‘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.’
With these words, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in a letter, declared war on the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.
In the 18-page letter entitled ‘Before it is too late’ and addressed to the President, Obasanjo declared that it was unfortunate that Jonathan is not only condoning corruption but supporting it.
He also accused the President of training snipers to deal with those opposed to his 2015 reelection bid.
Insisting that the economy is collapsing, he accused Jonathan of giving presidential backing to a murderer by releasing him.
Insisting that “Nigeria is bleeding and the hemorrhage must be stopped,” Obasanjo, the 5th and 12th Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria, said Jonathan had failed to deliver on his promises to Nigerians.
Obasanjo also accused him of deliberately refusing to stem corruption, promote national unity and strengthen national security.
Obasanjo, the Balogun of Owu, said rather than take steps to advance Nigeria’s interest and upgrade the standard of living of Nigerians, the President is betraying God and the Nigerian people that brought him to power, and has been pursuing selfish personal and political interests based on advice he receives from “self-centred aides”.
“You have become terribly divisive and clannish, destroying your own party, polarising the country along regional and religious lines and ridiculing Nigeria in the comity of nations”.
He also blamed him for the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which led to the exit of some governors, insisting that Jonathan is using the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, for selfish reasons.
“It would be unfair to continue to level full blames on the Chairman (Tukur) for all that goes wrong with the party. The chairman is playing the tune dictated by the paymaster (Jonathan). But the paymaster is acting for a definitive purpose for which deceit and deception seem to be the major ingredients.
“Up till two months ago, Mr. President, you told me that you have not told anybody that you would contest in 2015. I quickly pointed out to you that the signs and the measures on the ground do not tally with your statement. You said the same to one other person who shared his observation with me. And only a fool would believe that statement you made to me, judging by what is going on. I must say it is not ingenious. You may wish to pursue a more credible and more honourable path.”
Obasanjo declared that Jonathan told him he would not contest in 2015 and if he reneges on that, then he is not a man of honour.
“As a leader, two things you must cherish and hold dear among others are trust and honour both of which are important ingredients of character. I will want to see anyone in the Office of the Presidency of Nigeria as a man or woman who can be trusted, a person of honour in his words and character.”
Accusing the President of engaging in anti-party activities by supporting governorship candidates of other parties in Lagos, Ondo, Edo and Anambra states, he said Jonathan’s approach to tackle insecurity challenges would not succeed because it is merely scratching them on the surface.
“Conventional military actions based on standard phases of military operations alone will not permanently and effectively deal with the issue of Boko Haram”.
“For you to allow yourself to be “possessed”, so to say, to the exclusion of most of the rest of Nigerians as an “Ijaw man” is a mistake that should never have been allowed to happen. Yes, you have to be born in one part of Nigeria to be Nigerian if not naturalised but the Nigerian President must be above ethnic factionalism. And those who prop you up as of, and for ‘Ijaw nation’ are not your friends genuinely, not friends of Nigeria nor friends of ‘Ijaw nation’ they tout about.
“To allow or tacitly encourage people of ‘Ijaw nation’ to throw insults on other Nigerians from other parts of the country and threaten fire and brimstone to protect your interest as an Ijaw man is myopic and your not openly quieting them is even more unfortunate”.
Obasanjo, who retired as a General in 1979, accused
accused Jonathan of placing over 1000 Nigerians on political watch list and “training snipers and other armed personnel secretly and clandestinely acquiring weapons to match for political purposes like Abacha and training them where Abacha trained his killers”.
Wondering why a murderer was allowed to evade justice, Obasanjo said: “Presidential assistance for a murderer to evade justice and presidential delegation to welcome him home can only be in bad taste generally but particularly to the family of his victim. Assisting criminals to evade justice cannot be part of the job of the presidency. Or, as it is viewed in some quarters, is he being recruited to do for you what he had done for Abacha in the past? Hopefully, he should have learned his lesson. Let us continue to watch.”
On the $49 billion that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of mismanaging, Obasanjo called on the National Assembly to probe it.
“This allegation will not fly away by non-action, cover-up, denial or bribing possible investigators. Please deal with this allegation transparently and let the truth be known.
“The dramatis personae in this allegation and who they are working for will one day be public knowledge. Those who know are watching if the National Assembly will not be accomplice in the heinous crime and naked grand corruption. May God grant you the grace for, at least, one effective corrective action against high corruption which seems to stink all around you in your government.
“Knowing what happens around you most of which you know of and condone or deny, this letter will proke cacophony from hired and unhired attackers but I will maintain my serenity because by this letter, I have done my duty to you as I have always done, to your government, to the party, PDP, and to our country, Nigeria.
“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.”
