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Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn - Politics (6) - Nairaland

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Poll: What is Obasanjo's crime against Nigeria

Massacre of Tiv civilians in Zaki Biam Benue State: 9% (3 votes)
Impoverishment of the Nigerian Masses by 500% devaluation of Naira.: 6% (2 votes)
Mismanagement and closure of our National Airline Nigeria Airways: 9% (3 votes)
Massacre of thousands of villagers in Odi, Bayelsa State in Niger Delta: 9% (3 votes)
Taking IMF loans and implementing damaging economic policies: 6% (2 votes)
Increasing fuel prices by 500%: 9% (3 votes)
Deceiving Nigeria by claiming fuel was subsidised: 6% (2 votes)
As military ruler, using the funds /land for "Operation Feed Nation" to acquire his Ota farm: 6% (2 votes)
Covertly sponsoring the coup in which Muritala Mohammad was assassinated, and executing dozens of people to cover up: 3% (1 vote)
Closing Petroleum Trust Fund and allowing Infrastructural decay: 3% (1 vote)
Presiding during collapse of electrical power supply in entire eastern region: 0% (0 votes)
Inviting US military into Nigeria and exposing national security secrets: 3% (1 vote)
Making himself minister of Petroleum and failing to have his management of oil revenue audited till this very day: 3% (1 vote)
Embezzling and estimated $120bn or approx N20 trillion: 9% (3 votes)
Sold off all of Nigeria's assets including Oil Blocks , Refineries, Electricity Authority, National, Telecommunications and historical buildings etc.: 6% (2 votes)
Buying up the national assets he privatised at a price that is a tiny fraction of its true value: 3% (1 vote)
Giving away Bakassi peninsula without a national referendum or conference: 3% (1 vote)
Mismanaging our national pension fund and presiding whilst $15bn went missing and denying pensioners their pensions: 3% (1 vote)
Deceiving Nigerians that Abacha' government was a bad, to justify undoing most of Abacha's good work: 3% (1 vote)
Presiding over the worst period of political assassinations in Nigeria's history: approx 20 assassinations including Bola Ige: 0% (0 votes)
This poll has ended

Poll: Obasanjo's worst crime is?:

Massacre of Tiv civilians in Zaki Biam Benue State:: 25% (1 vote)
Looting and closing our National Airline Nigeria Airways:: 0% (0 votes)
Massacre of thousands of villagers in Odi, in Niger Delta:: 0% (0 votes)
Devaluation of Naira 500% & raising fuel prices 500%: 50% (2 votes)
Embezzling an estimated N30 trillion ($180bn):: 25% (1 vote)
This poll has ended

Police Brutalised And Stole From A Lawyer (picture) / Jonathan Told Me & Obasanjo He Never Wanted To Be Vice-president - Donald Duke (2) (3) (4)

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Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 12:24pm On Jul 10, 2012
[size=24pt]Obasanjo's destruction of Nigeria[/size]
These are the rulers of Nigeria up till date: Nnamdi Azikwe/Tafawa Balewa tandem, Aguiyi Ironsi, Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Olusegun Obasanjo, Shehu Shagari, Mohamadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida,Ernest Shonekan, Sani Abacha, Abdusallam Abubakar, Olusegun Obasanjo and Musa Yar’Adua.

Of all these rulers, who has done the most to destroy Nigeria? The answer may vary and it may also depend on whom you ask. This piece has become necessary to answer some questions raised by my previous article “Obasanjo: A digbolugi in the House?” These are my answers to those questions raised as to why Obasanjo is a bonafide “digbolugi.”

I am in agreement with so many commentators on the Nigerian issues that no one man can be solely responsible for the destruction of a country like Nigeria. I also agree that no one can bear all the blame of what has been going wrong and what is presently wrong with Nigeria. But I am very convinced that it is very “establishable” that one man can play more roles than the others.

In my estimation, Olusegun Obasanjo has done more than any past or present rulers of Nigeria to destroy the country. It would be unfair to assume that Obasanjo did not achieve anything in his eight years during his second coming. But the way I see it is like a child who sat for a test and gets 18%. Obasanjo got some marks for his efforts, but he failed woefully.

Here are the kernels of my case not in order of importance or chronology:

It is a matter of public secret that during the trial of Major Buka Suka Dimka who led the assassination of General Murtala Mohammed, it was Obasanjo who reportedly arm-twisted General Theophelus Yakubu Danjuma not to try Ibrahim Babangida for his treachery against the nation for allowing Major Dimka to escape from the Radio Station. How Major Dimka was able to do that without firing a single bullet when Babangida was commanding several mechanized armoured vehicles is anybody's imagination. Yet, Obasanjo overlooked such an act against the nation. This is TREASON.



In the days leading to the elections of the 2nd republic - Obasanjo told Nigerians that they should not vote for the best man who was qualified for the job in Obafemi Awolowo, though he did not mention the latter by name, but every Nigerian knew what he meant. Anyone would think that any patriotic Nigerian would want the best for his or her country, but not Obasanjo. He wanted the worst in Shehu Shagari, imposed him on Nigeria and Nigeria has never been the same since then. This is TREASON.




