I initially did not take him serious until the events begin to unfold” Nnamani also asserted that eight billion naira was distributed to corrupt legislators to support the agenda.
To testify this, a book written by Condolleaza Rice, a former Secretary to the Government of United States confirmed Nnamani’s assertion where she discussed in her book you (Former President Obasanjo) meeting with Former US President George W Bush, how you told him that you wanted to see how you amend the constitution to suit your third term agenda. To your surprise, Bush told you not to try it. Bush told you to be patriotic and leave by may 29, 2007.
I give special thanks to former US president, George W Bush, former Senate President, Ken Nnmani and former Speaker, Rt. Hon Aminu Bello Masari for their firm stand and determination to have saved not only Democracy in Nigeria but Africa at large, for Chief Obasanjo would have turned democracy to monarchy.
At this point in time, I conclude on your coalition for Nigeria movement as other means of shadow sitting in the corridor of power for the rest of your life.
Another area I would like to ride through before conclusion is insecurity, where you rated the sitting president to have failed. Reference to the letter you wrote to the Former president, Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Ebute wrote back to you and I quote “it is pathetic that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo could be so easily demented… Even when the activities of militants brought the economy to knee-jam and oil production plummeted from 2.5 million barrels per day to 700,000 barrels a day, his barking bull strategies brought no solution to the crisis.
Dr. Sir, I think it is an injustice to rate and judge Buhari’s effort as failure in just three years in comparison with your eight years in office and still, you sought for tenure elongation.
Thus, I consider this high want and race for the power of the highest order by our elites as one of the major reasons for the backwardness of African countries. How I wish, our Elders would emulate from a great hero like Sir Nelson Mandela of South Africa. Mandela sought for power for the betterment of posterity while otherwise to our leaders in Nigeria.
However, Dr. Sir, I salute your effort and courage in knowing and finding the lapses of Mr. President in some areas which you have claimed he lacks, with this I am much happy that you acknowledged him as being not supreme, I also call on you to consider yourself as one not master of all and perfect.
I close with peace as I promised to dwell within the suburb area.
Riding a dead horse, a risk for an old man.
Saddam Yusuf Saleh Funtua
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