Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Sunday endorsement of the Labour Party (LP) standard bearer, Peter Obi, with the affirmation that he had an edge over other Presidential candidates in terms of knowledge, discipline, vitality and character has triggered firestorms of angry protests from the camps of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the African Action Alliance (AAA).
The elder statesman, therefore, called on Nigerians to vote for the LP standard bearer in the February 25 presidential polls.
The Presidential candidates of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu; PDP, Atiku Abubakar; LP, Obi and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso are the frontrunners in the election.
In the 2023 New Year message signed by the former President and made available to newsmen by his aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo described the last seven years of the Buhari regime as horrible and hell on earth for most Nigerians.
The letter partly read, “The last seven and a half years have no doubt been eventful and stressful years for many Nigerians. We have moved from frying pan to fire and from the mountain top to the valley. Our leaders have done their best, but their best had turned out to be not the best for Nigeria and Nigerians at home and abroad. For most Nigerians, it was hell on earth.
“Those of us who are alive should thank God for His mercies, brace ourselves for the remaining few months of this administration and pray and work very hard for an immediate better future – a future of liberation, restoration and great hope and expectation.’’
Appraising the suitability of the presidential standard bearers, Obasanjo accused them of deceit, adding that some of them had been trumpeting what was not realistic in a desperate bid to win the election.
The ex-president expressed anguish over the terrible state of the nation, stressing that the presidential candidates did not realise that Nigeria had been dragged down well below the level it was when he assumed office in 1999.
He admitted that Nigeria was in very bad shape and was tottering on the verge of collapse and break-up when he took office, but the nation, he added, was not faced with the current level of pervasive and mind-numbing insecurity, rudderless leadership, mismanagement of diversity and pervasive corruption and bad economic policies, which he said had resulted in extremes of poverty and massive unemployment and galloping inflation.
“We have had campaigners going up and down the country feeding us with what they mean and what they do not mean, what they understand and what they do not fully understand, what is possible and what is not possible, what is realistic and what is unrealistic, what is true and what is untrue. I believe that we need not be confused or be gullible. Let us be cautious, not to be fooled again,’’ he advised the electorate.
In endorsing the ex-Anambra State governor, the elder statesman said a suitable presidential candidate must have “a track record of ability and performance; a vision that is authentic, honest and realistic; character and attributes of a lady and a gentleman who are children of God and obedient to God.”
Hinting that Obi possessed the attributes and attitudes necessary to successfully directing the affairs of Nigeria at a time like this, Obasanjo expressed support for Obi and called on Nigerian youths to vote for him.
‘Obi ahead’
The former president stated, “None of the contestants is a saint but when one compares their character, antecedents, their understanding, knowledge, discipline, and vitality that they can bring to bear and the great efforts required to stay focused on the job, particularly looking at where the country is today and with the experience on the job that I personally had, Peter Obi as a mentee has an edge.
“Others like all of us have what they can collectively contribute to the new dispensation to liberation, restoration and salvaging of Nigeria. One other important point to make about Peter is that he is a needle with thread attached to it from North and South and he may not get lost.
“In other words, he has people who can pull his ears, if and when necessary. He has a young and able running mate with a clean track record of achievement both in public and private life.”
While expressing respect for all the presidential candidates whom he said claimed to be his mentees, Obasanjo buttressed his choice of Obi with the argument that the aspiration to lead the country should be a collective quest and not a personal or selfish ambition.
He described Obi as his mentee, stressing that the former Anambra State governor had an edge in the 2023 elections.
In a veiled reference to Tinubu and Atiku’s stance that it was their turn to lead the country and on their claims that they have paid their dues, the former leader said, “Let me say straight away that ‘Emi Lokan’ (It’s my turn) and ‘I have paid my dues’ are one and the same thing and are wrong attitude and mentality for the leadership of Nigeria now.
“They cannot form the new pedestal to reinvent and to invest in a new Nigeria based on an All-Nigeria Government for the liberation and restoration of Nigeria. Such a government must have representation from all sectors of our national life – public, private, civil society, professional, labour, employers, and the diaspora. The solution should be in ‘we’ and ‘us’ and not in ‘me’ and ‘I’.’’
Taking a jibe at the APC and PDP presidential candidates who are septuagenarian, respectively, the Owu chief further contended that both men may not be able to provide the vigour, energy, agility, dynamism and outreach that the job of leadership of Nigeria at the very top required.
