Former
President Olusegun Obasanjo has
warned President Muhammadu Buhari against participating in the 2019
presidential election. In a strong worded press statement released today, the
former President appealed to the president not to over push his luck or
over tax the patience and endurance of Nigerians, adding that its time for
Buhari to honourably consider a deserved rest.
In
his letter, Obasanjo accused the president of Nepotism. He berated the APC
governors that went to the state house on January 12th to endorse President
Buhari to run for a second term. According to Obasanjo, that act which was
carried out a day after the 75 victims of the Benue herdsmen clash
were given a mass burial, is most unfortunate.
THE
WAY OUT: A CLARION CALL FOR COALITION FOR NIGERIA MOVEMENT
Special
Press Statement By President Olusegun
Obasanjo
Since
we are still in the month of January, it is appropriate to wish all Nigerians
Happy 2018. I am constrained to issue this special statement at this time
considering the situation of the country. Some of you may be asking,
“What has brought about this special occasion of Obasanjo issuing a Special
Statement?” You will be right to ask such a question. But there is a Yoruba
saying that ‘when lice abound in your clothes, your fingernails will never be
dried of blood’. When I was in the village, to make sure that lice die,
you put them between two fingernails and press hard to ensure they die and they
always leave blood stains on the fingernails. To ensure you do not have
blood on your fingernails, you have to ensure that lice are not harboured
anywhere within your vicinity.
The
lice of poor performance in government – poverty, insecurity, poor economic
management, nepotism, gross dereliction of duty, condonation of misdeed – if
not outright encouragement of it, lack of progress and hope for the future,
lack of national cohesion and poor management of internal political dynamics
and widening inequality – are very much with us today.With such lice of general
and specific poor performance and crying poverty with us, our fingers will not
be dry of ‘blood’.
Four
years ago when my PDP card was torn, I made it abundantly clear that I quit
partisan politics for aye but my concern and interest in Nigeria, Africa and
indeed in humanity would not wane. Ever since, I have adhered strictly to
that position. Since that time, I have devoted quality time to the issue
of zero hunger as contained in Goal No. 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals
of the UN. We have set the target that Nigeria with the participating
States in the Zero Hunger Forum should reach Zero Hunger goal by 2025 – five
years earlier than the UN target date. I am involved in the issue of
education in some States and generally in the issue of youth empowerment and
employment. I am involved in all these domestically and altruistically to
give hope and future to the seemingly hopeless and those in despair. I
believe strongly that God has endowed Nigeria so adequately that no Nigerian
should be either in want or in despair.
I
believe in team work and collaborative efforts. At the international
level, we have worked with other world leaders to domicile the apparatus for
monitoring and encouraging socio-economic progress in Africa in our
Presidential Library. The purpose of Africa Progress Group,which is the new
name assumed by Africa Progress Panel (APP),is to point out where, when and
what works need to be done for the progress of Africa separately and
collectively by African leaders and their development partners. I have also
gladly accepted the invitation of the UN Secretary-General to be a member of
his eighteen-member High-Level Board of Advisers on Mediation. There are
other assignments I take up in other fora for Africa and for the international
community. For Africa to move forward, Nigeria must be one of the anchor
countries, if not the leading anchor country. It means that Nigeria must
be good at home to be good outside. No doubt, our situation in the last
decade or so had shown that we are not good enough at home; hence we are
invariably absent at the table that we should be abroad.
All
these led me to take the unusual step of going against my own political Party,
PDP, in the last general election to support the opposite side. I saw
that action as the best option for Nigeria. As it has been revealed in
the last three years or so, that decision and the subsequent collective
decision of Nigerians to vote for a change was the right decision for the nation.
For me, there was nothing personal, it was all in the best interest of Nigeria
and, indeed, in the best interest of Africa and humanity at large. Even
the horse rider then, with whom I maintain very cordial, happy and social
relationship today has come to realise his mistakes and regretted it publicly
and I admire his courage and forthrightness in this regard. He has a role
to play on the sideline for the good of Nigeria, Africa and humanity and I will
see him as a partner in playing such a role nationally and internationally, but
not as a horse rider in Nigeria again.
