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.
The
record shows that this is not the first time that INEC have postponed
elections. In 2011 during the National Assembly elections INEC not only
cancelled the elections just after they started but they also postponed
them by two weeks. The heavens did not fall then and neither did
President Obasanjo accuse INEC or the President of having any grand plan
to stay in power by hook or by crook at that time. One wonders what has
suddenly changed.
What
INEC has done by postponing the elections is firmly within the confines
of the law and they have probably saved thousands of lives by doing so.
They have also given the 34 per cent of Nigerians that had not
collected their PVC's as at the relevant time the opportunity to do so.
Without this postponement all those people would have been
disenfranchised and it would have placed a dark cloud over the whole
process. Why should President Obasanjo have a problem with that?
President
Jonathan has re-affirmed his commitment to the democratic process over
and over again and he has also said that the handover date of May 29th
is sacrosanct. In view of these assurances, one wonders why President
Obasanjo is creating such a hue and cry over nothing. What is he seeing
that no one else can see? One wonders what his motives are? Does he have
to rule every government by proxy? Must every leader take instructions
from him? Is it a case of ''if I cannot control you and tell you what to
do then you must go?''
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 plan ''stay in power forever
plan'' did not work? If anyone doubts this they should ask President
Alhassan Outtara of La 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 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, President
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 them.
Again
it is ironic that President Obasanjo has accused President Jonathan of
having a grand plan to stay in power at all costs 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.
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 even though at all times he showed
Obasanjo maximum respect and accorded him all the privileges, access and
courtesies that is 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. That is why he is so determined to stop Jonathan and
put in place an Interim Government which he, or one of his surrogates,
will head. That is his plan and he is determined to achieve it no matter
what it takes.
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 costs.
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.
We
continue to hold President 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.
We
sincerely hope that President 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 is God's plan and not even one million Obasanjo's can stop it.
God bless Nigeria.
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