“The vigour, energy, agility, dynamism and outreach that the job of leadership of Nigeria requires at the very top may not be provided as a septuagenarian or older. I know that from personal experience. And it is glaring out of our current experiences. Otherwise, we will be fed with, “The President says” and we will neither see nor hear him directly as we should,’’ he warned.
Obasanjo, who led the nation between 1999 and 2007 said Nigerians have a unique opportunity to position the nation on the right trajectory by voting for the right person, adding that those preaching division, segregation, and separation simply want to use the nation’s diversity for their selfish interest, describing them as the enemies of the nation.
The former military head of state appealed to Nigerian youths to take charge of their future by deploying their large population to reposition the nation on the path of change and progress in the next polls.
‘’The power to change is in your hands. Your future, my future, and the future of grandchildren and great-grandchildren are in your hands. Politics and elections are a numbers game. You have the numbers, get up, stand up and make your numbers count.
“I appeal to the young Nigerians to stop inheriting other people’s prejudices and enemies. Make your own friends and stop inheriting your father’s enemies. Let’s stop criminalising and demonising one another on the basis of the civil war on which we are all wrong. And let’s praise and thank God for preserving the oneness of Nigeria,’’ he appealed.
‘Endorsement worthless’
Responding to Obasanjo’s lengthy message, the Director, Media and Publicity, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu, would not lose sleep over the endorsement of his Labour Party counterpart by the former president.
Onanuga, in a statement on Sunday, described the endorsement as worthless, adding that Obasanjo was a paperweight with no political goodwill or leverage anywhere in Nigeria to make anyone win a councillorship election let alone a presidential election.
The statement read, “We read with amusement the endorsement of Mr Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate by former president Olusegun Obasanjo in his New Year message on Sunday.
“Following calls by journalists from various media houses who asked for our reaction, we decided to make this preliminary statement, though we didn’t consider the so-called endorsement to be of any value.
Atiku Fumes
The campaign organization of the PDP’s Atiku Abubakar has described former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s endorsement of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi as his wish.
The Spokesperson of the Atiku Presidential Campaign, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Sunday said Obasanjo’s endorsement does not reflect the wishes of most Nigerians.
Atiku’s campaign said Obi does not have the requisite experience, adding that the PDP candidate is the most experienced among all candidates. It expressed confidence that most Nigerians will support and elect the PDP’s presidential candidate.
According to the former National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, former President Obasanjo is entitled to his personal opinion, which remains individualistic and cannot redirect Nigerians from their determination to vote for Atiku to rescue and rebuild Nigeria from the alleged misrule of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
He expressed surprise at the former President’s endorsement of Obi who has not had any experience in governance at the national level in the face of the alarming challenges facing the nation, which requires a tried and tested hand.
The statement reads in part: “In any case, Chief Obasanjo’s opinion cannot sway Nigerians who can easily remember how he endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari, whose administration, he (Obasanjo) now describes as “stressful years for many Nigerians,” during which our nation “moved from frying pan to fire and from mountain top to the valley.”
“It is, therefore, extremely difficult for Nigerians, particularly the youth demography, to accept Chief Obasanjo’s opinion as the solution to the myriad of challenges facing the nation today because the last candidate he introduced, by his estimation, failed Nigerians.
“Our campaign holds that none of the Presidential candidates has the experience, capacity, tenacity of purpose, presence of mind, and readiness to serve like Atiku Abubakar.
“Atiku remains the most widely accepted candidate, whose choice is not predicated by sectional, tribal, ethnic or religious sentiments or the endorsement of any individual, high or low, but by the record of ability and performance, authentic vision, honesty, and character; physical and mental capacity; the very indices set by the former President.
“It is instructive to state that every claim by former President Obasanjo on the success of his administration is a reflection of the performance of Atiku Abubakar as his Vice President and Chairman of the National Economic Council during which our nation achieved unprecedented economic growth to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world”.
Ologbondiyan said it is a disservice for the former President to make subjective suggestions even when it is clear that when Atiku becomes president Nigeria will be rescued from this “current sullen state.”
The Atiku campaign organization urged Nigerians not to be distracted by subjective opinions but to remain focused on the resolve to salvage the nation by electing the former Vice President.