Murtala Mohammend initially did not believe in Nigeria. He became converted after serving with Chief Obafemi Awolowo in Gowon’s cabinet. Late Brigadier Samuel Ogbemudia attested publicly to this saying that all the great achievements he had in then Bendel State as governor was because of the “guidance” of Awolowo. He said he was expression the “overwhelming view” of the Cabinet members who served during that span of time. Obasanjo had resented this for reasons I have been advised not to make public for now. Ebenezer Babatope had publicly challenged Olusegun Obasanjo to deny it if he did not try to convince Murtala Mohammed to do everything to prevent Obafemi Awolowo from becoming the elected President of Nigeria. It was reported that Murtala was skeptical of Obasanjo’s motive. Obasanjo has not had the gut to deny this allegation up till today. It is one of several pointers why Obasanjo has dragged Nigeria to this tragic state by his actions. If he has the guts, he can still come out to deny and we can go from there. Murtala may be dead, but other actors are still alive to bear testimonies.



The subversion of the Nigerian constitution and law is an act of TREASON. This is exactly what Obasanjo did in 1979 when he changed the rules in the middle of the game, without recourse to the people or any institution, removed a clause, in the middle of the night, from the constitution that prescribed ELECTORAL COLLEGE to determine a winner if none of the candidates meet the constitutional requirement in the first ballot.



e. When the issue was taken to Court based on the abracadabra mathematics of Richard Akinjide, Obasanjo violated another rule of impartiality. He removed the Chief Judge of the Federation, Justice Teslim Elias just days before the case was to be heard and installed one of his henchmen, Justice Fatai Williams who carried out the predetermined outcome of the case.



f. Obasanjo is the one who destroyed the Nigerian Tertiary Education by summarily taking over the University of Ife, Ile – Ife; University of Nigeria,Nsukka; University of Benin, Benin and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The objective is to help thwart the educational progress of the South in favour of the North. His henchman is retired Colonel Ahmadu Ali who later became his hatchet man to destroy the PDP as its national chairman.



Obasanjo was the first ruler in Nigerian history to borrow money when Nigeria did not need it from the roguish International Monetary Fund. At the time he did it in 1978, Nigeria had about 50 billion dollars in Foreign Account. One would like to ask the purpose of that borrowing if not to steal through the backdoor. It has been alleged that he diverted some of the IMF money to found his Otta Fams. His Operation Feed the Nation Policy was also alleged to be a cocoon of deceit preparatory to his returning to Otta as a farmer. Whatever the case was, it was evident that for him to accomplish borrowing of that IMF fund, he sacrificed Nigerian children's right to tertiary education, and instituted tuition fees in our universities. When the Nigerian students embarked on a peaceful demonstration to make their case, he asked his police to shoot them. That era was known in the Nigerian lexicon of infamy as "Ali Must Go" crisis. Thus by giving up Nigerian interest for that of the IMF and its foreign backers, Obasanjo committed TREASON.



h. As a result of the Obasanjo sell out of Nigeria to IMF, he became the first Nigeria ruler to devalue our currency which the Shehu Sahagari administration later worsened. Even during the Civil War, a crisis situation, the currency was steady. That devaluation to satisfy the IMF was never done with Nigeria’s interest as the motive.



i. Obasanjo is the one as Head of State who forcibly stole the land from the people of Nigeria with his 1978 Land Decree to pave the way for other crimes against Nigerian peasants and farmers. Others have alleged that this also has to do with his establishing his Ota Farms. This decision was the root of the Bakolori Massacre in the early 1980s in Sokoto. I use the words “forcibly stole” because this policy was not arrived at through democratic process but through Military fiat.



j. It was Olusegun Obasanjo and his hatchet man, Professor Aboyade that nailed the financial coffins of the Southern States prepared by Murtala Mohammed to assuage the Northern States. This was through the Aboyade Technical Commission, which recommended the removal of the remaining 20% of the rents and royalties enjoyed by the Niger Delta after Murtala Mohammed had initially slashed it from 45% in 1975.



It was Obasanjo who supervised the imposition of the first unelected Senate President Adolphus Wabara, in Nigerian history because of interests that has nothing to do with the Nigerian people. This is a subversion of electoral process, a subversion of our constitution and a TREASONABLE act against the nation.



If you lead or rule a people, supposedly, you look after their interests, preserve and protect them. Obasanjo has refused to do this for the people of the Niger Delta. He refused to meet them. He refused to listen to them. He refused to consider their pains. He sides with foreign interests represented by Shell, Chevron/Texaco and others against that of Nigerians in Niger Delta. When they complain, he sends soldiers to go and shoot them at sight. When he felt the soldiers were not killing them enough, he wanted to bring in the American marines. This is TREASON. And now, he will go down in History as the ruler of Nigeria after independence, under whose civilian armed struggle against injustice reared its head again after the “Agbekoya” revolution of the 1960s



By April 2004, Obasanjo has succeeded to be the first ruler in history of Nigeria to dole out Nigerian land and people in Bakassi to a foreign country. Sani Abacha, as deranged as he was would not have allowed that to happen. If this is not TREASON, I do not know what it is. I have not heard or read about any leader of any country in World History who would gleefully cede part of his country without any second thought.



n. Obasanjo is the Nigeria ruler who destroyed Nigeria’s secularism. He personally put Sharia in the 1979 Constitution (at least he said this much during his BBC interview, though not that this was unknown before then)without consultation and against the wish of the Constitution Drafting Committee which he himself put together under the chairmanship of Chief Rotimi Williams. The effects of this treachery is still a pain in the neck for Nigeria stability up till today.



Hear President Obasanjo on Sharia applications in September 2002 :



"The fact that people get worried about Sharia, I am not worried about
it, it affects investments into the country."



