By Emma Emeozor

Criticisms have continued to trail former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s endorsement of Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Former Minister of External Affairs Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, yesterday, lashed out at Obasanjo over his New Year letter to the nation where he eulogised Obi and urged Nigerians to vote him in as President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor in the February 25, 2023 presidential poll.

Obasanjo had appealed to Nigerian youths to be mindful of the choices they make, stressing that the 2023 general elections was an opportunity they should not misuse.

In the letter, addressed to Nigerian youths, titled “My Appeal to all Nigerians, particularly young Nigerians,” Obasanjo described Obi as “a needle with thread attached to it from North and South and he may not get lost.”

But in his reaction, Akinyemi berated Obasanjo, saying  he is part of those who created the problems the nation was facing. He spoke  during an interview on a national television programme.

The professor of political science was quick to dismiss the opinion that the focus should be on Obasanjo’s message rather than his personality or records while in office.

“Some of us believe he (referring to Obasanjo) is also part of the foundation of the problems that we have in this country.One of the things I had said is once you have occupied the post of pesident and served your term, go home, be like General Gowon, General Abdulsalami. Just be quiet, you have had your term, you have had your innings, to use a cricket language. Let others get on.

“But for you to create problems for us and then you come back and present yourself as a problem solver, I find it difficult to swallow.

“I know there are people who say, ignore the messenger, focus on the message. I’m sorry, I’m a political scientist That doesn’t rub with me as a political scientist. I’m sure whoever came up with that must be a politician, who does not want people to look back into his own record.”

Akinyemi was not alone in condemning the former president’s New Year message, Former member of the House of Representatives, Usman Bugaje and a chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Buba Galadima also added their voices, slamming Obasanjo over his recommendation of Obi for the seat of the nation’s number one citizen.

In his comment, Bugaje argued that Obasanjo lacks the virtues to counsel Nigerians on who to vote for. He recalled how the former president tried to extend his tenure by attempting to change the constitution during his time as president.

Related News

Bugaje said want the electorate needs was advice on issues that must guide them to vote for a particular candidate as the country needs serious leadership. “First, former President Obasanjo is entitled to his opinion. All of us are entitled to our opinions. He is a free citizen. He can make his choices public and try to persuade those we want to persuade,” he said.

“I would have been interested in his criteria, how he arrived at this. Objective criteria? But as Professor Akinyemi said, you don’t just look at what he is saying, you look at his own records.

“I’m afraid his record doesn’t quite encourage me to take whatever he says objectively. I was in the national assembly when he tried to extend his tenure by changing the constitution. We had to stand up to him in that respect. I won’t find him as the kind of person who I can trust in some of the things that he says. But He is free to say those things.”

On his part, Galadima said Nigeria has moved beyond the thinking of Obasanjo. He commented on the former president’s endorsement of Obi while speaking in a national television programme, yesterday.

  Galadima said NNPP did not find Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi worthy of response, because they knew his stance. “We live him with his view,” he added.

Galadima said, “Nigeria has gone beyond thinking of General Obasanjo. It was those years that he was the best, but now the country has gone beyond his own thinking.

“In the five or six pages that General Obasanjo wrote, he didn’t make one point that will endear his endorsement to the ordinary Nigerians.

“First he called the youths to support his endorsement, but he didn’t give reasons why the youth should support that endorsement,” he said.

The Obasanjo’s letter reads partly, “I am constrained to write this letter to all Nigerians especially young Nigerians, friends of Nigeria globally as well as our development partners because of the gravity, responsibility and implications of the collective decision Nigerians, both young and old, will be making within the next two months.

“Our leaders have done their best, but their best had turned out to be not the best for Nigeria and Nigerians at home and abroad.  For most Nigerians, it was hell on earth.

“I have come to realise a number of factors in character, attributes and attitude that are necessary in the job of directing the affairs of Nigeria successfully and at a time like this. These characteristics or attributes are many but let us be mindful of some key ones together.”