{"id":63345,"date":"2018-08-04T16:55:25","date_gmt":"2018-08-04T15:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=63345"},"modified":"2018-08-04T16:55:25","modified_gmt":"2018-08-04T15:55:25","slug":"god-will-never-forgive-me-if-i-support-atiku-for-president-obasanjo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/god-will-never-forgive-me-if-i-support-atiku-for-president-obasanjo\/","title":{"rendered":"God will never forgive me if I support Atiku for president \u2014 Obasanjo"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said on Friday that former Vice<\/div>\n
\n
President Atiku Abubakar should not count on him for support in his latest
\nbid to actualise his life-long ambition of being elected the president of
\nNigeria.<\/p>\n

The former president, one of the most influential of his living peers,
\nhinged his blistering position on the unsavoury corruption perception of
\nMr Atiku while speaking with PREMIUM TIMES shortly after his arrival from
\nKigali on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can I be on the same side with Atiku?\u201d Mr Obasanjo asked. \u201cTo do what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I support Atiku for anything, God will not forgive me. If I do not
\nknow, yes. But once I know, Atiku can never enjoy my support,\u201d he added.
\nMr Obasanjo rejected all notions that his remarks could be deemed too
\npersonal, coming as 2019 presidential campaign gathers steam with Mr
\nAbubakar amongst the front-runners.<\/p>\n

The pronouncement comes barely two weeks after Mr Abubakar declared his
\nintention to run for president, touting his pro-business credentials and
\nlambasting President Muhammadu Buhari for his handling of the country\u2019s
\nsecurity situation.<\/p>\n

Before then, the former vice president, who has unsuccessfully run for the
\ntop office multiple times, spent the past few months criss-crossing the
\ncountry as part of a strategy aimed at broadening his appeal amongst
\npoliticians and the electorate.<\/p>\n

It also comes a little over a month after the two met at an event in Abuja
\nand shook each other\u2019s hands before photographers, days after reports said
\nMr Obasanjo was under pressure to back Mr Abubakar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not have personal grudges with anyone,\u201d Mr Obasanjo said. \u201cIf you do
\nnot do well for Nigeria, you do not do well for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not a question of working with or not working with an individual,\u201d
\nhe said. \u201cIf you are working for the good of Nigeria, I am working with
\nyou. If you are not working for the good of Nigeria it does not matter who
\nyou are I am not working with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

In making his position clear on Mr Abubakar ahead of the presidential
\nprimaries in October, Mr Obasanjo has put to rest several months of
\nspeculation about whether he would soften his borderline disposition to
\nhis former vice president of eight years.
\nSettling old scores<\/p>\n

The disclosure also exposed a fundamental fracture between Mr Obasanjo,
\nwho seems hell-bent at ensuring that the alleged transgressions of the
\npast were not forgotten, and Mr Abubakar, who now appears in high spirit
\nfor reconciliation.<\/p>\n

The former vice president is locked in a fierce contest for the Peoples
\nDemocratic Party\u2019s presidential ticket with several political bigwigs on
\nthe platform of the major opposition party.<\/p>\n

The ever-broadening field already includes Rabiu Kwankwaso, Sule Lamido,
\nAhmed Makarfi and Taminu Turaki. While some of these politicians are
\nalready capable of challenging Mr Abubakar for the ticket, the recent
\naddition of Senate President Bukola Saraki and Governor Aminu Tambuwal,
\nboth of whom are being rumoured as equally running for president, could
\nfurther complicate Mr Abubakar\u2019s chances.<\/p>\n

Mr Obasanjo did not specifically say whom he would back for the PDP
\nticket. Already, the African Democratic Party, with which he now publicly
\nidentifies, has entered into an alliance that would see it and over 30
\nother political parties present a joint presidential ticket with the PDP..<\/p>\n

After the former president said he would not support President Muhammadu
\nBuhari for a second term, widespread conclusion had been that he would
\nback anyone presented as the major challenger, even if this turned out to
\nbe Mr Abubakar.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of you do not understand the way I operate,\u201d Mr Obasanjo said. \u201cAnd
\nI thought your own paper will understand better.\u201d
\n\u201cI know Atiku very well. And I have mentioned my position with Atiku. My
\nposition has not changed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On a personal note, he added, \u201cIf my children are getting married, he has
\nsent representatives. If his children are getting married, I have sent
\nrepresentatives. That is social. That is not political.<\/p>\n