The
situation that made Nigerians to vote massively to get my brother Jonathan off
the horse is playing itself out again. First, I thought I knew the point
where President Buhari is weak and I spoke and wrote about it even before
Nigerians voted for him and I also did vote for him because at that time it was
a matter of “any option but Jonathan” (aobj). But my letter to President
Jonathan titled: “Before It Is Too Late” was meant for him to act before it was
too late. He ignored it and it was too late for him and those who goaded
him into ignoring the voice of caution. I know that praise-singers and
hired attackers may be raised up against me for verbal or even physical attack
but if I can withstand undeserved imprisonment and was ready to shed my blood
by standing for Nigeria, I will consider no sacrifice too great to make for the
good of Nigeria at any time.No human leader is expected to be personally strong
or self-sufficient in all aspects of governance.
I
knew President Buhari before he became President and said that he is weak in
the knowledge and understanding of the economy but I thought that he could make
use of good Nigerians in that area that could help. Although, I know that
you cannot give what you don’t have and that economy does not obey military
order. You have to give it what it takes in the short-, medium- and
long-term. Then, it would move. I know his weakness in understanding and
playing in the foreign affairs sector and again, there are many Nigerians that
could be used in that area as well.They have knowledge and experience that
could be deployed for the good of Nigeria. There were serious allegations
of round-tripping against some inner caucus of the Presidency which would seem
to have been condoned. I wonder if such actions do not amount to
corruption and financial crime, then what is it? Culture of condonation
and turning blind eye will cover up rather than clean up. And going to
justice must be with clean hands.
I
thought President Buhari would fight corruption and insurgency and he must be
given some credit for his achievement so far in these two areas although it is
not yet uhuru!
The
herdsmen/crop farmers issue is being wittingly or unwittingly allowed to turn
sour and messy. It is no credit to the Federal Government that the
herdsmen rampage continues with careless abandon and without finding an
effective solution to it. And it is a sad symptom of insensitivity and
callousness that some Governors, a day after 73 victims were being buried in a
mass grave in Benue State without condolence, were jubilantly endorsing
President Buhari for a second term! The timing was most
unfortunate. The issue of herdsmen/crop farmers dichotomy should not be
left on the political platform of blame game; the Federal Government must take
the lead in bringing about solution that protects life and properties of
herdsmen and crop farmers alike and for them to live amicably in the same
community.
But
there are three other areas where President Buhari has come out more glaringly
than most of us thought we knew about him. One is nepotic
deployment bordering on clannishness and inability to bring discipline
to bear on errant members of his nepotic court. This has grave
consequences on performance of his government to the detriment of the
nation. It would appear that national interest was being sacrificed on
the altar of nepotic interest. What does one make of a case like that of
Maina: collusion, condonation, ineptitude, incompetence, dereliction of
responsibility or kinship and friendship on the part of those who should have
taken visible and deterrent disciplinary action? How many similar cases
are buried, ignored or covered up and not yet in the glare of the media and the
public? The second is his poor understanding of the dynamics of
internal politics. This has led to wittingly or unwittingly making
the nation more divided and inequality has widened and become more
pronounced. It also has effect on general national security. The
third is passing the buck. For instance, blaming the Governor of the
Central Bank for devaluation of the naira by 70% or so and blaming past
governments for it, is to say the least,not accepting one’s own
responsibility. Let nobody deceive us, economy feeds on politics and
because our politics is depressing, our economy is even more depressing
today. If things were good, President Buhari would not need to come
in. He was voted to fix things that were bad and not engage in the blame
game. Our Constitution is very clear, one of the cardinal
responsibilities of the President is the management of the economy of which the
value of the naira forms an integral part. Kinship and friendship that place
responsibility for governance in the hands of the unelected can only be
deleterious to good government and to the nation.
President
Buhari’s illness called for the sympathy, understanding, prayer and patience
from every sane Nigerian. It is part of our culture. Most Nigerians
prayed for him while he was away sick in London for over hundred days and he
gave his Deputy sufficient leeway to carry on in his absence. We all thanked
God for President Buhari for coming back reasonably hale and hearty and
progressing well in his recovery.But whatever may be the state of President
Buhari’s health today, he should neither over-push his luck nor over-tax the
patience and tolerance of Nigerians for him, no matter what his self-serving,
so-called advisers, who would claim that they love him more than God loves him
and that without him, there would be no Nigeria say.President Buhari needs a
dignified and honourable dismount from the horse. He needs to have time to
reflect, refurbish physically and recoup and after appropriate rest, once
again, join the stock of Nigerian leaders whose experience, influence, wisdom
and outreach can be deployed on the sideline for the good of the country.