If I understand the former president very well what he is saying here is that Sharia worries a lot of people who hold back their investments because of it, and this not withstanding, Obasanjo is not worried about it! This is TREASON by NEGLIGENCE. Can any of Obasanjo's apologists convince me that this is a responsible statement from someone entrusted with the welfare of “our” nation? If Obasanjo could be so intellectually limited not to understand the meanings and implications of such statement, he deserves not just serious pity but profound rebuke.



n.
During his first six years in office, Obasanjo spent 512 days - a year and four

months - on hundreds of foreign trips. Obasanjo’s supporters argued that he was trying to convince the creditors to forgive some of our debts. In my opinion, he was not doing Nigeria any favour, he started the borrowing spree any way. Even then, the modalities for the accomplishment of the objective have been questioned for lack of integrity and clarity.



o.
The massacre of innocent citizens in Zaki Biam and Odi, without recourse to their legitimate feelings and grievances.

p.
The “give away” euphemized as “sale” of Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries to his cronnies. This has already been reversed by Umar Yar’Adua.

q.
Selective waiver on import duties to his friends and cronnies; (the Redeem leader Adeboye’s example). Also a policy already reversed by Yar’adua.

r.
Have a look at this incomplete list of victims of assassinations under Obasanjo out of which not a single one was solved in the entire 8 years of his tenure - Chief Bola Ige (Attorney General of the Federation); Dr. Marshall Harry (ANPP National Vice Chairman for South-South); Chief Ogbonnaya Uche (ANPP's Senatorial candidate for Orlu Imo State); Mr Theodore Agwatu (Principal Secretary to Imo State Governor); Hon. Odunayo Olagbaju (Member of Osun State House of Assembly);Hon. Uche Nwoke (ANPP Senatorial candidate in Imo State); Hon. Monday Ndor (Member of Rivers State House of Assembly); Dr. Ayodeji Daramola, gurbernatorial candidate in Ekiti State; Ahmed Ahman Pategi (State Chairman of Kwara PDP); Hon Schnapps Omuvwiebese (Councilor, Ughelli - North LG, Delta State); Mr. Funsho Williams, PDP governoship aspirant in Lagos; Mr. Barnabas Igwe (Anambra State Bar Association, Chairman) and his wife, Mrs. Abigail Igwe; Mr. Sunday Ugwu, Mrs. Janet Olapade among many others. Readers should remember that Tafa Balogun has impliedly alleged that he was subjected to Ribadu’s rage by OBJ because he refused to carry out the requested elimination of a former PDP chairman! Reliable sources have confirmed that the only reason Balogun had to spend 6 months in EFCC guest houses as opposed to long time imprisonment and deprivation of all the stolen billions was to prevent him from spilling his guts out.


s.
His refusal to give Lagos State its entitlement in financial allocation for several years and in violation of repeated court orders. If Lagos State did not have the means to survive as a rich State, it is better imagined the kind of sorrow and sadness that would have been brought to bear on the people of the State. Obasanjo did not care about decency, etiquette, decorum or self restraint required of a leader in position of responsibility. He was and still is unruly, a thug and above all a “digbolugi” ex-president. He gave Chief Bola Tinubu undeserved credibility and reasons to be forgiven his non-performance.

t.
He behaved like a thug and bandit through out his tenure and he is still behaving the same way out of the office. This is manifested in repeated violation of several Court orders. Cases involving Lagos State, Vice President Atiku and Anambra State are examples.

u.
Allowed Charles Taylor, the Liberian war criminal to stay in Nigeria in opulence.

v.
He subverted the will of Nigerian’s again by denying them the clamour for SNC to honestly and sincerely look at the structure of Nigeria, resource control, cultural and social issues and as an opportunity to self determine. He organized a kangaroo one instead.




w.
He arm-twisted officials of Nigerian state to raise 7 billion naira for his personal library. This is abuse of power.

x.
He is reportedly worth 25billion Naira in 2007 from his savings of about 20,000 naira in 1999. The issue of Transcorp LLC is still out there. He reportedly bought a farm settlement in Oyo State. He recently moved into a new house. I do not grudge him for this, since I have a couple of mansions myself. But I like to know how he came about this stupendous wealth in which he now revels. How much was his monthly salary for 8 years? Where did the billions come from?

y.
Finally, he organized the worst election in Nigeria’s history in 2003. One of the Governors rigged in then actually admitted this. The governor was upset with INEC’s Iwu for doing a “sloppy job” in this regard in not aligning his total number of votes to that of Obasanjo as President in his state in 2003. Obasanjo improved on this record of worst elections in Nigeria, in 2007.


z.
On top of all the above, add his uncouth public behaviors and pronouncements. Recall his insulting a Priest publicly (even though I am not a fan of Christianity and its adherents); his insult on the injury of the Lagos bomb explosion victims. Rather than showing understanding and sympathy with them he reportedly rebuked them saying "shut up. I took the opportunity of being here to see what could be done I don’t need to be here". (Vanguard, 29th January, 2002). Add to this his deliberate effort to create disharmony in Yorubaland through his revision of Yoruba History as related to Owu.


I like to state here that based on my understanding of the contemporary Nigerian history it is my view that without Obasanjo’s TREACHERY against the people of Nigeria, there would have been no President Shehu Shagari or General Mohammadu Buhari that followed him. Without the BETRAYAL of Nigeria by Olusegun Obasanjo there would have been no Military President Ibrahim Babangida and the Head of Government Ernest Shonekan that followed him. Without the TREASONABLE ACTS of Olusegun Obasanjo against the Nigeria State, there would not have been Head of State, Sani Abacha and Abdulsallami Abubakar that followed him. Yes, there would not have been Obasanjo’s second coming to finish the destruction he started.

