Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president, appears to have abandoned his position as a nonpartisan elder statesman in order to start campaigning for Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate.
Up until this point, the former president had claimed that he had evolved into an elder statesman who should now be regarded as a father and mentor to everyone, regardless of their party allegiances.
Actually, practically all of the important presidential candidates in Nigeria have stayed at Obasanjo’s Penthouse apartment in the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library.
Numerous Asiwaju Bola Tinubu followers reportedly beat on drums when he visited Obasanjo in August, according to kuryaloaded. They were photographed entering a secret room for confidential discussions, which many believed to be the end of the competition between the two political leaders.
Following the visit, it was reported that Obasanjo had promised Tinubu victory, according to House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila. The former president’s description of Tinubu as a super politician was also reported.
Obasanjo quickly responded, though, and refuted any suggestion that he had endorsed Tinubu or described him as a superpolitician.
“Those claiming to be insiders at the meeting publishing statements on the conversation and those crediting me with statements I had not made are adversaries of the visitor and are not doing the visit any good,” the speaker asserted.
Obasanjo stated that, at Tinubu’s request, he “agreed to no statement from either side,” calling their encounter “more brotherly than political.”
Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and other political figures were also hosted at the Balogun Owu last year. Everyone was kept in the dark about what happened between the Ogun-born farmer and his guests because all meetings were held in secret. It is unclear if Obasanjo told Atiku, Tinubu, and other leaders that he would disregard them for Peter Obi.
Recall that Obasanjo tore his PDP membership card in the run-up to the 2015 elections to declare that he would no longer be involved in politics but would continue to be a statesman. https://dailypost.ng/2015/02/16/obasanjo-finally-dumps-pdp-tears-partys-card/
But at the time, Obasanjo supported President Muhammadu Buhari as his first choice for the 2015 election. He welcomed Buhari and other APC leaders to his home and traveled to certain marketplaces in Abeokuta to covertly promote Buhari, ditching his party’s former president Goodluck Jonathan.
Within less than two years of Buhari’s first time in power, their relationship reached a snag. Obasanjo turned to letter writing because he was unable to conceal his discontent with the Buhari administration. Obasanjo criticized the Buhari administration in a number of open letters and withdrew his backing.
The elderly man supported Atiku of the PDP in 2019 in an effort to overthrow Buhari, but his backing for Atiku was insufficient to accomplish this.
The nonpartisan senior statesman has taken the initiative in boosting Obi as the 2023 presidential race draws near. Obasanjo appears to be doing everything in his power to make sure Peter Obi succeeds Buhari.
Initially, Obasanjo was spotted giving out Peter Obi memorabilia to the public on Ibogun Day in 2022. Following this, the Balogun Owu came clean in an open letter, claiming that the former governor of Anambra State had an advantage over candidates like Atiku and Tinubu.
He was direct in his criticism of Tinubu’s “emilokan” ambition, warning Nigerian youngsters not to fall for it again or they would only be responsible for their own actions.
The most recent letter from Obasanjo caused a lot of controversy and nearly ignited the political scene as many people criticized the former Nigerian president; perhaps they forgot that he has the freedom to support whoever he chooses.
It remains to be seen where the nonpartisan elder statesman’s support for Obi and his Labour Party will lead them.