His place in history is already assured. Without impaired health and
strain of age, running the affairs of Nigeria is a 25/7 affair, not 24/7.
I
only appeal to brother Buhari to consider a deserved rest at this point in time
and at this age. I continue to wish him robust health to enjoy his
retirement from active public service. President Buhari does not
necessarily need to heed my advice. But whether or not he heeds it,
Nigeria needs to move on and move forward.
I
have had occasion in the past to say that the two main political parties – APC
and PDP – were wobbling. I must reiterate that nothing has happened to
convince me otherwise. If anything, I am reinforced in my
conviction. The recent show of PDP must give grave and great concern to
lovers of Nigeria. To claim, as has been credited to the chief kingmaker
of PDP, that for procuring the Supreme Court judgement for his faction of the
Party, he must dictate the tune all the way and this is indeed fraught with
danger. If neither APC nor PDP is a worthy horse to ride to lead Nigeria
at this crucial and critical time, what then do we do? Remember Farooq
Kperogi, an Associate Professor at the Kennesaw State University, Georgia,
United States, calls it “a cruel Hobson’s choice; it’s like a choice
between six and half a dozen, between evil and evil. Any selection or
deflection would be a distinction without a difference.” We cannot just
sit down lamenting and wringing our hands desperately and hopelessly.
I
believe the situation we are in today is akin to what and where we were in at
the beginning of this democratic dispensation in 1999. The nation was
tottering. People became hopeless and saw no bright future in the
horizon. It was all a dark cloud politically, economically and
socially. The price of oil at that time was nine dollars per barrel and
we had a debt overhang of about $35 billion. Most people were confused with
lack of direction in the country. One of the factors that saved the
situation was a near government of national unity that was put in place to
navigate us through the dark cloud. We had almost all hands on
deck. We used people at home and from the diaspora and we navigated through
the dark cloud of those days. At that time, most people were hopelessly
groping in the dark. They saw no choice,neither in the left nor in the
right, and yet we were not bereft of people at home and from the diaspora that
could come together to make Nigeria truly a land flowing with milk and
honey. Where we are is a matter of choice but we can choose differently
to make a necessary and desirable change, once again.
Wherever
I go, I hear Nigerians complaining, murmuring in anguish and anger. But
our anger should not be like the anger of the cripple. We can
collectively save ourselves from the position we find ourselves. It will
not come through self-pity, fruitless complaint or protest but through
constructive and positive engagement and collective action for the good of our
nation and ourselves and our children and their children. We need moral
re-armament and engaging togetherness of people of like-mind and goodwill to
come solidly together to lift Nigeria up. This is no time for trading blames
or embarking on futile argument and neither should we accept untenable excuses
for non-performance. Let us accept that the present administration has
done what it can do to the limit of its ability, aptitude and understanding.
Let the administration and its political party platform agree with the rest of
us that what they have done and what they are capable of doing is not good
enough for us. They have given as best as they have and as best as they
can give. Nigeria deserves and urgently needs better than what
they have given or what we know they are capable of giving. To ask them
to give more will be unrealistic and will only sentence Nigeria to a prison
term of four years if not destroy it beyond the possibility of an early
recovery and substantial growth. Einstein made it clear to us
that doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the height of
folly.Already, Nigerians are committing suicide for the unbearable
socio-economic situation they find themselves in. And yet Nigerians love
life. We must not continue to reinforce failure and hope that all will be
well. It is self-deceit and self-defeat and another aspect of folly.
What
has emerged from the opposition has shown no better promise from their
antecedents. As the leader of that Party for eight years as President of
Nigeria, I can categorically say there is nothing to write home about in their
new team. We have only one choice left to take us out of Egypt to the
promised land. And that is the coalition of the concerned and the
willing – ready for positive and drastic change, progress and involvement.
Change that will give hope and future to all our youth and dignity and full
participation to all our women. Our youth should be empowered to deploy their
ability to learn, innovate and work energetically at ideas and concepts in
which they can make their own original inputs. Youth must be part of the
action today and not relegated to leadership of tomorrow which may never
come. Change that will mean enhancement of living standard and progress
for all. A situation where the elected will accountably govern and every
Nigerian will have equal opportunity not based on kinship and friendship but
based on free citizenship.