I do not like Theophelus Yakubu Danjuma. He is the confessed murderer of Adekunle Fajuyi and Aguiyi Ironsi. He also gave the orders to the “Unknown Soldiers” under Olusegun Obasanjo whom he helped to install, to murder the foremost nationalist, Mrs Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, mother of Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, Dr. Bekololari Ransome Kuti and Baba Africa, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. But despite his criminal tendency to kill innocent peoples, he seemed to believe in fairness to a certain degree.

It was Danjuma who insisted that Obasanjo as Number 2 under Murtala Mohammed ought to be the one to take over after the later was assassinated. But to Danjuma’s dismay, Obasanjo allowed Ibrahim Babangida to go free after his (IBB’s) role in the assassination of Murtala. IBB’s act was his inability to explain the escape of Lt. Col. B. S. Dimka from Radio Nigeria without firing a single shot if he (IBB) was not in the know of the coup while he was commanding armoured vehicles that stormed the station when the coup failed. This is why Danjuma and IBB are not friends till today.

I had the temptation to equally blame Yakubu Danjuma too for the woes of Nigeria for helping Obasanjo to take reigns of power. But the fact that he never sat on that seat as a ruler of Nigeria gave him a lesser level of responsibility and culpability as Obasanjo had. The fact that they fell apart when Obasanjo became untamable wild animal in Aso Rock is evident that Obasanjo always did what he wanted without regard to what others think or what is desirable. One can be assisted to get a job, but he can not be assisted to do it.

If Obasanjo did not allow IBB who committed treason against Nigeria to live, Nigeria would have been saved the 8 agonizing years of his rule. Rather according to Ebenezer Babatope in his “NOT HIS WILL: The Awolowo-Obasanjo Wager” Obasanjo without remorse cast a deciding vote to kill an innocent man whose participation in the coup could not be conclusively proved.


But this is not the only reason Obasanjo is responsible for the locust years of IBB as Nigeria’s ruler. By forcibly imposing Shagari on Nigeria, he pre-planned the coming of Buhari and Babangida and as such he is responsible for the damages they have all collectively done to Nigeria. Shagari created the condition to invite Buhari’s iron rule and bias that led to the advent of smiling self proclaimed “Evil - Genius” in IBB.

Apart from being responsible for the havoc Babangida has inflicted on Nigeria, I also believe that he is responsible for the inflictions of Sani Abacha on Nigeria. These are my reasons:

If Obasanjo, knowing fully that IBB is a traitor to the Nigerian State, had allowed the law to take its course, there would be no IBB today and the course of Nigeria’s history would have been different. But he subverted the law to preserve IBB who in the course of his continued treachery against Nigeria promised fake elections until he was cornered during the June 12 imbroglio.


While the crisis of June 12 was on, he (OBJ) went to Nairobi where he declared that M.K.O. Abiola was “not the Messiah Nigeria is looking for.” Then shortly after his return, a meeting was held at his Ota Farm. At this meeting in his house attended by General Mohamadu Buhari, General Tunde Idiagbon, General Alani Akinrinade, Mrs. Titi Ajanaku and many others. My then Editor-In –Chief, Mr. Bayo Onanuga also received invitation to this meeting. They were there to see how the problem of Abiola’s mandate should be resolved. In the course of his contribution, General Buhari had reportedly referred to Abiola as “my president.” He would be the second person during the meeting to do so, the first person being General Idiagbon. Obasanjo had flared up over this saying that Abiola was not his president and that no one should call him “president” in his (Obasanjo’s) house. He had gone ahead to add that he was “not prepared to fight another civil war.”

This last statement was said to have infuriated General Akinrinade who said that if there has to be another Civil War “so be it.” He was said to have rebuked Obasanjo for his cowardice and for supporting injustice because of his spinelessness. Obasanjo did not take kindly to this, so he went ahead to conspire with IBB to install Shonekan, thus preparing the way for the coming of General Sani Abacha.

It has been reported in some quarters that one of the reasons why Abacha roped in Obasanjo for the phantom coup was because he (Abacha) blamed him(Obasanjo) for not allowing IBB to hand over to him. He believed that Shonekan was recommended by Obasanjo as opposed to him.

With Ernest Shonekan, who was generally seen as a traitor across the board, the nation’s crisis deepened. For the 82 days of his inaction, the context was ripe for an ambitious General Sani Abacha who promptly removed General Dongoyaro on assumption of power. Dongoyaro had initially refused to cooperate with him (Abacha) in removing IBB from power shortly before the installation of Shonekan as Interim Head of State.


In order not to lose focus of the point under consideration, readers should look at the chain of events from Obasanjo to making possible the coming of IBB, through the imposition of Shagari and its corollary in Buhari dictatorship. OBJ’s open collaboration to deliberately frustrate the June 12 mandate (this is not to suggest he is the only culprit in this treachery), and creating the conducive atmosphere for Abacha to step in, make him(OBJ) responsible for the sins of Abacha.

Though, he eventually survived the punishment Abacha planned for him, which in retrospect would have served him (OBJ) well, his second coming is a litany of woes for the Nigerian nation. Some of them are included in the list above and the rest are too current to warrant regurgitation here.

