Lamido Reveals Why Obasanjo Was Picked Over Ige, Falae in 1999
Former Jigawa State Governor and ex-National Secretary of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), Sule Lamido, has revealed why former President Olusegun Obasanjo was chosen over Bola Ige, Olu Falae, and Abraham Adesanya ahead of the 1999 elections.
In his autobiography, “Being True to Myself,” launched on May 13, Lamido explained that the decision was made in the interest of national unity.
He noted that Ige, Falae, and Adesanya were not seen as leaders who could unite the country or govern effectively.
He wrote, “The effort then was to support Obasanjo, as the presidential contestant in the PDP. The Yoruba saw through our moves and wanted to ask to be given the choice to nominate one of three possible persons: Chiefs Olu Falae, Bola Ige, or Abraham Adesanya, but none of these could make a fair and effective president in Nigeria.
“We wanted to find a Yoruba Nigerian President; thus, to have a Yoruba man as the Nigerian President, not a president of the Nigerian Yoruba. Some people may today find this funny, but for us, the distinction was quite important at that time. However, we thought that Obasanjo could effectively function as a Yoruba Nigerian President and not president of the Nigerian Yoruba.”
He recalled that several aspirants, including Alex Ekwueme, Abubakar Rimi, and Obasanjo, emerged in the PDP.
According to Lamido, “So many aspirants had emerged in the party, including Alex Ekwueme, Abubakar Rimi, Obasanjo and others. The retired generals in the PDP advised that we should focus on Obasanjo for several reasons. The first of which was that he had won the trust of many Nigerians. Secondly, from among the Yoruba people, he had the profile of a prominent Nigerian.
“Under General Murtala Muhammed’s government, he occupied the position of Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, more like a military prime minister, and he ruled the country immediately after Murtala.”
Lamido further stated that Obasanjo’s credibility was proven in 1979 when he refused to yield to ethnic pressure.
“General Obasanjo, being the Head of the Military Government, simply took the right action by upholding the results of the elections. This came after Chief Awolowo appealed his case, through the judicial system up to the Supreme Court, which upheld the verdict of the Federal Electoral Commission, certified under Mr Ovie Whiskey.
“Giving a Yoruba man the presidential slot was to affirm Obasanjo’s nationalist credentials: he fought the Nigerian civil war and accepted the instrument of surrender from the rebels of Biafra; in the administration of the country, he had worked as deputy to the late General Murtala Mohammed.”
He noted that Obasanjo’s bluntness and political history made him unpopular among Yoruba elites.
“However, he was not the typical Nigerian politician, with his bluntness and. I think the choice of Obasanjo, over their favoured candidates, angered the Yoruba, from their political elite at the top, down to the masses.
“His decision to disregard the raging dispute concerning the interpretation of the twelve and two-thirds victory, the NPN scored in the 1978 election, and hand over power to a non-Yoruba was to them his original sin; the second was that he had compounded this ‘offence’ when he refused to support Chief MKO Abiola’s struggle to reclaim the mandate of the 12th June presidential election.
“Obasanjo and Abiola were both from Abeokuta, but they had been bitter opponents, divided by their individual temperament, ideology, and religion, amongst other notable differences.”
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
