FLASHBACK: Five Times Obasanjo ‘Worshipped’ Buhari Before Embarking On Letter-Writing Spree
One vitriolic letter after another since early last year, Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo has refused to cut Muhammed Buhari, the incumbent President, some slack. These missives are not just well-meaning; they are jeremiad of sorts detailing the seeming failures of the Buhari-led administration. Buhari and his loyalists have not been taking the criticism from the Ota farmer lying down too. Every letter is often met with a rejoinder dripping with an equal measure of bile if not more from Buhari’s camp too.
Yesterday, Obasanjo wrote another condemnatory open letter to Buhari. But it wasn’t always that way between the duo. These are five good remarks Obasanjo made about Buhari before a wedge was driven into their relationship by God-knows-what.
Buhari is a reformed Democrat
Prior to the 2015 general election, Obasanjo who had dramatically torn his membership card of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) disowned Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, his former political son and PDP candidate for the election, to throw his weight behind the candidature of his fellow retired general, Muhammadu Buhari. While making his support for Buhari public, he said: “The circumstances he [Buhari] will be working under if he wins the elections are different from the one he worked under before, where he was both the executive and the legislature — and he knows this very well.” Has Buhari unlearned all the democratic ethos Obasanjo claimed he had learned prior to the 2015 general election? Why does Obasanjo’s keep faulting the democratic credentials of the current administration?
Buhari Is Smart, Educated And Experienced Enough
In the same interview where Obasanjo declared his support public for Buhari, Obasanjo said Buhari has everything it takes to lead the country in terms of smartness, education and experience toward the right direction. He said: “Buhari is smart enough. He is educated enough. He’s experienced enough. Why shouldn’t I support him?” Why, then, does Obasanjo keep questioning the competence of Buhari to retain the No.1 seat in the country letter after letter? Why did he ask him to get people to read and explain the message to him in one of his letters?
He Is A Trained Soldier, I Have Confidence In Him
Obasanjo called Buhari a trained soldier whose word is always his bond prior to 2015 elections. He said: “I have confidence in him. He is a trained soldier.” Has that confidence fizzled out? Has Buhari brought his military training to bear on the security challenge confronting the country? Is this one of the reasons Obasanjo keeps serving him letter after letter or there is more to soured relationship than meets the eye?
Buhari Has Not Disappointed Me, He Has Proven Me Wrong On Foreign Affairs
Barely two years ago Obasanjo said publicly in an interview at his hilltop residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State, that Buhari had not disappointed him and that he even needed to revise his opinion which he expressed about him on foreign affairs in his book ‘MY WATCH’. His words: “Whatever anybody says, President Buhari has not disappointed me from what I know of him.” He continued: “In my book I have said that Buhari is not strong on the economy and I did not write this to run him down. I used to think he is not strong in the area of foreign affairs but I have realised that he has improved very well.” How come Saint Mathew has failed to single this out for commendation in his series of epistles?
Buhari Has Delivered On His Core Areas Of Strength And Ability
Obasanjo claimed in the same interview that Buhari delivered on his core areas of strength, which are, in his words, “particularly in the anti-corruption crusade and the war against insurgency”. How come the old General has never mentioned this in all his missives?
We Should Shun Outright Condemnation
Obasanjo insisted that though Nigeria had not reached the promised land, we should be grateful and not condemn always. “Whatever you might see as bad in Nigeria, other societies have gone through the same at some period in their history,” he said. “It is not for us to begin to condemn but to join hands together and consider how we can make the best out of our present.”
But Obasanjo ever since he started writing his letter has never seen anything praise-worthy about Buhari’s administration. His has been a blanket condemnation of the current administration. Why has he refused to join hands with Buhari like a statesman that he often claims to be and heed the advice he gave sometime ago to work together so as to steer the ship of the state to the promised land? Why can’t he walk into Aso Rock and advise Buhari on the state of the nation rather than writing letters?
Source: Sahara Reporters