In conclusion out of 47 years of Nigeria’s Statehood, Obasanjo’s acts of omission and commission have negatively ricocheted and haunted for 22 years (1975 -2007) and will definitely do so for several years to come, except if there is a miracle. The evidence of this is the imposition of the Umar Yar’Adua as the president, just like he did Shehu Shagari. Nigerians will regret for a very long time that first day that Obasanjo stepped on the national stage, because the consequences of Yar’Adua Presidency which he once again imposed is going to be dire for the tottering country. I know you have heard about Ribadu’s exit. Illegitimacy can not bring forth any legitimacy. This is the way events are indicating. This is the way History is pointing. This is what can only be. Three plus three has to equal six. If you get any other result, then jibiti or 419 is involved. This is because you can not plant onions and reap tomatoes.

From the foregoing, I can not but submit that Matthew Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Obasanjo-Onyejekwe has done more than anyone to bring Nigeria to the present tragic state.

As a bonafide son of Oodua myself, I cannot point to anything of note or of pride that Obasanjo has done for the Yoruba. If I miss it, I will like to be educated. Rather he has brought ruinous ignominy to our heritage. He has worked consciously to destroy the legacy of integrity and accountability. He has manifested noxious rapacity, crude uncouthness, chronic lack of etiquette, unrestrained odious loquacity, unalloyed wickedness, conspicuous cruelty and brutish banditry in his manners and utterances in and out of power. Though, he claimed to be one of us, I refused to believe so. Then, the controversy about his paternity surfaced only to reinforce my initial belief. But since it is established that his mother was from Owu Quarters in Abeokuta, he can still legitimately claim to be a Yoruba. But this ought not to stop him from bearing his father’s name as in Onyejekwe. Nevertheless, with his behaviors so far, I am still insisting that “Ai kuku bi san se radarada” meaning “Barrenness is far better than an unworthy child.”



Like me, Obasanjo’s fans are all entitled to their own views, but neither I nor they are entitled to our own facts. I can only work with what is in the public domain and what my profession as a journalist has privileged me to know, some of which have been published and some of which can not necessarily be published for reasons that are more than obvious. Or still might be published at an auspicious time. It is my contention that if your child comes back from the school with failed grades as is obvious to overwhelming majority of Nigerians in this case of Obasanjo, I do not think the next thing is to indulge him or praise him, especially when he has shown himself to be unduly stubborn and incorrigible. This is why I agree totally with my own “Albert Einstein,” Wale Adebanwi that “…an Afenifere in which General Olusegun Obasanjo, for instance, sits cannot continue to bear such a name.” There is no other reason other than the fact that Obasanjo is an undesirable and wicked element.

Thus if stating this view and calling Olusegun Obasanjo, who has found it impossible to go quietly after messing up the country, a “digbolugi” is considered “irresponsible,” then I will bear the tag with all the honour and pride I can muster without any iota of remorse.

Here, I rest my case.


remi@oyeyemi.net
http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/remi-oyeyemi/the-nigerian-tragedy-how-guilty-is-obasanjo.html

Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 6:47pm On Jul 10, 2012
[size=18pt]The Last Days of Obasanjo's Evil Kelptomaniac Rule[/size]

The Last Days of Obasanjo

By Muhammad Al-Ghazali
culled from THISDAY, March 7, 2006

[size=13pt]
When Abacha expired, the naira had been stable for several years and exchanged for 80 naira to a dollar. The PTF had ensured that drugs were available at designated hospitals and at affordable prices too. Our highways and township roads were being meticulously rehabilitated. High schools and tertiary institutions were also being renovated. Armed bandits, who operate wantonly and with gusto these days, gave our homes and major highways a miss. What was more, the middle-class eventually resurfaced even as inflation remained at tolerable levels. But the greater significance of Abacha’s performance or legacy was that throughout his tenure, his government had to battle the effects of crippling cocktail of sanctions imposed by mostly Western nations.
In addition, unlike now that crude oil sold in excess of 60 dollars per barrel, under the diminutive General, it never rose above 17 dollars per barrel! So how did the nation come to this sorry pass to the extent that the nation even in a supposed democracy, is today, not better than a banana republic? How did we arrive at a situation where a single individual could seemingly hold the nation to ransom, or treat its citizens with so much callous disrespect and insensitivity? How did we come to be under the clutches of a de-facto emperor under whose watch no fewer than 5,000 Nigerians were consumed by ethno-religious crises in less than seven years in supposed peace time? What did Abacha do right that Obasanjo is now doing wrong? Without waiting for the man to expire or leave office, here is my story:


As things stand today, it must be clear to all except perhaps the blind that Obasanjo is not only the most incompetent, but surely the most over-rated president in our history. Before he was thrown into jail after his conviction for coup-plotting, the only thing he had going for him was that he handed over power willingly to the civilian administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari. General Abusalami Abubakar had since proved that that in itself was not an unusual occurrence altogether. Besides, in 1979, what choices were actually before him? The job, which by his own accounts he accepted soon after coming out of hiding came with its special risks as the demise of General Murtala Muhammed sadly proved. Across the oceans, Margaret Thatcher had just assumed office, and in tandem with Ronald Reagan, soon chorused the yarn about a new international world order, free of dictators, including Olusegun Obsanjo. Definitely, if you happened to be Olusegun Obasanjo at the time; having secured the vast Ota farms, and all that was within it, the lure of tending to chickens more than stopping an assassin’s bullet, was not simply a matter of choice, but actually the only choice.


