Jonathan wants to win by hook or crook, says OBJ
Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigerian president, has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of planning to plunge the country into crisis if he loses the forthcoming general election.
Speaking at a press conference in Abeokuta on Saturday, Obasanjo compared Jonathan to Laurent Gbago, former president of Ivory Coast, who was disgraced out of office for refusing to concede defeat after losing election.
He condemned the postponement of the poll, describing it as a sad development for the country’s democracy.
“President Jonathan has a grand plan to ensure that he wins the election by hook or crook and if he loses, he scuttles it and brings chaos and confusion in the whole country,” he said.
“He is trying to play Gbagbo, who postponed election in his country until he saw that he would win. When election finally held, it was inconclusive and he refused to hand over after losing the run-off.”
Obasanjo, who had just returned to the country after travelling two weeks ago to launch My Watch, his controversial autobiography, in different countries, alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was forced to extend the election by six weeks.
“People started asking me questions from different part of the world and I decided not to issue any statement until I get back home,” he said.
“It was alleged that the security chiefs were unable to provide security and as a result, Jega postponed it in accordance with the dictate of the so-called security chiefs.”
On Tuesday, Obasanjo publicly declared support for Muhammadu Buhari, Jonathan’s main opponent in the election, but later recanted, saying he was yet to make up his mind on whom to support.
He, however, directed veiled criticism at Jonathan.
“There are millions who can run the affairs of Nigeria who are not even coming out. So why should you die on behalf of one who is probably performing as a mediocre? What the hell are we talking about?” he asked
“If you love Nigeria, you would look for the best for Nigeria and I don’t believe that at this point in time we have the best for Nigeria.”
However, the manner in which he spoke on Saturday appeared as if the former president had already made up his mind.
“I believe General Buhari will fight corruption; he will give firm leadership. When he was there before, he was a military and military leader is both the executive and the legislative but in democracy, it is not possible like that,” he said.
“More so, military has been rendered impotent and I believe he will do everything to resuscitate it because he knows the military well, so he will do it.
“And for those who are pushing President Jonathan, he should beware because when the chips are down, he will be naked and they will mock him at the end.”
All the signs are there for all to see. First postpone the election under dubious claim of insecurity. Then demonize Jega and INEC as corrupt and incompetent.Then engage in FUD(fear, uncertainty, doubt) on the electoral process as a whole. PDP now says card readers are unreliable and should not be used. They know about plans to use card readers for more than a year before it was manufactured and supplied to INEC. Why now oppose its’ use when the election is a few weeks away? The machine should be discarded and waste money spent on producing them. INEC is not made up of fools who do not know that the machines needed testing before acceptance for its use. After all Jega is a professor, he must have some modicum of common sense.
I am not one of Goodluck’s fanatics but I just believe former president OBJ should be more of a godfather and a kingmaker and not like a politician who is interested in grabbing power at any chance. For me I think he talks too much ,he should take clues from Clinton and Bush just to mention a few and see how they reacts to criticism of government by the people and the things they say in the press. He has seen it all and so should be seen in his utterances and not exchanging words in the press like a common politician.
jonathan and his government leads by deceit. their cup is full. Nigerians can no longer be deceived. whatever delay tactics he employs we will beat him to it. just in a matter of months you will be addressed as the worst ex president that has ever ruled Nigeria. you will be ashamed to even attend your family meeting talk more of attending a public function. sha sha sha SHAME Sai baba sai Buhari mu ke so.
Nigerian we like waist up till now in UK dey don’t use permanent voters card talk less of us with our dubious act and wasteful spending and to show off dat I did this during my regime. No job no 3square meal on d table no good road universities on strike and government are waisting a lot of money on permanent voters card now dey want to strike it out why and where are we heading to
Its a pity! I can now see OBJ for who his daughter said he is – a Jealous, Possessive and Meddlesome lu*****!
If GEJ is a mediocre performer, then he OBJ scored F9! If a man who in 4yrs has done wot u couldn’t do in 8yrs and u labelled him mediocre. How dare you!
