Sunday, September 14, 2008  Printer Friendly Version

Obasanjo hates Ige, even in death –Adeyeye

By Akin Oyedele


The 78th commemorative birthday lecture of the slain former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, again provided another platform for the denunciation of the eight-year rule of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

 

The gathering of eminent personalities from the academics, different political divide, as well as associates, followers, friends and family of the late Ige, would attest to his greatness, even in death.

Setting the tone for the invectives poured on the Obasanjo‘s administration by speakers at the forum, the guest lecturer, Prof. Sola Adeyeye, said that Obasanjo was one of the detractors of Ige.

The President, Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), who also came hard on Obasanjo, described the ex-President as a self-centred leader that could not be dealt with.

Blaming the brutal murder of Ige for the present predicament of the Yoruba nation, he said that the late AGF made a mistake by accepting to serve under Obasanjo.

He, however, vowed that the NBA would ensure that the murder of Ige, as well as other politically-motivated killings, was not swept under the carpet.

Akeredolu said, ”The Bar has a role to play. Ige‘s death should not be consigned to the dustbin of history. We must pursue those that killed him until they are caught.

”The Bar must force the present administration to set up a judicial commission of inquiry into Ige‘s murder as well as other unresolved murders. This country is gradually slipping into a failed state.

”We must come together to rescue this country. The problem we have is that the progressives are not consistent and united.

”Why for instance should the progressives in Oyo State not come together during the governorship election? Why did we have so many candidates among them? That was responsible for what we have on hand.”

Even in death, Adeyeye said that Obasanjo never hid his alleged hatred for the former AGF by blaming Ige for the failure of the energy programme of his administration.

Out of the four ministers that held sway at the Ministry of Power and Steel during the Presidency of Obasanjo, he said that it was only Ige who served for11 months that was singled out for vilification.

In death, he said that Obasanjo knew that Ige could not rise to defend himself; hence he decided to denounce him as a minister who did not know his right hand from his left.

In his lecture titled, ”If Bola Ige were alive,” Adeyeye said that Bola Ige could have maintained a studied silence to the tantrums of the former President if alive.

Rising in defence of the late Ige, the lecturer maintained that the former President should have corrected within 85 months the lapses that occurred during the 11-month tenure of Ige.

Describing Obasanjo‘s presidency as inept and corrupt, Adeyeye asked rhetorically whether it was the late AGF that committed hundreds of billions of naira on road projects without results.

In a sarcastic tone, he said that Obasanjo could as well blame the late Ige for his botched and ill-conceived third term agenda on which huge resources, energy, time and emotions were wasted.

In a departure from popular belief, he said that the Peoples Democratic Party could still have manipulated the 2003 election in the Yoruba nation if Ige were alive.

He stressed that those who allegedly deployed repressive apparatus of the Federal Government to subvert the wishes of the electorate in 2007 were those that lost in previous relatively free and fair elections.

But for his death, he said Ige would have been bemused at the cadre of self-styled Awoists who allegedly rigged themselves into power in 2007.

Adeyeye said Ige would have been dismayed by the action of the fake Awoists whose party members made the destruction of the statue of Awolowo a priority on assumption of office.

He said, ”By now he would have expressed his sympathy for President Umaru Yar‘Adua as another good man who appears destined to fail as President of Nigeria.

”Ige would have been reminding Nigerians that being a good man is not sufficient qualification for leadership of a country.

”He would have cited Alhaji Shehu Shagari as a good man who was a miserable failure as President.


http://odili.net/news/source/2008/sep/14/417.html