Not much is known about his service records either beyond the fact that he received the surrender of Biafran forces at the end of the war. Being an army engineer by training, he is unlikely to have been bloodied in the art of combat warfare beyond the construction of Bailey bridges too. But quite typical of the man, up he came to steal the glory from General Adekunle when the latter fell out with authorities and was relegated to the background. As a former head of state and statesman, he spent lengthy periods lampooning the administration of General Babangida for crimes he has since surpassed. These days, the president loves to attribute his reforms, and the tenacity he exhibits in their execution, to his civil war record and high sense of patriotism. But the results clearly suggest otherwise, and nowhere was that truism more telling than in the speech delivered by the publisher of the influential Forbes magazine, Steve Forbes, during the recent THISDAY Newspaper Annual Awards. Predictably, the speech, or rather his message, was given short-shrift by the mainstream media, no doubt on the prompting of agents of the Presidency who were well represented at the event.
Forbes said among other things that the solution to poverty in Nigeria and the rest of Africa did not rest with the World Bank or the IMF because their medicine often tended to do more harm than good. Devaluation of the currency, he equally emphasised, was harmful to developing economies. He also condemned higher taxes, which tended to push more people into the informal economy, and the unequal application of laws. The man was being kind here; otherwise, he would easily have said unbridled corruption at the highest level and the escalating rate of crime we are witnessing presently. He went further to hinge our rapid economic development on five principles, which included a simple and affordable system of taxation, stable currency, the rule of law, and of course, the predictable removal of trade barriers. Perhaps not surprisingly, Obasanjo’s economic reforms appear marooned on the high seas for those simple reasons:


First, as we have seen in Anambra and Oyo states, the rule of law is clearly not visible on these shores. Otherwise, the president would not have allowed his cronies to get away with barefaced treason and murder not to talk of arson in those two theatres. As for equality before the law; well, perhaps we should also ask why Tafa Balogun was gaoled while Makunjuola escaped jail. Why did the president sit idly by and watch the OPC perpetrate genocide especially in his first term? Why did he contemplate the Electoral Bill fraud? Why were the felons who attempted to smuggle a forged draft constitution into the last confab never apprehended or punished? Why have the police so far failed to solve the murders of Asari Dikibo, Marshal Harry or Bola Ige? How did his accused murderer, Iyiola Omisore win an election from within the confines of a high security jail?

As for the economy, well even an idiot should know that the naira drifted and depreciated by nearly sixty per cent soon after Obasanjo assumed office. Unparalleled inflation was never too far behind either. If you bought your 50 KG bag of rice for under three thousand naira in 1999, the same product now sells for twice that amount and still rising. The economic team continues to deceive itself that its blue print is home-grown, but the seeds were clearly sown in Washington, Paris and London. A greater percentage of Nigerians have descended below the poverty line as a result. The middle-class has vanished without a trace, and a new class of bandits with university degrees has emerged to replace them; the obvious result is unemployment and frustration. The only people who cannot stop rejoicing are the multinationals who have acquired much of our progeny for peanuts. They pay the locals slave wages, transport them like sardines, and repatriate their profits in full!

Not surprisingly, with a legacy such as recounted above, the president appears in fear of his won shadow. With 2007 around the corner, and as we contemplate his last days in office, he appears in morbid fear of quitting office and wishes to die in it. But that, God willing, will ultimately be an exercise in futility. He wants to be remembered as Nigeria’s version of Lee Kuan Yew or Mahathir Mohammed, but the images of him that spring readily to mind in all seriousness, include those of Ghengis Khan and Josef Stalin. Even now that the greater majority of his subject are prostrate before him in abject poverty, and with destitution in the midst of plenty, he still plots against them. The third term express has arrived Port Harcourt, home to one of his staunchest loyalists, Peter Odili. As they hatch their endless intrigues against us and revel in obscene greed and lust for power, our collective misery and hopelessness would be the last thing on their minds. All these have naturally led many to rue what would have been had Abacha signed that death warrant in 1995!

http://www.dawodu.com/alghazali1.htm[/size]
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 6:52pm On Jul 10, 2012
Whatever anybody else says Abacha was the first person to imprison Obj, who has since confirmed by his criminality that prison is where he belongs
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 4:24am On Jul 22, 2012
[size=18pt]Obasanjo to hand back 2,500 Hectares of stolen land[/size]

By SaharaReporters, New York

The insatiable greed of former President Olusegun Obasanjo was exposed on Thursday as a commission set up by the Ogun State government revealed that he was fraudulently allocated 2,250 hectares of land by the immediate past Governor of the state, Mr. Gbenga Daniel.

That allocation will now be cancelled.

Obasanjo, who already owns thousands of hectares of land throughout the state, both developed and undeveloped, was allocated the land by Mr. Daniel in Soseri village.

Mr. Daniel, no slouch in the greed department, helped himself to the spoils of office by awarding 100 hectares to a privately owned company, K&F Daniels Ltd, at Oke Odan.

He will also lose that allocation, among others.

These decisions follow the state government’s acceptance of the recommendation of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Land Allocations, Acquisitions, Sales and Concessions of Government Properties and Administration of Land Policies, Rules and Regulations Between January 2004 and May 29, 2011 and Other Matters Connected.

The commission recommended that all the agricultural land allocations of state property made in Ogun State between January 2004 and May 29, 2011 be cancelled.

Following the recommendation, the government has also revoked the allocation of land to Compass Newspaper, which is owned by Mr. Daniel.

The panel held that “the allocation made to this company at such gross under-value and the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to it before it paid any money for the land, were wrongful acts done contrary to established procedure and not in the public interest, and should therefore not be allowed to stand.”