By what indices did u arrive at the mediocrity?
1. The 2011 elections DAT brought GEJ to power was adjudged the freest and fairest ever had in d history of dis country,far far better than d impositions, riggings,dirtiness and fraud u called elections during ur tenure.
It was in your govt DAT we witnessed the worst corruption in 16yrs when Money stashed in ghana-must-go bags exchanged hands in our legislative houses.That was ur own style of lobbying. Just like ur own daughter said ‘ Daddy u must not have ur way all d time’. U entrenched corruption and stealing as a means of lobbying, GMB might use murder, assassination and death threats as his own lobby tool.
Today, opposition propaganda about d 16yrs of PDP in power was made possible by your less than mediocre 8yrs. If people like Jonathan had been in power all those 16yrs, nigeria would have been much better today. Weight for weight you are no match for Jonathan!
And on and on! Wish I can engage you in a debate, let me finish you!
@Hippo,you must be a joker for your dumb comment.Asking what obj has done?He has done so well and I felt the impact.i am presently with telecom.if not for Obj that brought telecom to Nigeria,millions of Nigeria will be out there looking for job.guess you reason like the so called the Jonathan himself.worse president ever.He’s nothing but a fiasco
I am not a pro Jonathan, in fact, I admired OBJ because of his ability to take drastic measures when the need arise.
Having said that, OBJ isn’t any much a saint or more a democrat than Jonathan.
OBJ’s accusation and confrontation of the current government is baseless and a testament to his selfish aggrandisement.
I find it difficult to believe that OBJ who was pressured to drop his third term agenda is now so concerned about a sitting president seeking for a second term in office.
OBJ should stop playing God, this should be the time for a sober reflection of all his past rather than politicking here and there.
Power belong to God, and he gives it to whosoever he dim fit. If God still prefer Jonathan in Aso Rock come may 29, no gimmick, condemnation, witch or wizard, principalities or powers not even him OBJ can thwart it.
Chimazuru Oblong Nnadi wrote;
Obasanjo, amazingly, has become a god or a
saint to many Nigerians. Many politicians,
commentators, journalists, activists and
youths who used to criticise him are now
celebrating him as our moral compass. The
people he has brutalised before — such as
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Rt. Hon. Rotimi
Amaechi — go to Abeokuta to genuflect to
him. Even Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, of all
people, goes to Obasanjo’s house to pay
homage. And President Goodluck Jonathan
goes to Abeokuta to kowtow to him, with
two respected pastors in tow.
How does Obasanjo do it? Can anyone help
me out? He has a word on every issue. He
expresses his opinion so forcefully, so
eloquently and so mischievously that you just
cannot ignore him. He loves to criticise what
he is patently guilty of. He loves to vilify
anyone who does not worship at his temple.
There is no accusation Obasanjo throws at
anyone that he himself is not double guilty of.
He has launched ferocious media attacks
against most of his successors — President
Shehu Shagari, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida,
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and
Jonathan. Only Gen. Sani Abacha pre-empted
him by throwing him into jail before he could
open his mouth.
Obasanjo complains about corruption and
Nigerians hail him. What’s his moral high
ground? Can someone tell me? Has anybody
never heard about the Halliburton and
Siemens scandals? The damning reports are
there in the attorney-general’s office. Does
the name Dr. Julius Makanjuola ring a bell?
Under Obasanjo, he was the permanent
secretary of the ministry of defence
implicated in a N421 million scandal.
Mysteriously, the case was abruptly closed
with Nolle Prosequi (no further prosecution)
— the first in Nigeria’s history.
Well, Obasanjo went on to set up the anti-
graft agency, the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC), headed by Malam
Nuhu Ribadu, which — in fairness — did kick
the backsides of many politicians. But EFCC
could not tackle Obasanjo’s own corruption:
from the obscene fundraiser for his private
library to his shareholding in Transcorp — a
company that was getting juicy stuff from a
government superintended by Obasanjo.
Have we all forgotten the scandalous waivers
granted to all kinds of human beings,
officially defrauding our treasury billions of
dollars?
