After his botched third term ambition, former President Olusegun Obasanjo
has been attempting to use the President Goodluck Jonathan’s
administration to actualize his dream of remaining in power.
Spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign organization, Chief Fani
Kayode at a Press conference said the former President has made several
attempts to tele guide, control, take over the running of the Jonathan’s
administration through the back door.
Chief Fani Kayode said all those attempts made by Obasanjo were roundly
rebuffed, reason why the former President has turned turned against the
Jonathan’s administration.
Why Obasanjo is attacking Jonathan
He said: “After Jonathan came to power, Obasanjo not only tried to control
and teleguide him, but he also asked him to do a number of things that
were simply wrong and unacceptable. It is for President Goodluck Jonathan
himself to divulge those things and I am sure that he will do so at the
appropriate time.
“Needless to say President Jonathan refused to be teleguided and told what
to do though at all times he showed Obasanjo maximum respect and accorded
him all the privileges, access and courtesies that are due to a former
Head of State and a father and mentor. This continued to be the case even
after Obasanjo consistently attempted to undermine his government and
ridicule his efforts.
“Yet President Obasanjo could not be appeased and was not satisfied. As
far as he was concerned, he must either control Jonathan or Jonathan had
to go. That is why he decided to secretly support the APC and became their
‘navigator in chief’. He was determined to pull the whole house down
rather than allow Jonathan to return to power. This is simply because he
believes that if he cannot control someone, that person must be destroyed.
Control and domination is an obsession for Obasanjo. That is the bottom
line. He is prepared to put even the devil in power provided he can
control him,” Fani-Kayode, who also served President Obasanjo as a senior
special assistant (public communication) and later Aviation Minister said.
Genuine democracy
“Obasanjo does not want genuine democracy. He only pretends to want it.
What he wants is control and a stooge in power. It does not matter what
type of government it is as long as he controls it and it is headed by his
puppet. It can be a military government, a civilian one, a democratic one,
an interim government or a government of National Unity. To Obasanjo, it
does not matter as long as he can control it. That is his objective. That
is why he hates Jonathan so much and that is why he wishes to stop him at
all cost.
“The bottom line is this: President Obasanjo’s grouse with President
Jonathan is personal and it has nothing to do with Nigeria. He should
leave Nigeria out of it and let us all be. If he has a personal score to
settle with Jonathan, he should not do so at the expense of the peace and
stability of Nigeria.
“If he wants to stop Jonathan, then let him attempt to do so through the
democratic process and through the ballot box and not through foul and
unconstitutional means. We said it before and we will say it again: Gone
are the days that any president can be teleguided and controlled because
we have all come of age.
“President Olusegun Obasanjo’s allegations are serious and grave. They are
also reckless. He has raised issues and made assertions that are capable
of derailing our democracy and creating chaos in the land. It is vital
that we consider his motives for this latest outburst and his credentials
as a leader and an elder statesman.
“The truth is that he knows that President Goodluck Jonathan will win next
month’s presidential election and that is why he wants to destroy the
credibility of the whole process right from the outset.
“What he is trying to say in his latest contribution is that if President
Jonathan wins, then the election must have been rigged right from the
outset. This is not only wrong but it is also unfair and uncharitable. If
President Obasanjo has any evidence to prove his weighty allegations, he
ought to present it before the Council of State and take it up there.
“He should also report to INEC itself and present the data of whatever
sinister plan he believes that President Jonathan has to stay in power ‘by
hook or by crook’ to them. He should tell INEC whatever it is that
Jonathan is doing in order for him to stay in power by all means and he
should give them all the details. That should be the starting point.”
Postponement of polls
Asserting that the postponement of the election was not a sufficient
reason for Obasanjo to lampoon Jonathan given that polls have been
postponed in the past, the president’s campaign image maker faulted the
comparison between Jonathan and former Ivorian president, Laurent Gbagbo.
He said: “President Obasanjo spoke about President Laurent Gbagbo and he
claimed that President Jonathan was attempting to do a Gbagbo in Nigeria.
The question that must be put to him is this: “Who got Gbagbo out?” Was it
not Jonathan’s government that played a key role in ensuring that
democracy was fully established in the Ivory Coast and did he not play a
key role in ensuring that the Gbagbo ‘stay in power forever plan’ did not
work? If anyone doubts this, they should ask President Alhassan Outtara of
Cote D’Ivoire the role that Jonathan and Nigeria played in helping to
restore democracy and stability back to his country.
“They should also find out the role that former President Obasanjo played
in attempting to keep President Laurent Gbagbo in power at all costs and
the deep friendship that exists between the two men. It is a matter of
fact and public record that when he was President of Nigeria, Obasanjo,
perhaps more than any other African Head of State with the exception of
President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, propped up and supported President
Gbagbo and it is an irony of fate and history that he is now condemning
the actions of his old friend and accusing others of trying to emulate
him.
“Again it is ironic that President Obasanjo has accused President Jonathan
of having a grand plan to stay in power at all cost and by all means yet
it is the same Obasanjo that tried to stay in power for a third term even
though the Nigerian constitution specifically forbade it. He tried all he
could to change the constitution but the whole thing failed and he was
compelled to leave power.
“We continue to hold Obasanjo in high esteem but his recent actions and
utterances are beyond the pale. He has been unfair to Jonathan, to Nigeria
and even to himself. Most importantly the days of intimidating others with
his harsh words and overbearing influence are long over. Obasanjo is not
God. Only God is God and He alone determines the fortunes of men and the
destiny of nations.”
Will of the people
Fani-Kayode continued: “We sincerely hope that Obasanjo appreciates the
gravity of what he is attempting to do and we shall continue to pray that
God will guide him and deliver him from whatever it is that makes him want
to destroy all those that love him the most. Whether he likes it or not,
democracy has come to stay in Nigeria and the will of the Nigerian people
will be done in next month’s presidential elections and thereafter. We
believe that it is God’s plan and not even one million Obasanjos can stop
it.”