It was also discovered that Daniel’s company, Western Publishing Company, got its C of O before it even paid for the land upon which its headquarters was built.

The C of O, numbered 025305 and registered as 12/12/676, was issued to the company on the 10th of March, 2008, when it had not paid for the land.

“It was stated that the price of the land as at the time it was bought was N24m, whereas Mr. Daniel merely paid N4m after he had signed the C of O for his company,” and the commission recommended that both the allocation and the Certificate of Occupancy be cancelled.

Among those who benefited from the last-minute gift-giving of land by Daniel were some of his former commissioners like Mrs. Folake Marcus-Bello (20 hectares), Lekan Bello (20 hectares) and Kehinde Sogunle (15 hectares)

Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 7:54am On Aug 09, 2012
[size=23pt]Wikileaks: How Obasanjo Looted the PTDF[/size]

[elombah.com] Hundreds of millions of dollars have been allocated to the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF since 2000. According to the Director of the DPR, more than 1.7 billion USD has been paid into the PTDF since its inception in 1973, with more than 700 million USD paid between 2000 and 2006. The 2007 Senate report on the (PTDF) provides a detailed account of the non-transparent
nature of the PTDF and, in particular, specific actions taken by both former President Obasanjo and his Vice President, Abubakar Atiku which fall outside the mandate of the fund and appear to be clear cases of misappropriation of funds.
The report shines a light on the institutional failures that allow for large-scale corruption, scam, graft and mismanagement in this multimillion dollar account. It also points to specific cases of malfeasance and mismanagement of millions of dollars in public funds.
While the report below presents evidence that both Vice President Atiku and President Obasanjo were involved in the misappropriation of PTDF funds, the Senate report concluded by recommending Atiku be sanctioned for offenses, but Obasanjo only be "advised to adhere strictly to the provisions of the law."

Till date, neither Obasanjo, nor Atikuy has been prosecuted for this crime against the Nigerian people, despite the National Assembly wasting millions of Naira to investigate the loot.
According to then US Ambassador, Campbell, "The Senate report provides what is likely the most credible direct proof of blatant corruption within the Aso villa we have seen. "

Please read this explosive US Diplomatic Cable Report; 2007

THE PTDF: A PRIMER

The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) was established in 1973 to train Nigerians in the fields of engineering, geology, science and management in the petroleum and gas industry within Nigeria and abroad. Until 2000, the PTDF was administered by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), though in actuality it was mainly dormant. In September 2000, the GoN set up an Interim Management Committee to administer the fund. The Committee was comprised of the Vice President and representatives of the DPR, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Petroleum Training Institute and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (headed by the Presidential Advisor on Petroleum and Energy
and subsequently the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources -- President Obasanjo). The PTDF receives its funding from statutory income (signature bonuses and fees on oil block concessions, bidding fees and charges from acreage allocations received by the DPR) and investment income (interest and proceeds made on investments of the fund's capital).

Hundreds of millions of dollars have been allocated to the PTDF since 2000, though remarkably, the NNPC, DPR, Central Bank (CBN), PTDF and the Accountant General of Nigeria could not come close to agreeing on the exact amount. According to the Director of the DPR, more than 1.7 billion USD has been paid into the PTDF since its inception in 1973, with more than 700 million USD paid between 2000 and 2006.
However, the Executive Secretary of the PTDF testified that the PTDF received just over 390 million USD from 1999 to 2006, noting that the PTDF did not receive any funding in 2002, 2004 and 2005.

(COMMENT: The 2005 bidding round for 30 oil blocks resulted in signature bonuses of as much as 2.5
billion USD by some calculations. The report did not probe further into the PTDF statement that no funds were received in 2005. END COMMENT.)

INSTITUTIONAL FAILURES: PAVING THE WAY FOR CORRUPTION

The scope of institutional failures and the levels of malfeasance uncovered in the committee report are remarkable. A former internal auditor of the PTDF testified that the fund "lacks administrative and financial checks and controls."
This appears to be the case throughout the system, as the Committee found that the Accountant General
manages two of the six PTDF accounts in the CBN and that PTDF management was even unaware of the existence of these two accounts. The report confirmed that the management of the PTDF was unable to ascertain the inflows into various PTDF accounts at the CBN. As well, those heading the PTDF Finance
Department were not privy to all financial decisions of the fund. "Huge" sums of money were found to be kept on the premises of the PTDF office without regard to security or accounting practices. The report also determined that lack of financial controls resulted in more than 5 million USD of PTDF funds being trapped in distressed Nigerian banks. No audit of PTDF accounts has been conducted since 2002.

Beyond a lack of adequate financial checks and balances, representatives of PTDF management testified that "some things were done impromptu and several things were done outside the budget approved by the government." The report found that several grants and loans were sourced from the PTDF account on projects and programs which are not in line with the law establishing the fund.
In addition, it was found that federal ministries were able to access money from the fund for unrelated ministry projects. The Committee did not investigate potential inflation of contracts or corruption at the individual project level. (NOTE: Hussein Jallo, Executive Secretary of the PTDF for only five months from July to November 2005, is being prosecuted by the EFCC. To date the EFCC has recovered 49 million Naira (382,000 USD) and six vehicles from Jallo.)