But \u201con political ground, my position has not changed. If I support Atiku
\nfor a political office other than the one I supported him in the past when
\nI did not know him,\u201d maybe, but not \u201cnow that I know him, God will not
\nforgive me.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Mr Abubakar did not provide a response to Mr Obasanjo\u2019s
\nstatement when reached for comments Friday night, indicating that the
\ncampaign was likely going to ignore the former president rather than
\nengage him openly.<\/p>\n

Mr Obasanjo did not offer further remarks on his grouse with Mr Abubakar,
\nbut he had repeatedly complained of his former right-hand man\u2019s alleged
\nsharp practices.<\/p>\n

Mr Obasanjo, 81, tapped Mr Abubakar as his running mate in 1999, and both
\nwent on to rule Nigeria until 2007. The pair started on a good note for
\nNigeria\u2019s democracy, working together to dismantle the statist political
\neconomy imposed by successive military administrations for more liberal
\neconomic policies.<\/p>\n

Mr Obasanjo trusted Mr Abubakar with key government initiatives, placing
\nhim in charge of the National Council on Privatisation to midwife the sale
\nof federal assets which were not only dysfunctional at the time but fast
\nbecoming white elephants draining national resources.<\/p>\n

But years into the administration, Mr Obasanjo started accusing Mr
\nAbubakar of corruption, and at a point, set up a panel to probe his
\ndeputy. aAnti-graft detectives allegedly came up with damning dossiers
\nthat linked his lieutenant to a slew of financial misdeeds.<\/p>\n

When United States authorities commenced investigation into the infamous
\niGate scandal, Mr Obasanjo asked Nigerian anti-corruption agencies to
\ncooperate fully with their counterparts from America.<\/p>\n

The F.B.I. accused Nigerian and American officials of running a bribery
\nracket in the award of a broadband project to expand Internet coverage in
\nNigeria in the mid-2000s.<\/p>\n

Specifically, Mr Abubakar was said to have received kickbacks for his role
\nin helping iGate, an American firm, secure the contract. Williams
\nJefferson, an American politician who was a member of the U.S. Congress at
\nthe time, was identified as a political associate of Mr Abubakar with whom
\nthe Nigerian leader allegedly connived to inflate the contract and get
\nillicit payouts for seeing it through.<\/p>\n

It was further reported that the infamous $100,000 cash which
\ninvestigators found in Mr Jefferson\u2019s refrigerator was intended as parts
\nof the bribes to be paid out to Mr Abubakar. Mr Abubakar strongly denied
\nties to the fraud.
\nMr Jefferson was convicted on 11 out of 16 counts of criminal charges
\nfiled against him in 2009 and sentenced to jail shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n

But Mr Abubakar was never arraigned, much less convicted of any crime.
\nDuring Mr Jefferson\u2019s trial, prosecutors failed to prove him guilty of
\nallegations of bribing foreign officials, which meant that there was no
\nevidence to link Mr Abubakar to the $100,000 bribe.<\/p>\n

Still, the claims that Mr Abubakar was involved in the bribery remained
\nwidespread. They were also largely linked to the mystery surrounding the
\nformer vice president\u2019s ability to travel to the U.S., which was perhaps
\nthe biggest of his alleged political baggage until the position of Mr
\nObasanjo.<\/p>\n

Mr Abubakar strongly denied having any questions to answer in the U.S.,
\nand repeatedly said he applied for U.S. visa but was not granted. The U.S.
\nEmbassy in Abuja often declines comments on visa matters involving Mr
\nAbubakar.<\/p>\n

Mr Obasanjo, whose two terms were on the platform of the PDP, has since
\nbecome estranged from the party. In 2015, he abandoned former President
\nGoodluck Jonathan and threw his support for Mr Buhari, after years of
\ntension over which direction held better promise for the country\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

Although Mr Obasanjo said he regretted supporting Mr Buhari, and now said
\nhe would work to ease him out of office in 2019. He also wrote a public
\nletter aimed at the president in January, urging him not to run for
\nreelection and or risk being disgraced out of office.<\/p>\n

