A new war appears to be forming between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2023 presidential election, given the former Head of State’s critical remarks about his former Deputy yesterday.
Obasanjo reacted once more and stated that he had made a mistake by selecting Atiku as his running mate for the 1999 election.
He stated that it was one of the numerous genuine errors he has made throughout his public career.
Obasanjo told students from select secondary schools that participated in the final of the National Exhibition and Awards organized by Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) in Abeokuta, Ogun State, that one of the mistakes he made was choosing his Number Two when he wanted to become president.
However, because it was an honest mistake, God preserved me.
Although the former president did not mention his former running partner by name in his statement, Atiku was the former president’s running mate in the 2000 and 2003 elections until their relationship soured.
Another costly error, according to Obasanjo, was dismissing a warning from an American envoy that the late military leader of Nigeria, General Sani Abacha, intended to arrest him.
When Abacha attempted to arrest me, the American ambassador informed me that I would be arrested and that the United States had requested that I be granted refuge.
“I said no. It may have been an error because I could have perished.
“There are many things that may have been mistakes, but God protected me from them all,” she said.
He questioned how Nigerian youngsters could acquire leadership roles in various cadres of government when the majority of candidates for political office in the upcoming general elections in 2023 are in their seventies.
“Another factor preventing young people from running for office is the cost of entering politics. I hope things will not continue in this manner.
“I was 39 years old when I became chief of state’s military.
“Twenty years later, I returned as a civilian president, but people in power today refuse to permit teenagers.
“If things remain as they are, I do not see how you may enter,” he replied.
Regarding religious tolerance, he counseled the youth not to view their own faith as superior to that of others.
Obasanjo stated, “I have no right to declare that the beliefs of another guy are inferior to mine.
“Had God desired that we all adhere to the same religion, he would have made it so. And because He did not make it so, nobody should strive to do so.
“Young people should be taught from a very young age that God intends for there to be five religions in the world. If there are ten, that is God’s will. All religions derive from the same origin.
“You cannot enter Aljannah if you are a Muslim and you do not live as God wants you to live” (Paradise). If you are a Christian but do not live as God desires, you will not enter paradise.
“If the foundation of religion is doing the right thing for the benefit of humanity, there is no need to condemn a person for his beliefs.
“I do not believe that any religion is superior to mine, nor do I believe that my religion is superior to that of another.
“I will not permit anyone to cast doubt on my religion, and I will not do the same to others.” Practice your faith in accordance with God’s will, and do not condemn others.”
Obasanjo has previously stated that he would have appointed Atiku as his successor without hesitation if he had been a “loyal, faithful, obedient, and dedicated subordinate.”
Recollecting how he chose Atiku as his running partner in the 1999 election, the former president stated, “I considered all available candidates and what I knew about them. Prior to this, I had gathered information about a few of them to expand my understanding of them.
“That evening, I compromised on Atiku Abubakar. He had worked closely with Shehu Yar’Adua and Shehu had never made a negative comment about him; he had been elected as a governor, which already put him on the pedestal to move up politically, but he had been short-changed in the election that would have put M.K.O. Abiola in power; and he appeared to have national outreach.
Obasanjo continued his judgment of Atiku in his memoirs, My Watch, stating, “For instance, till later, when a famous chief from Bauchi questioned Atiku’s background and criticized me for making the incorrect decision.
“I was oblivious to Atiku’s paternal history. In addition, until all efforts to help Atiku change had failed, I questioned one of my predecessors why he did not inform me of how poor the report was, to which he said, “I believed you knew.”
He added, “This was a man I wanted to dismiss and imprison, but for Shagaya and Shehu Yar’Adua’s intervention. I accepted him at his word.
“However, if his appointment was a mistake, I accept full responsibility for the blunder.”
“Knowing everything I learned about him, it would have been an unpardonable error and a sin against God to impose him on Nigeria.
“My error could have been contained, and it was confined…
“As I continued with my programs for the second term, I had no clear indication of my successor.
“Had Atiku been a loyal, trustworthy, obedient, and devoted second-in-command, I would not have had any doubts. After all, I chose him with this intention in mind.
“My position was influenced by the question my Chaplain, Rev. (Dr.) William Okoye, asked at the beginning of May 2006 regarding who I had anointed to follow me, as the election was almost a year away. I told him nobody as of yet. Despite his curiosity, he believed me.
“We moved on as clouds began to gather over Atiku, if not at home, then certainly in the United States, with his freshly acquired wife to complete his total Nigerian husband picture. – Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani and Igbo spouses. Here, he attained Federal personality.
“In addition, he gained chieftaincy titles throughout the land without discrimination.