Does anybody remember that Obasanjo was
in power for eight years and we kept
importing fuel, with PDP financiers getting
the contracts through local and foreign
fronts? Forgotten so easily? Does anybody
remember how much we spent on repairing
refineries that kept “knocking” for the eight
years that Obasanjo was in power? Does
anybody still remember Obasanjo saying on
national TV that he did not know the price of
kerosene and it was “unacceptable” that it
was more expensive than petrol? How does
Obasanjo get away with hoodwinking
Nigerians?
Do we still remember that Obasanjo did not
resolve the electricity problem for eight
years? Do we still remember the “$16 billion
spent on power without results” for which
Obasanjo arrogantly refused to appear
before the House probe panel? Is it that we
have forgotten that the damning report was
killed? Do we still remember that Obasanjo
did not add one coach to the railways
throughout his tenure despite spending
billions of dollars? Does anybody still
remember how many federal highways were
in terrible state for the eight years that
Obasanjo spent in power? Have we forgotten
the Benin-Shagamu road saga? Just like that?
When Obasanjo discusses insecurity, I cringe.
From every available evidence, Boko Haram
started right under his nose. If he had
aborted the foetus, maybe we wouldn’t be
engaged in fire-fighting today. I have heard
many Nigerians say, perhaps innocently, that
if Obasanjo had been in power he would
have crushed Boko Haram by now. Really?
How well did he crush the less complex
militancy in the Niger Delta? Was it not under
Obasanjo that the militancy started in 2004
and flourished?
To the best of my knowledge, militants were
bombing oil installations and kidnapping oil
workers with ease under Obasanjo. At a
stage, daily crude oil production fell to about
900,000 barrels — from the height of 2.5m.
In fact, we were later told that why Obasanjo
picked Jonathan as the running mate to
Yar’Adua was to appease the Niger Delta. Of
course, nobody was appeased. The attacks
continued until Yar’Adau offered an amnesty
deal. How these facts conveniently escape us
is beyond my understanding.
Insecurity? Abacha’s regime aside, more
Nigerians were assassinated under
Obasanjo’s watch than at any time in our
history. The abridged roll-call: Chief Bola Ige, a
serving minister; Chief Marshall Harry, co-
ordinator of the Buhari presidential
campaign in 2003; Chief AK Dikibo, PDP
chieftain and ally of former Vice-President
Atiku Abubakar; Chief Uche Ogbonnaya (OGB),
an ANPP senatorial candidate in Imo State in
2003; and Mr. Barnabas Igwe and his wife,
Amaka, in Onitsha. The assassins were never
unmasked. What is insecurity?
How did Obasanjo become our moral
compass? How did he become such a highly
sought-after role model? Has anybody ever
managed to read the affidavit Obasanjo’s
own son, Gbenga, filed while seeking a
divorce from his wife on the ground of incest
and adultery? It doesn’t matter? Has anybody
ever taken time to read the letter Iyabo wrote
to her father, giving graphic details of his
megalomania and duplicity? It doesn’t
matter? Has anybody ever done a recap of the
blatant rigging of elections under the “saint”?
It doesn’t matter?
Obasanjo pontificates on impunity and we
hail him. What happened to us? Dr. Chris
Ngige, as governor of Anambra State, was
abducted by Obasanjo’s associates. Have we
forgotten the illegal impeachment of Alhaji
Rashidi Ladoja as governor of Oyo State?
What about the impeachment of Chief Joshua
Dariye as governor of Plateau by eight out of
24 lawmakers? For three years, Obasanjo
unconstitutionally withheld Lagos council
allocations because of political differences. It
took Yar’Adua only a few days in power to
undo the impunity.
They say, “Oh, Obasanjo is a patriot. He has
the best interest of Nigeria at heart.” Really?
Can Obasanjo look up to heavens and say,
solemnly, that he had the best interest of
Nigeria at heart when he was picking his
successor? Such a character cannot be my
own moral compass. With a moral compass
like Obasanjo, though, Nigeria is doomed and
damned.