Yet, he felt that Mr Abubakar would not be appropriate as his stand-in
\ncandidate next February.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Jonathan had performed, we would not have had Buhari,\u201d Mr Obasanjo said.
\nMounting vulnerabilities<\/p>\n

Mr Abubakar defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress last
\nNovember. It would be his third time of leaving a political party in a
\nquest to actualise his presidential ambition which began in 1992.<\/p>\n

He contested against Moshood Abiola for the Social Democratic Party\u2019s
\nticket in the 1993 elections, but said he stepped down for the late
\nbusiness mogul after being pressured to do so.<\/p>\n

After completing his two terms as vice-president under the PDP, Mr
\nAbubakar moved to then-newly-formed Action Congress after it became clear
\nthat Mr Obasanjo will not tip him as his successor.<\/p>\n

He won the ticket of the AC, now defunct, but lost to Umar Yar\u2019Adua in the
\n2007 presidential polls. He later returned to the PDP, in time for his
\ndisclosure of interest in the then-ruling party\u2019s presidential ticket for
\nthe 2011 elections. He was, however, beaten to this by Mr Jonathan, whose
\nstatus as acting-president following the death of Mr Yar\u2019Adua in May 2010
\nplaced him in a better position to use the party\u2019s machinery to his
\nadvantage.<\/p>\n

In 2014, Mr Abubakar again abandoned the PDP and joined the APC, which was
\na merger of at least four political parties. He vied for the party\u2019s
\nticket and lost to Mr Buhari at the December 2014 convention in Lagos.
\nMr Abubakar made his way back to the PDP in November 2017, after it became
\nclear to him that Mr Buhari would seek re-election and he would be
\ndifficult to stop him as an incumbent.<\/p>\n

Mr Abubakar\u2019s apparent inconsistencies, the raging controversy around his
\nU.S. visa status and now the unambiguous position of Mr Obasanjo could all
\nmake for a devastating political cocktail, said political analyst Gbola
\nOba.
\nMr Oba said the short term consequence of Mr Obasanjo\u2019s comments is
\ntwo-fold: \u201cOne, he is now vulnerable to easy shots from those contesting
\nthe primaries with him. And secondly, there would be genuine fears amongst
\nthe kingmakers within his party that Mr Obasanjo might work actively
\nagainst the PDP if Mr Atiku gets the ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Oba, chief executive at Automedics in Lagos, said Mr Obasanjo\u2019s
\nstatement was not entirely surprising.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you have offended him, you can never get rehabilitated to the point
\nthat he will like you again,\u201d Mr Oba said, implying that the former
\npresident is vindictive. \u201cAtiku is politically dead if Obasanjo is still
\naround.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Oba expressed strong doubts that Mr Obasanjo\u2019s reasons for not
\nsupporting Mr Abubakar was strictly based on alleged corrupt personality
\ntraits.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was because of what Atiku put him through in 2003 when governors said
\nthey did not want Obasanjo to return as president,\u201d Mr Oba said. \u201cOnce
\nAtiku accepted the pleas of his boss at the time, many concluded that his
\nfuture in politics would be very tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Nobel laurete, Wole Soyinka, said Mr Obasanjo \u201cknelt down\u201d Mr
\nAbubakar in 2003 to clinch the ticket of the PDP.<\/p>\n

Speaking during the presentation of his new book in Lagos, Mr Soyinka was
\nquoted by The Nation as saying he warned Mr Abubakar that he would pay a
\nheavy price.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore the PDP primaries in January 2003, Obasanjo got everyone he knew
\ncould reach me on the surface on the earth including Yemi Ogunbiyi and my
\nson, to get me to help him intercede when it was clear that (Abubakar)
\nAtiku was in a position to take his job. He knew Atiku had a lot of regard
\nfor me and calls me \u2018Uncle\u2019\u201d The Nation reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pressure was intense. Of course, I could not have knelt before Atiku
\nnot to embark on a course of action that would lead to his boss\u2019 disgrace.
\nBut I can confirm to you that Obasanjo as president knelt down before
\nAtiku so that he would not lose his job.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I warned Atiku that for making Obasanjo to kneel down for you, be
\nsure you would have to pay heavily for that. I guess my warning came to
\npass if you remember Atiku\u2019s dramatic change of fortune once Obasanjo was
\nsworn in for a second term of office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Mr Oba said Mr Abubakar may continue his campaign, but should be
\nready to swim against the tide where Mr Obasanjo is concerned.
\n\u201cHe should not see Obasanjo as a complimentary force in any way, shape or
\nform,\u201d the analyst said.<\/p>\n