Democracy
is sustained and measured not by leaders doing extra-ordinary things,
(invariably, leaders fail to do ordinary things very well), but by citizens
rising up to do ordinary things extra-ordinarily well. Our democracy,
development and progress at this juncture require ordinary citizens of Nigeria
to do the extra-ordinary things of changing the course and direction of our
lackluster performance and development. If leadership fails,
citizens must not fail and there lies the beauty and importance of democracy.
We are challenged by the current situation; we must neither adopt spiritof
cowardice nor timidity let alone impotence but must be sustained by courage,
determination and commitment to say and do and to persist until we achieve
upliftment for Nigeria. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and we believe
that our venturing will not be in vain. God of Nigeria has endowed this
country adequately and our non-performance cannot be blamed on God but on
leadership. God, who has given us what we need and which is potentially
there, will give us leadership enablement to actualize our potentiality.
The
development and modernization of our country and society must be anchored and
sustained on dynamic Nigerian culture, enduring values and an enchanting
Nigerian dream. We must have abiding faith in our country and its role
and place within the comity of nations.Today, Nigeria needs all hands on
deck. All hands of men and women of goodwill must be on deck. We
need all hands to move our country forward.
We
need a Coalition for Nigeria, CN.Such
a Movement at this juncture needs not be a political party but one to
which all well-meaning Nigerians can belong. That Movement must be a
coalition for democracy, good governance, social and economic well-being and
progress. Coalition to salvage and redeem our country. You can
count me with such a Movement. Last time, we asked, prayed and worked for
change and God granted our request. This time, we must ask, pray and work
for change with unity, security and progress. And God will
again grant us. Of course, nothing should stop such a Movement from
satisfying conditions for fielding candidates for elections. But if at
any stage the Movement wishes to metamorphose into candidate-sponsoring
Movement for elections, I will bow out of the Movement because I will continue
to maintain my non-partisan position. Coalition for Nigeria must have its
headquarters in Abuja.
This
Coalition for Nigeria will be a Movement that will drive Nigeria up and
forward. It must have a pride of place for all Nigerians, particularly
for our youth and our women. It is a
coalition of hope for all Nigerians for speedy, quality and equal development,
security, unity, prosperity and progress. It is a coalition to banish
poverty, insecurity and despair.Our country must not be oblivious to concomitant
danger around, outside and ahead. Coalition for Nigeria must be a
Movement to break new ground in building a united country, a socially-cohesive
and moderately prosperous society with equity, equality of opportunity, justice
and a dynamic and progressive economy that is self-reliant and takes active
part in global division of labour and international decision-making.
The
Movement must work out the path of development and the trajectory of
development in speed, quality and equality in the short- medium- and long-term
for Nigeria on the basis of sustainability, stability, predictability,
credibility, security, cooperation and prosperity with diminishing inequality.
What is called for is love, commitment and interest in our country, not in
self, friends and kinship alone but particularly love, compassion and interest
in the poor, underprivileged and downtrodden. It is our human duty and
responsibility so to do. Failure to do this will amount to a sin against
God and a crime against humanity.
Some
may ask, what does Obasanjo want again? Obasanjo has wanted nothing other
than the best for Nigeria and Nigerians and he will continue to want nothing
less. And if we have the best, we will be contented whether where we live
is described as palaces or huts by others and we will always give thanks to
God.
I,
therefore,will gladly join such a Movement when one is established as Coalition
for Nigeria, CN, taking Nigeria to the height God has created it to be.
From now on, the Nigeria eagle must continue to soar and fly high. CN, as
a Movement, will be new, green, transparent and must remain clean and always
active, selflessly so. Members must be ready to make sacrifice for the
nation and pay the price of being pioneers and good Nigerians for our country
to play the God-assigned role for itself, for its neighbours, for its
sub-region of West Africa, for its continent and for humanity in general.
For me, the strength and sustainable success of CN will derive largely from the
strong commitment of a population that is constantly mobilized to the rallying
platform of the fact that going forward together is our best option for
building a nation that will occupy its deserved place in the global
community. May God continue to lead, guide and protect us. Amen.
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