“On 30 May, I informed Reverend Okoye during a morning devotional service at my apartment that I planned to fast and pray for one month in June, asking God to teach us (PDP) how to proceed in selecting a successor candidate. He joined me and other members of the Red Carpet Prayer Group in fasting and prayer.
“Within three weeks of our fasting and praying, we received a letter dated 22 June 2006 from the US Department of Criminal Justice Office of International Affairs, which was delivered to me by Nuhu Ribadu, the head of the EFCC, requesting that we investigate a number of Nigerians suspected of engaging in criminal activity in the United States.
The name Atiku Abubakar was among those provided to us. Until that point, EFCC has enjoyed tight coordination with law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom and the United States.
“I authorized Nuhu to conduct the probe as requested by U.S. authorities. He conducted the investigation and sent his findings to the United States. The story was quite unsettling and unpleasant for Atiku and his associates.
“I thought it was terrible enough that the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was under investigation for corruption, given that my administration had made the fight against corruption a top priority.
“As it turned out, the inquiry in Nigeria and the United States led to the US Bureau of Investigation (FBI) searching Atiku’s home and the arrest and custody of his newlywed wife, Jennifer.
“At one point, she was also labeled sought. It was extremely humiliating for our Administration and Embassy in Washington under the leadership of Ambassador George Obiozor.
“I felt that Atiku, for reasons related to the inquiry, ceased traveling to the United States and listed his luxury home in a prestigious neighborhood of Washington, D.C. for sale.
“He acquired the house early in our administration, and I chastised him for his poor judgment, even if he tried to defend it by stating he sold a smaller one in order to buy a larger one; nonetheless, the time was incorrect. Congressman Jefferson was ultimately incarcerated.
“This investigative request from the United States initiated a process of elimination in the transition process. Since Atiku did not raise or discuss any issue concerning his matter in America with me except what I read in the local and foreign newspapers and reports, I did not ask him about anything.
“By then, I had come to know Atiku for his connivance in covering up and not being straightforward on matters requiring truth and candour.
“On a number of occasions, I had told him to his face that I saw him differently from Shehu Yar’Adua, who was partly his political mentor and my second-in-Command during my military administration.
“Shehu would never lie to me. Atiku would look at me in the face and say no when the answer should be yes. I found it curious and inexplicable.
“After I had confronted him on a number of occasions, inviting my Chief of Staff, Abdul Mohammed, to witness by joining the two of us to iron out some of his dubious actions; after I reported him to his father-n-law, the Lamido of Adamawa, I gave up on him.
“He believed that denigrating me with his battery of media men and women was the surest way to succeeding me. I wished him well and moved on.
“Sometime in the fourth quarter of 2004, an associate of Atiku came to my residence at the Aso Villa from Atiku’s official residence. He felt uncomfortable and I tried to make him feel at ease.
“Then, he settled to tell me the story of what had just transpired in Atiku’s residence. I listened with rapt attention.
“He went on to say that Atiku told him that for him to become the President of Nigeria, the 2007 elections were only a formality.
“The seven ingredients he needed for his enthronement were already in his hands. He controlled the National Assembly because both the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives were in his pocket. He controlled twenty-eight out of thirty-six governors. He had control of the media. His influence over the judiciary was overwhelming.
“What he needed was foreign endorsement, and for that, he had employed two lobby groups in the US and one in the UK. And finally, the money for the elections was in the purse.
“When the man finished, I thanked him without passing any comment. The man was surprised at my reaction and asked, ‘You have nothing to say to these?’
“I said I had nothing to say, and I immediately called my ADC, Chris Jemilola, to play a game of squash with me.
“On our way to the squash court with my ADC, I said, ‘People at times make plans and leave God out of their plans.’
“My casual remark struck Chris and he said, ‘Sir, that was a profound statement.’ I said that I made the statement because of what I had just heard of Atiku’s plan.
“I was not convinced he had put God in his plans. Atiku was confident and God was laughing.
“Most of Atiku’s ingredients soon started to fall out of place one by one.
“The first was the party, PDP. He thought I was powerless and had no clue about the execution of his plan with his group; part of his attack on me was for the National Chairman of the Party to give the first salvo, then other things would follow as his grip on the Party would be firm and consolidated.
“That salvo came in the form of a letter to me from the Chairman of the party, Audu Ogbeh, who had fully defected with Ayu to Atiku.
“The letter, which was not the product of any issue or matter discussed with or at any party meeting, came suddenly.
“When I received it, I could read the sinister intention behind it. And I told Remi Oyo, my media person, that the letter would be out in the media within a couple of days. Remi doubted it would happen.
“Nevertheless, I spent that night writing my reply, and I sent it in the morning.
“My reply was clear. I wondered why Atiku and his group did not realise that with my reply, the battle line was clear or maybe they thought that the seven ingredients would remain intact to the end.”