Mr Oba described Mr Atiku as \u201cone of the very few characters who are
\nwell-resourced to play the game on the field of play now,\u201d because to be a
\npresident of Nigeria now, \u201cyou need a minimum of between $1.5 billion and
\n$2 billion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Abubakar is seen as a favourite for his vast wealth. A former Customs
\nofficer, former vice president has investments in agriculture, education,
\nlogistics and even fast-food businesses.<\/p>\n

While he is expected to mouth these credentials throughout the campaign,
\nhis major policy thrust is rooted in the urgent needs to restructure the
\ncountry. He has since taken the message of restructuring to Nigeria\u2019s
\ninner corners, describing the current federal system as unitary and
\nvirtually unworkable.<\/p>\n

At a time of heavy sentiment and growing distrust against the federal
\nstructure, which critics say concentrates power at the centre to the
\ndetriment of a larger, diverse population, Mr Abubakar\u2019s campaign said his
\nmessage was resonating greatly amongst Nigerians. But how far he would be
\nable to go would depend on which support he gets and at what price,
\nanalysts said.<\/p>\n

Although Mr Obasanjo currently holds no position in the PDP, his contacts
\nwithin the party are still widely deemed deep enough to influence
\ndecisions. The former president has been courted extensively in recent
\nweeks, and the party\u2019s leadership is still said to be keen on getting his
\nsupport in regaining its lost political fortunes.<\/p>\n

Only three weeks ago, PDP Chairman Uche Secondus led other party stalwarts
\nto hold talks with Mr Obasanjo at his residence in Abeokuta.<\/p>\n

But next year\u2019s presidential ticket would be won largely by a candidate\u2019s
\nability to convince the delegates than the domineering influence of a
\npolitician, said PDP\u2019s spokesperson Kola Ologbondiyan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be a convention and there will be statutory candidates elected
\nfrom all the local government areas in the country,\u201d Mr Ologbondiyan told
\nPREMIUM TIMES by telephone Friday night. \u201cIt is those who would
\nparticipate in the election that the delegates would vote for, and there
\nwould be no internal or external influence.\u201d<\/p>\n

A backhanded compliment<\/p>\n

Before wrapping up his exchanges with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Obasanjo weighed
\nin on Mr Abubakar\u2019s campaign. The former vice president appointed Gbenga
\nDaniel as campaign director at the end of May, becoming the first of PDP\u2019s
\npresidential candidate to fully form a campaign structure.<\/p>\n

But the former Ogun State governor also has a history with Mr Obasanjo.
\n\u201cAs for Gbenga Daniel, they are birds of the same feather\u201d with Mr Atiku,
\nhe said. Mr Daniel had an open confrontation with Mr Obasanjo over the
\n2011 governorship ticket in Ogun State. As Mr Daniel wound down his two
\nterms, Mr Obasanjo favoured Tunji Olurin, one of his long-term associates,
\na proposal Mr Daniel rejected, according to those familiar with the feud.<\/p>\n

Although Mr Obasanjo had his way, as Mr Olurin got the PDP\u2019s ticket in the
\nelection, he strongly believed that the PDP would have defeated Ibikunle
\nAmosun had Mr Daniel not supported Gboyeka Isiaka in Peoples Party of
\nNigeria, using his power of incumbent to split potential PDP votes in the
\nthree-way race.<\/p>\n

Both Mr Daniel and his spokesperson declined PREMIUM TIMES\u2019 requests for
\ncomments between Friday night and Saturday morning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said on Friday that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar should not count on him for support in his latest bid to actualise his life-long ambition of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\nGod will never forgive me if I support Atiku for president \u2014 Obasanjo - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/god-will-never-forgive-me-if-i-support-atiku-for-president-obasanjo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"God will never forgive me if I support Atiku for president \u2014 Obasanjo - 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