Re: Obasanjo’s letter to Jonathan

That letter, every patriotic citizen must agree, summarises Jonathan’s administration in content and character. His regime is a marvel of transgression. In fact, we have long told them that this government is empty and does not mean well for the country.Expectedly, Reuben Abati, his spokesman will attempt to defend his principal with all sorts of […]

That letter, every patriotic citizen must agree, summarises Jonathan’s administration in content and character. His regime is a marvel of transgression. In fact, we have long told them that this government is empty and does not mean well for the country.
Expectedly, Reuben Abati, his spokesman will attempt to defend his principal with all sorts of lies, but truly concerned Nigerians won’t listen to him.  But as patriotic as Obasanjo’s letter appears, a lot of people are wondering where this spirit of patriotism was when he sat over the affairs of this country with visible mercilessness for eight years. While that regime lasted, the former president probably never imagined that a day would come when the genie he planted in his kitchen would spring up and give every family member the run of their lives.
We have not forgotten that it was from these five positions that you foisted President Jonathan on this country. In fact, Jonathan is Obasanjo’s legacy, so he will live with this reality till the day he dies. In that letter, Obasanjo claimed that God made Jonathan president through him. But the truth is that God did not make Jonathan Nigeria’s president; General Obasanjo did.
What moral rectitude does the former president have to accuse Jonathan of corruption? This is the height of hypocrisy.  Interestingly, Obasanjo was the one who constituted a joint task force in 2006, which listed Goodluck Jonathan amongst candidates for prosecution on the ground of false declaration of assets. That task force, which comprised of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), was headed by his chairman of the EFCC, Malam Nuhu Ribadu. Irrespective of the fact that Jonathan was indicted in their report Obasanjo went ahead to force him on Nigerians as president. So who is the problem? The leopard which is unable to change its spots or the man who didn’t like the spots but still opted for the leopard in a contest where only the zebra was good enough?
If the truth must be told, the former president must agree that the choice of Yar’Adua and Jonathan was in his best interest. It is also laughable that Obasanjo mentioned the word, “honour’’ in his letter. Is he qualified to accuse anybody of lacking in honour? How honorable is it to attempt to tinker with the country’s constitution for selfish reasons? The former president has obviously forgotten that Nigerians know how he desperately pursued a third term agenda. A lot of people were even forced out of the ruling party because they did not support his third term agenda. We have also not forgotten how legislators were bribed to support that evil agenda.
Obasanjo also wrote about crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and how the president fuels it. Well, he is right. For self-serving interests, Jonathan has factionalised the party. But I think he learnt that from the general. It is still fresh in our memories how Audu Ogbeh was forced out of the party, even as national chairman. Ogbeh resigned at gunpoint in his house. And what was his offence?  He wrote a letter seeking your intervention – in your capacity as the party leader – in the political crisis that engulfed one of your PDP states. A group of people had kidnapped the then governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige and had taken over the Government House. Obasanjo supported that illegality and persecuted those who spoke against it. Is it therefore not clear that Jonathan learnt the act of polarising a political party from the former president?  
Furthermore, Obasanjo equally enjoyed a substantial dose of sycophancy. Nigerians have not forgotten how Ojo Maduekwe, who worked tirelessly to make the late General Sani Abacha a life president, also worked for Obasanjo’s selfish interests. In fact, he became his confidant.  With that kind of character in his government, we can now understand how the former president loves Nigeria and her citizens.
It is also true that President Jonathan has not risen beyond ethnicity. Even in this case, Obasanjo is still to blame for forcing a man who was not prepared for national service on the country. Jonathan never aspired to serve at the national level, and this is manifesting in his style of governance. Though the former president is a nationalist, he did not want a nationalist to succeed him. He preferred puppets and he got one.
Finally, in the letter, he wrote, “I have passed the stage of being flattered, intimidated, threatened, frightened, induced or bought… Death is the end of all human beings, and may it come when God wills it to come.” If he had abided by this philosophy while he reigned, I doubt if we would be where we are today.  Obasanjo had the opportunity to put this country on the right pedestal, but he didn’t, so why is he looking for someone else to blame? Nigerians are wiser than the former president thinks. May God help us!  
 Chinedu  Ekeke wrote from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).