Broken creeds: The lunacy of a former president – General Olusegun Obasanjo.

Every man has got something to hide, one or two skeleton in the closet perhaps. It is always in every wise man’s best interest that one utters a cultured words so as not to appear judgmental. This goes without saying that the man who has governed this great country, Africa’s giant, the most populated black nation on earth, former president Olusegun Obasanjo must be guided accordingly when given public speeches and /or interviews. Obasanjo is no doubt an elder states man in Nigeria and for someone of his status his words holds more water, and commands the respect of so many. However, Obasanjo has shown that he’s without shame and repeatedly engaged in public dance of shame with other public personality in the country.

Even while in office, Obasanjo have been credited with some ridiculous, off-the-mark statement and many Nigerians see it as “baba is a funny man” even when he is busy making comment that are not president-like, very derogatory in nature. For eleven years under Obasanjo, if what Nigerians wanted was a president to make them laugh, then they did a very bad job picking the soldier turned civilian as a president. I certainly do not want my president to make me laugh where the country can still boast of the likes of Basket Mouth, Klint D Drunk, I Go Dye etc.

The former Head of State did not only cast the first stone he went ballistic, naming names, pointing fingers and killing characters while speaking at the 4th annual Sustainable Development Summit organized by the Center for Sustainable Development, University of Ibadan, in collaboration with African Sustainable Development Network. Obasanjo made reference to former Vice-President  Atiku Abubakar, former Lagos state Governor, Bola Tinubu, former speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Salisu Buhari, former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and others as examples of younger generation of leaders who had failed the country.

The thug-life concluded that Nigeria was jinxed and cursed, adding “we should all go to hell”. “We had some people who were under 50 years in leadership positions. One of them was James Ibori; where is he today? One of them was Alamieyeseigha; where is he toady? Lucky Igbinedion; where is he today?”

Nigerians are indeed tired of leaders whom after falling out of government through whatever medium, suddenly switching to become ‘Human Right activist’. More reason why I have always maintained that corruption is abstract in Nigeria is because it is a case of who is concern, if your relation or friend is squandering public funds then it is not corruption, but when it’s someone else involved you join in crying woeful. He was busy playing to the gallery and forgot to mention his daughter, Mrs. Iyabo, who is still in EFCC net for alleged corruption. Maybe it escaped his memory, it normally occur when trying to be economical with the truth.

When you come in contact with men who are well lettered, erudite scholars, they will tell you that circumstance presents itself where boys are separated from men. There is no doubt he is one among the men in politics today, considering his status and age. For someone who is in his mid-eighties, we need not be told that he is on the verge of saying goodbye to life and as such Nigerians deserve to always get the truth from Gen. Obasanjo irrespective of circumstances. When the ex-president came into power, Nigerians thought that he’s the man to turn the misfortunes of the country around. Obasanjo came with massive vigor not to re-create but to destroy, how did he do it? As he was fighting corruption on one side he was busy encouraging it massively on the other side.

“The youngest was the speaker, Buhari -you can still recall what happened to him? You said Bola Tinubu is your master. What Buhari did was not anything worse than what Bola Tinubu did. We got him impeached. But in this part of the world some people covered up the other man. The man claimed he went to Government college, Ibadan, but the governor (of Oyo State) went to government college and packed all the documents so that they would not know that he did not go there”.

Do you still recall the Buhari to whom the former president is referring to? It is the same Alhaji Salisu Buhari, the former speaker of the House of Representatives who forged a degree certificate and claimed to have graduated from Toronto University, under Obasanjo’s administration. It was still Obasanjo who granted him “state pardon” and exonerated him of all wrong doing.

“I wanted someone who would succeed me, so I took Atiku. Within a year, I started seeing the type of man Atiku is. And you want me to get him there?”

Calling a spade, a spade and not a farming implement is what is expected of all Nigerian leaders irrespective of the office they hold. He is simply telling Nigerians, those who care to listen that his administration lacked integrity and credibility because all those he mentioned was under him. Carpeting everybody and putting them in one basket without prescribing actions to take in order to cut the excesses of these corrupt leaders is not the way to go. Obasanjo must remember the old saying: “when you point one finger at someone, the remaining four is pointing directly at you”.