Thanks for chronicling a few misconducts and failures of the OBJ’ administration, that does not mean he didn’t have a few successes like the telecoms. Those Nigerians singing the praise of Obj are either living in amnesia or are mischievous as OBj and do not mean well for our nation. What is expected of Nigerians is to work together with the leaders of today on how to move the country forward and not the very destructive vituperations coming from OBJ and others. OBJ should unlearn craftiness and selfishness, learn to be a good & selfless leader and be a role model. I implore Nigerians not to take OBJ seriously because most of his comments are borne out of hate, jealousy and self-centred disposition. Let the GEJ’s govt. should be judged by what it has been able to achieved within the Four years mandate with a reflection on what was done in the past before 2011 when GEJ got our mandate. Let us join hands to move Nigeria forward on the basis of just, equitable and fair society for all. Let those who feel a sense of ownership of our collective inheritance discountenance that thought because Nigeria is the heritage of all Nigerians.
Peace be still and see God do his will for Nigeria. God bless our beloved Country.
Thank you for putting history in perspective..I a very appreciative.I was wondering if i was the only one thinking on what high moral grounds is OBJ speaking.Very unfortunate for us as a Nation.Thank God for GEJ freedom of speech-that allows for people to open their mouths freely? .How did we as a people ever end up with these kind of an ex-president?
Fantastic recap, it shows how often Nigerians forget their past and yet want a better future. Until we do a reappraisal and sincerely tell ourselves the truth, politicians of lesser intelligence will continue to control the Nigerian state. In the scale of preference Jonathan scores higher than Obasanjo and Buhari. People have forgotten that Idiagbon steered the anti-corruption campaign not Buhari
OBJ through his vituperations has just defined who he is: a selfish bigot who wanted 3rd term like witch but when he failed wants to drag Nigeria down. He should tell us what he knew about BOKO HARAM, how they manipulated Yusuf Mohammed; their leader that has brought insecurity. At best, he should keep quiet while he enjoys he loot. He makes democracy too expensive for Nigeria. Does he think we are dumb?
Hello guys pls don,t use lunatic words on others cus u are not better then them , if u benefit from Obj another benefit from goodluck too. All u need to do is to collect ur pvc and wait for the day. Come to think of it one good turn deserve another what obj did to those who put him there is what is happen to him, if anyone want change just start work on ur self, what impact have u made to ur environment,people, how many people have u change their life, pls guys wada u like am or not who God say his the next president ,what ever people do the person is going to be the president, so save ur energy for voting not for ur fellow
The fact OBJ step up his attack on Jonathan is a welcome development to the south west geo political zone because OBJ does not represent the people and the people know their true leader. Therefore whatever he says against the government of the day is very insignificant OBJ 8 years presidency full of mystery and controversial in Nigeria,and among them was the death of attorney general Late Bola Ige. Secondly OBJ jealous the present administration achievemenl to date which surpasses predecessor combined,even though corruption was the lowest score mark of the administration as other .All in all the country is in good hand for another 4 years. LASTLY,OBJ IS NEVER A LEADER OF THE SOUTH WEST PEOPLE AND WHATEVER HE SAYS DOES NOT HOLD WATER. AFENIFERE ELDERS AND OTHER RESOURCEFUL ORGANISATION ALREADY GIVEN THEIR MANDATES .IF ONLY AGRICULTURE REVIVAL UNDER THE ADMINISTRATION ,AND WORKING TOWARDS STABLE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY IN THE COUNTRY IS ENOUGH HEADACHE TO OBJ NOT TO MENTION OTHER AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT EMBARK SO FAR BY THE ADMINISTRATION. OBVIOUSLY MOST NIGERIAN AGREED THAT THE ADMINISTRATION NOT PERFECT BUT THERE IS FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND OF THE PRESS.ABOVE ALL THE ADMINISTRATION LISTEN TO NIGERIAN OPINION ON DIFFERENCE OCCASION AND DESERVE ANOTHER 4 YEARS. .