Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, on Thursday said countries across the African continent are happy over the outcome of the presidential election in Nigeria, which saw the defeat of incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.
Mr. Obasanjo said his checks in a number of African countries suggested they were as happy over the result of the election as majority of Nigerians are.
He referred to President Goodluck Jonathan as a moving train who was providentially stopped from collapsing Nigeria.
“I have visited six countries since the election, they are as happy about the results as we are in Nigeria. It is good not only for Nigeria, it is good for Africa and I believe it is good for the world.”
Mr. Obasanjo, who led the African Union Observation Mission to the April 2015 General Election in Sudan, spoke on Thursday at a Washington DC event.
The former president described Nigeria as a country that obsessively plays “a dangerous game of moving close to the precipice”.
He said the country came close to disintegration in the run-up to the 2015 elections but switched swiftly to the path of redemption after the polls.
“I hope we will not fall over one of these days,” he said.
He said one month to the election, no one believed “we will have a peaceful election that is reasonably free and fair.”
Describing his role in the election as that of a person standing on the track of a moving train, the former president said during the countdown to the elections, he faced the option of “jumping off” the tracks or “be crushed” if the train did not providentially get “derailed and stop.”
He said he did not jump and was not crushed adding that “at every stage, there must be leaders imbued with sufficient courage and will to stand firm when you have to stand firm.”
He described the results of the elections as what Nigerians “deserve” though some Nigerians “did not want it”.
Mr. Obasanjo was the featured speaker at the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) event titled What is Right with Africa: Reframing Africa’s Leadership Challenges.
He made these remarks in response to a question by Princeton Lyman, a former ambassador to Nigeria.
Mr. Obasanjo observed that Nigeria’s tendency to flirt with near-death experiences stretches back to colonial times when it almost cost the country the chance of gaining political independence from Britain.
Recalling colonial-era disagreements over self-rule, the former President said at a stage, advocates of self-rule from the Eastern and Western Regions decided to “let the North go” since their leaders were reluctant to accept regional autonomy back then.
“But reason prevailed,” he said, “East and West got internal autonomy in 1957, North got same in 1959 and the whole country got independence in 1960.”
Listing the 1964 post-election violence in the south west and the 1966 coup d’etats which led to “pogrom and civil war” as other self-destructive phases in the country’s history, the former president remarked that Nigeria emerged from all of these as “one entity” in spite of contrarian speculations.
“Not only did we survive the civil war but, within nine years, somebody from the rebel side, as we called them, and somebody from the vandal side, as they called us, became president and vice-president of Nigeria. Not many countries achieve that,” he said.
President Obasanjo described the 2015 election as “almost in the same category” as other near-death experiences in Nigeria’s history.
He said one month to the election, no one believed “we will have a peaceful election that is reasonably free and fair.”
“I think we are now building institutions that can withstand what we may see as danger to good governance in Africa. The election has moved Nigeria one very important step up in our democratic dispensation, process and practice.” Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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That is why I like u Baba.anything that will derail Nigeria. U will dis own it.even u will make noise..keep it up.it is the wish of the young one to behave like an old one but the age will not permit.. Thanks Baba
ReplyDeleteYou like a immoral man who has no moral values? In any civilised country he would be in prison for treason, embezzlement, sex offences etc. In Nigeria he is a statesman.
DeleteThe hatred this man has for Jonathan knows no boundary Never in his speech did he acknowledge the role Jonathan played in the peaceful end of the election
ReplyDeleteMy prayer is that you live long to see the country and don't forget to recognise the international awards that will be given to Jonathan for his role in the peaceful election
Obj is a monkey
DeleteObasanjo is obsessed with himself and a messianic complex. People like Oyediran Abraham are the ones who have given him that impetus and now he sees himself as a messiah or the best thing to have come out of Nigeria. That is why he has never acknowledged MKO Abiola since he became President in 1999 even though he was the direct beneficiary of Abiola's mandate. The man who is speaking almost derailed the country and plunged Nigeria into crisis with his evil 3rd term ambition and never held a free and fair election while in power. So let's not claim that he will disown anything that will derail Nigeria. He is just a sycophant with an excessive ego and a compulsive desire to control people and have the last word. That's why he never obeyed court orders and wanted to always decide who would head the legislative chambers even impeaching those who were not his choice or who dared hold him to account.
ReplyDeleteThe worst gift God gave Nigeria is OBJ.
ReplyDeleteInternational award for my shit ?
ReplyDeleteI wonder why some people celebrate a man as dementia like obasanjo.
ReplyDeleteBaba is a hypocrite, pure and simple. See who is critizing someone. Can he in all honesty compare his regime of do and die with Jonathan? Baba never conducted one single free and fair election under his eight year mis rule. All he wanted was naked power and its abuse.
ReplyDeleteWho made that free and fair election possible? This baboon of a man won't let sleeping dog lie? You have achieved your aim of redeeming your image with the Hausa/Fulani after you duped them by installing a terminally ill Yaradua as president. There's God on the throne and he rewards everyone according to his/her deeds. Be prepared for the final hatred and derision when a similar thing happens to your current candidate and your kinsman is the beneficiary. There won't be Jonathan for you to hate on then.
ReplyDeleteIf this man had conducted a credible electn like GEJ in his time. He would've never had won any elecn in his time. The man that was defeated by AD in his own GPzone where else will he had won.
ReplyDeleteNigeria is bigger than any one of us. So, we should learn to live above this acrimony n negative sentiments cos of personal gains. Oga, pls try n learn from the likes of Gowon.
May God bless Nigeria.
OBJ is an insider when it comes to power play in Nigeria and a force to reckon with in international relation. He has more information than we can imagine. His non-recognition of the "role played by GEJ in the peaceful election" may be as a result of information at his disposal. Future events will unfold those information. Lets keep watch.
ReplyDeleteBaboon was talking.
ReplyDeleteMost of the comments here condemning OBJ are from ignorant and stupid armchair analysts.You are the people who vote for bags of rice ,instead of for sanity of Nigeria. Who did NOTHING to rescue nearly 300 girls? ---GEJ--if those girls were your sisters--would you vote for GEJ or a former military man who can safeguard more security? Wake up and SEE BETTER.When Buhari and Prof Tam David West were ministers of petroleum--they stole NOTHING--with GED--billions are GONE because he put his former girlfriends in the positions to messup--remember Oduah--aviation too---think!
ReplyDeleteObasanjo my foot .OBJ my ass.
ReplyDeleteThe monkey of a person, OBJ is always looking for who can be subservient to him to ride on like a donkey.
ReplyDeleteHear a monkey whose government was the most corrupt. Almost all the state governors embezzled their states funds then. But established the EFCC to pursue his enemies and not the corrupt officials. This is a cow who wanted to make himself a life president in Nigeria indeed a kettle calling a pot black. If it were OBJ would he have conceded the defeat? There were lot of killings in his government. Harry Marshal and a host of others were killed and the then IGP Tafa covered them up as robbery or whatever. A minister of Justice Bola Ige was killed by OBJ's government because he never allowed the baboon to control him like a donkey. The investigation never saw the light of the day. I met the people presented as killers of Marshall in Abuja. They were from Agenegbode in Edo state. They confided in me after the removal of Tafa Balogun that they were paid to admit killing marshal in a robbery attack. Has anyone heard the end of it till today?
OBJ should better let GEJ be. GEJ saved Nigeria from a lot of crisis that can't be quantified.
baboon in action speaking. heir fire is waiting for some people if baboon caliber.
ReplyDelete