At the launch of his autobiography, ‘’My
Watch’’ former President Obasanjo revealed that some PDP governors were behind
his failed third term project because of what they were to benefit from it.
Obasanjo at the Lagos Country Club
Ikeja Lagos where the book was launched said he was not afraid to tell the
truth. And that all what he wrote in the
book was the truth.
According to him, “People say that it
was obvious that I wanted a third term and I ask those who say I was behind the
third term to bring concrete evidence to prove that I spearheaded it. I have
presented evidence in my book that proves that I was not behind it, even though
I knew about it. Some governors were the ones behind it because they felt the
governors would benefit from it. If people say that it was obvious that I
wanted a third term, they should present concrete evidence to the public that I
am telling a lie. I have evidence to prove that everything I wrote is true and
anyone that feels otherwise should present concrete evidence to prove his
point. “Third term was not my agenda or
intention although I would not say I didn’t know about it. I didn’t mastermind
third term. Those who were telling me to go on were the governors that were going
to benefit from it.”
He also said as a human being, he was
not infallible. And that he sought
several avenues to discuss with President Jonathan on his observations and
positions, but that he resorted to writing letters when all his efforts failed.
On former president Yarádua, Obasanjo
said the former president deceived him.
That he never told him about the seriousness of his health before he was
made the PDP candidate.
He said the late president gave him
the impression that he had overcome his health challenges and that he did not
act responsibly when he became ill. He
said. ‘’In case of Umaru’s illness, it took me by surprise because I had
concluded that all was well, judging from his medical report that I requested
and he submitted to me and the specialist advice I received from it. The report said that once he was off dialysis
it would mean that he had had a transplant or treatment that would cause his
kidney to work normally.
“Before he went to Germany, after
being rushed to the National Hospital in Abuja, he phoned to tell me that he
was going out of the country for medical reasons. What he did not reveal was
the nature of his illness. I, however, became somewhat apprehensive when I
learned that he was placed on dialysis that night. The persistence of the
illness, and the cover up, caused me more apprehension especially when he
abandoned Germany for Saudi Arabia.
I never heard anything from him after
that. The story I heard about his visit to Saudi Arabia was awkward. He did not
inform his deputy as to how to manage things in his absence. Nigeria had no
government in two days— “On arrival in Saudi Arabia he was wheeled into the
Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and for at least forty-eight hours nobody was in communication
with him as far as the governance of Nigeria was concerned.
What it meant was that for that period of
time, Nigeria had no government. What a great pity!
I wanted to know more about the exact
medical condition of Yar’Adua, the president of Nigeria.” I realized that a
number of countries would know for sure; among them would be Germany, the US,
Saudi Arabia, the UK, France, Israel and maybe Russia.
I decided to indirectly check with
the ambassadors of these countries. What I heard did not allay my fears. One
said, ‘Your President is surely not too well’. Another said, ‘We believe he
would be able to cope.’ Both were diplomatic answers, but one was more so than
the other. “At that point, I was left in no doubt that the arrangement made was
shoddy, tardy, unpatriotic, selfish, and reckless. No nation should be left
hanging in such a manner.
Present at the book launch yesterday were prominent figures like former
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Ibidapo Obe, former Minister of
Education and VP of the World Bank, Oby Ezekwesili, Prof. Olu Akinkugbe and
several others.
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