By Emman Gwatana
LIKE IT OR LEAVE IT, CHIEF OLUSEGUN OBASANJO is an international elder statesman. Over the decades, he is well known for his penchant in letter writing on national issues. For those who have a sense of history, letter writing is interred in his blood and it his own way of expressing his displeasure at the leadership of Nigeria over the years.
While the former minister of information, Chief Tony Momoh is known for his “letters to my countryman” in defence of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida administration then, Chief Obasanjo’s letters run from one administration to the other. It has become his way of life and I am afraid if he will ever let it go in the remaining years of his life.
When General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida introduced the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in his administration as a measure to salvage Nigeria’s economy, Chief Obasanjo never hesitated in writing a letter stating clearly that the administration’s policy may sound good but “it must have human face”. The letter became a subject which was reckoned with by many Nigerians and ended irking the drivers of the Babangida administration.
When Dr Goodluck Jonathan was running the affairs of the country, Chief Obasanjo wrote letters expressing his displeasure on the manner the country was been piloted. When Dr Jonathan decided to run for a second term in office, Chief Obasanjo made it public that he was not supporting him and that he has a former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido to replace Dr Jonathan.
Chief Obasanjo in the last seven years has not left his trade in criticizing the administration of President Muhammed Buhari. At best, Chief Obasanjo can aptly be described as a critique per excellence.
As could be seen at the moment, Chief Obasanjo is in the news. He is in the news on what he knows how to do better – Letter writing on national discourse. His new year gift to Nigerians who care to listen is his powerful letter informing fellow Nigerians that as far as 2023 general elections is concerned, the youths should join him in supporting the bid of the Labour Party Presidential candidate, Peter Obi in the february 25 Presidential election.
As expected Chief Obasanjo’s letter to fellow countrymen has continued to generate political ripples across party divide including the administration of President Muhammed Buhari.
In response to the letter, the minister of information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed in defending the Muhammed Buhari administration said Chief Obasanjo’s letter is worthless. He advised Nigerians to discard the letter and vote the ruling party in the next Presidential election.
The Atiku Abubakar campaign spokesmen swiftly reacted to the endorsement of Obi by Chief Obasanjo by saying as far as they were concerned “Obasanjo does not hold the key to Aso Rock.” The response is a clear indigination that the Atiku campaign organization was not too comfortable to Obasanjo’s endorsement bid for Mr. Obi. The fact that Chief Obasanjo has his inalienable rights to express his views notwithstanding, the Atiku campaign organization cannot just afford to watch the endorsement moreso that the presidential election is a few weeks from now.
The Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwanso is not left out in thrashing Chief Obasanjo’s letter endorsing Mr Obi. In his words “I hold Nigeria elder statesmen in high esteem, but they should allow Nigerians to make their choice during the february 25 Presidential election. Again one can deduce that our Presidential candidates irrespective of party divide have not taken Obasanjo’s endorsement lightly.
To make matters worse a former minister of information in the first republic, Chief Edwin Clark queed behind Chief Obasanjo in endorsing Mr Peter Obi Presidential candidature.
The debate on Chief Obasanjo’s letter is intense at the time the letter was released. Politicians across the party divide harped so much on the possible effect the letter might have on a large number of the electorates referred to as the undecided voters .
I have watched and read peoples reaction on the electronic, print and social media on Chief Obasanjo’s letter. There are those who claimed he has no political constituency, others believe it is his usual way of life and must not be taken seriously while others however believe that as a two time head of state, he has a place in the affairs of the nation.
As earlier pointed out, take it or leave it, Chief Obasanjo is an international statesman. Only recently he stood out as a great envoy who settled the long Ethiopia civil conflict that has claimed thousands of lives. By this alone his reputation rose across the African continent and global community. Judging his stand on international and national issues with a wave of hand could be a misjudgement by his traducers.
In every healthy democracy, no politician takes weighty political statements lightly especially in an election period. The reaction of the parties to Chief Obasanjo’s letter was therefore much expected. And we know that for a long time to come, the letter will continue to receive positive and negative reactions. This of course is not strange in every peaceful democratic clime.
Chief Obasanjo’s “so much publicized letter no doubt is akin to Mariam Ba’s “So long a letter”. Wishing his letter away may therefore be dangerous to the intent of the words beneath the letter.
In Ba’s “So long a letter” you see the pains of the struggling Senagalese women on the pages of the novel. In Chief Obasanjo’s letter you could also see the anguish of a statesman in a struggling Nigeria economy. How the diverse Nigeria political class interprete the letter is a different ball game all together.
It should be acknowledged that in Chief Obasanjo’s letter he equivocally stated that he sees no saint in the lives of all the 2023 Presidential candidates. As an individual and a statesman who is entitled to exercise his constitutional freedom of expression, he made it abundantly clear that he has a preference for Peter Obi the Labour Party Presidential candidate. To me this is a right he must be allowed to exercise while the Nigeria elrctorates should be allowed to exercise their franchise at the upcoming general polls.
A former Senator of the federal republic from Kaduna State, Senator Shehu Sani also took to his Twitter handle and counselled other Presidential candidates who were not endorsed by Chief Obasanjo to seek endorsements from former Nigeria Heads of State like Abdulsalami Abubakar, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, Yakubu Gowon, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. He said, this could go a long way in balancing the endorsement mantra. Some sense you may say but somehow humourous.
As the hues on Chief Obasanjo’s letter continue to envelope the nation’s political landscape, my take is that the Nigeria electorates should not be oblivious of their onerous civic responsibilities to vote a candidate of their choice in the 2023 general polls. I believe this should be the greatest short cut to the endorsement of any presidential candidates or any other candidate for that matter.