A former military governor of Kaduna State, retired Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, has reacted to the ongoing political squabble between President Goodluck Jonathan and former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
In an interview he granted to the Hausa Service of the Voice of America (VOA), which SaharaReporters monitored in Abuja, Mr. Umar called on Nigerians to stop celebrating Obasanjo as a sincere statesman. Instead, he accused Mr. Obasanjo of spearheading a secret agenda tied to his personal political interests.
Mr. Umar, one of the former military officers to have opposed the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, stated that it was dangerous for Nigerians to uncritically take Mr. Obasanjo at his word. He added that Nigerians should realize from the former president’s antecedents that he is a deceitful and insincere man who was complicit in creating the mess Nigeria is in today.
“What is it that [Mr. Jonathan] did not do with impunity?” asked the former military governor. “It was the same man that attempted third term and was confronted headlong. He is the [same] man that destroyed our nation. [He] wanted [former Governor Peter] Odili before it failed due to some challenges with EFCC. He later imposed a sick man as a leader and we are where we are today,” added Mr. Umar.
He further described Mr. Obasanjo as “the same man that gloried and celebrated corruption in Nigeria,” adding that the former president “ensured that corruption got its solid foundation, and today he is the moral voice of Nigeria. It is dangerous and scary. Our citizens should be critical.”
Mr. Umar contended that Mr. Obasanjo did not believe in the principles he wrote about in a leaked letter that descended on Mr. Jonathan with harsh words.
“Do not be carried away by his noise about democracy and justice, it is all a ruse. He did [govern Nigeria] and we saw how he was tyrannical, a dictator. It is laughable and dangerous that Obasanjo is the man we want to take seriously. I am begging our people to be critical and thorough so as to unravel his real agenda.”
In the interview, Mr. Umar cautioned Nigerians to recognize that, “There is more to it than what we can see. There are certain things we don't know. [Obasanjo] said that he gave Generals Babangida, Abdulsalami and Danjuma copies of his letter. Why did he not give [a copy to] General Gowon? It means something is in the offing. And it is scary today that Nigerians are taking Obasanjo seriously. It is important that we look at the message and the messenger critically.”
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