Politics
Obasanjo’s ‘national agenda’ leaves Atiku, Tinubu guessing
By Ori Martins
Victory in politics is obviously denominated by winning strategies and the ability to continuously keeping the other contestants guessing almost perpetually. Erstwhile Nigerian president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, can be described as a grandmaster at both mapping out strategies that keep his opponents at bay and at the same time turn the game in his favour.
Obasanjo’s role in the evolving political chess game toward the 2023 election has left most pundits and political actors uncertain as to where is support lies. All the presidential aspirants seem to have received his endorsement, but his body often conveys a total different message.
His recent meeting in London with both Peter Obi of Labour Party and Governor Nyeson Wike of PDP, shortly after purportedly expressing support for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had set tongues wagging. Also his denial of showing support for Tinubu further compounded the uncertainty.
The PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, was the Ota farmer’s deputy for eight years. On the other hand, the APC candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, hails from the same South West geo- political zone with Obasnajo. Yet, Obasanjo has kept both men with hands in chick pertaining to where his support goes.
Therefore, as the political horse trading, lobbying continue to play out, Obasanjo has, characteristically, proved to be a man with many political fingers on the musical instruments.
At a time most people expected the former Nigerian military head of state to firmly declare his stand for any of the three leading presidential candidates, Obasanjo has rather succeeded in keeping everybody, including his admirers, guessing, wondering the game plot he has up his sleeves.
Though Obasnjo is in the league of eminent Nigerians, who, for about four years now, has been consistently calling for the emergence of Igbo of South East extraction to be elected president of the country, the civil war veteran has yet to publicly anoint the Labour Party candidate, Mr Peter Obi, an Igbo, as his preferred choice in the 2023 presidential election.
After meeting with Obi, following concerns and rumours that Obasanjo would eventually declare his unalloyed and unflinching support for the LP candidate, he shocked all with this apparently nationalistic, but certainly a clearly shadow boxing stance, that he has no special candidate but a national agenda.
Speaking in Minna, Niger State capital during a visit to former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Obasanjo informed journalists who accosted him thus: “I don’t have a special candidate. I have a national agenda.”
“I have come to see my brother who was a bit indisposed and when he was abroad I had wanted to visit him, and the day I arrived in London to visit him was the day he left.”
Obasanjo and Abubakar had a closed-doors meeting of about 30 minutes.
The guessing arithmetic, which political pundits generally refer to as mind game, is playing out very glaringly. This is so because the former president had reportedly had private audiences separately with Tinubu and Obi. Those two meetings took place within two weeks.
After meeting with each of the candidates, he had denied supporting neither of them. Just as Tinubu and his camp were dancing for joy, brandishing Obasanjo’s support and endorsement, he delivered a most deadly punch on them at its most vulnerable fashion and period.
According to Obasanjo, “Tinubu knows that I will be deceiving him if I had told him I am supporting him for the 2023 presidential election. Let me repeat. I am not supporting Tinubu”.
Even the cream de la cream of politicians, who accompanied the former Lagos State governor for the meeting with Obasanjo which was a part of Tinubu’s consultations as he gets set for the 2023 presidential elections, must have been shocked to their marrows on being presented with what the former president said.
On Tinubu’s entourage for the meeting included the Ogun State governor, Mr. Dapo Abiodun, a former interim chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande, former governor of Ogun State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba and the speaker, House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, among APC leaders and allies of the candidate.
Yet, in spite of Obasanjo’s claim that he never promised any support for Tinubu, Gbajabiamila, had covertly noted that the ex Nigerian president threw his weight behind the APC presidential candidate.
“When we were going to Obasanjo’s house, we were eight, including Asiwaju Tinubu and me; we didn’t want many people to know about the meeting. So, we were to meet Obasanjo and five others from his side.
“But when we eventually got there, we met something pleasantly shocking: a mammoth crowd of our supporters were already at the former president’s house waiting for us.
“So, Obasanjo told Asiwaju Tinubu to pick three people from his side and that he would pick three from his side to meet behind closed doors.
“So, I, Chief Osoba and Chief Akande and Asiwaju went from our side. My people, what I heard there, what Obasanjo said, the victory of Asiwaju is assured.”
Following Gbajabiamila’s submission of Obasanjo’s support for Tinubu, a spokesman for the former leader, Kehinde Akinyemi, countered that the interpretations given to his boss’ mannerism and utterances during Tinubu’s was very much misleading.
He made it clear that Obasanjo “is dissatisfied with reports about the meeting. The discussion during the visit was more brotherly than political. Those claiming to be insiders at the meeting issuing statement on the discussion and those crediting to me statement I had not made are enemies of the visitor and are not doing the visit any good.”
En route to the 2019 general elections, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, travelled all the way from Adamawa State in the North East to Abeokuta, Ogun State, to ask his erstwhile boss, Obasanjo, for forgiveness. Obasanjo received Atiku with a red carpet reception.
He said he had forgiven his former deputy and even gave him his blessings. Almost four years after, Obasanjo is still finding it difficult to endorse Atiku. He has maintained that he has no choice for the 2023 presidential elections but his moves suggest otherwise.
Penultimate week, Obasanjo flew to London where he had a crucial meeting with Obi, Governor Nyesom Wike of River State. Atiku, who was also in neighbouring France at the time must have been shocked at the development.
Those very close to Atiku confirmed that the former vice president continued to ask where does Obasanjo’s interest lie? He was said to have been more worried as he could not decipher if Obasanjo has hand in the Wike’s attack on him and PDP.
“Alhaji Atiku is worried that Obasanjo has the capacity to bring this feud to an end. But he is having a secret meeting with Wike. And since after that meeting, Wike has been more combustive. What is actually happening”, Atiku was quoted as saying.
A former Political Adviser to Obasanjo, Chief Akin Osuntokun confirmed the meeting and those in attendance. He said, “The meeting is true, it was held in London. Though I do not know what they discussed, I am sure they discussed politics and the formation of an alliance ahead of 2023.” Some allies of Wike, who were present at the London meeting included Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State; Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke, among others.
On Obasanjo’s support for Wike, Chief Charles Nwachukwu noted that Obasanjo, no doubt, has a national clout, it does not mean a failure if he does not throw his weight behind Atiku and PDP in 2023.
“We know Obasanjo and his antics. Do not forget in a quick haste that Obasanjo was a part of the tragedy that brought about this malady on all of us in 2015. So, he is perfect. Whether or not he supports PDP and Atiku in 2023, all we know is that victory is assured”.
The director general of the PDP New Media in Imo State, Comrade Collins Opuruozor, stated that “Obasanjo is national figure. But you have to understand that since 2015 he has not been talking good of PDP. Therefore, the national PDP will not be surprised if he supports another candidate in 2023 other than Atiku.
“As a matter of fact, Atiku must have consulted and paid homage to Obasanjo and that is enough. I am also sure that Atiku is planning his election with or without Obasanjo and he has not committed any crime”.