THE CASE AGAINST THE VICE PRESIDENT

The Committee report expanded upon allegations made by Obasanjo (Ref D), finding some of the allegations to be accurate and some without base. In particular, the report found that disbursements of 125 million and 20 million USD made to the PTDF in 2003, upon Atiku's approval, for eight
specific PTDF projects were largely invested through accounts at the Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB) and the Trans International Bank (TIB) rather than being used for the projects intended.

Following (though not immediately) several of the deposits at TIB, loans were granted to NDTV, Mofas Shipping, and Transvari Services -- all companies with demonstrated links to Atiku. These loans, as confirmed by the director of Spring Bank (the bank which took over the failing TIB under a bank consolidation program) were "irregular, poorly documented and uncollateralised." The committee found no
evidence of any other entity investing in the controversial NDTV/i-Gate transaction other than the TIB loans believed to have originated from PTDF funds.
In addition, the committee was unable to ascertain the status of the eight PTDF projects for which the funds were originally released. The committee noted that "the placement in TIB for the purpose of financing the NDTV/i-Gate deal, a purely private transaction, as against the putative purposes for which the funds were released in the first place amounts to misappropriation of public funds and abuse of public trust." (NOTE: According to the report, 1.13 billion Naira (8.8 million USD) loaned to NDTV, 420 million Naira (3.3 million USD) to Mofas Shipping and 300 million Naira (2.3 million USD) to Transvari Services
by TIB remain unrecovered, though they have been restructured.)

Contrary to Obasanjo's allegations (Ref. D), the Committee found no evidence of any lending relationship
between ETB and Globacom, nor any link between the PTDF and Marine Float Limited accounts. In addition, the committee found no evidence of any link between the PTDF and Mike Otunba Adenuga. The observation that funds were placed in investment accounts without regard to the original purpose
for which the funds were released also applied, however, to the funds placed in ETB.

THE CASE AGAINST THE PRESIDENT

Following the removal of authority over PTDF funds from the Office of the Vice President in late 2005, the
Committee found that President Obasanjo personally approved several projects which were outside the legislated mandate of the PTDF and approved the use of PTDF funds by federal ministries for ministry projects. Though conceding that many of these projects may be laudable, the Committee noted that
they fall outside the purview of the fund "no matter how liberally construed." It was noted that the Federal Executive Council retroactively approved these projects, though the Committee maintained this does not legitimize an action that had no legal basis to begin with.

The report ran through all projects funded by the PTDF in 2006, noting that four of the nine projects funded were outside the PTDF mandate. In particular, these were:

-- Establishment of an African Institute of Science and Technology in the Federal Capital Territory. (25 million USD) Funds were allocated as Nigeria's share of the cost for the establishment of a "technology village" to provide managerial training for Gulf of Guinea projects. No legislation has ever been introduced, nor sought, to establish such an institution. No such institute yet exists in a legal sense. (NOTE: Groundbreaking for the institute occurred in February on the outskirts of Abuja.)

-- Incorporation of Galaxy Backbone PLC. (17.2 million USD) Funds were used to set up and incorporate a private company to work on harmonization of the telecommunications infrastructure. (As well, the PTDF paid the 1.95 million USD legal bill for the law firm which filed the incorporation.)

-- Computers for All Nigerians Initiative. (10 million USD) The PTDF funded a portion of the Ministry of Science and Technology subsidized loan program for civil service employees to purchase home computers. The Committee notes that a revolving loan for subsidized computers cannot be viewed as an investment and is therefore outside the investment authority of the PTDF.

-- Progress report on the Obasanjo Administration and photographs for the State House Library. (35,000 USD) The Committee noted that this project does not fall within the PTDF mandate "by any stretch of interpretation." In addition, the Committee recommends these funds be returned to the PTDF.

In response to Atiku's allegations that 20 billion Naira (156 million USD) approved for release by Obasanjo in May 2006 was used to fund the third term agenda, the Committee noted only that on September 13, the Accountant General's Office authorized 10 billion Naira (78 million USD) be released to the PTDF to fund the six projects in the May request. PTDF management confirmed that, to date, only 10 billion Naira of the requested 20 billion has been released to the Fund. (NOTE: The report did not ask the question of where the remaining 10 billion Naira is currently, if/when it will be released to the PTDF, nor the status of the six projects.)

RECOMMENDATIONS SHOW JUSTICE NOT BLIND

The Committee recommends funds be recovered from NDTV, Mofas Shipping Company and Transvari and any offenses prosecuted. In addition, it recommends prosecution of PTDF Executive Secretary from September 2000 to July 2005 Hamisu Abubakar and continued prosecution of former Executive Secretary Hussein Jallo. When it comes to recommendations for the Vice President and President, however, the Committee is much less willing to call for outright prosecution and, in the case of Obasanjo, recommends no putative action. The Committee notes that Vice President Atiku "abused his office by aiding and abetting the diversion of public funds" and recommends that he be "sanctioned for any offenses." With regard to President Obasanjo, however, the Committee notes only that he "acted in disregard of the law establishing the PTDF" and recommends that "the President be advised to adhere strictly to the provisions of the law of the PTDF."

The Committee recommends amending the PTDF Act to provide for a Board of Trustees, statutory audits and a reorganization of management to insulate it from politics. It calls for no further funding of 2006 projects deemed to be outside the PTDF mandate. The report also recommends a Senate evaluation of all PTDF projects since 2003 and tasks the Senate to find all accounts existing in the name of the PTDF both within and outside Nigeria.

BLATANT CORRUPTION REVEALED

COMMENT. The Senate report provides what is likely the most credible direct proof of blatant corruption within the villa we have seen. Given the number of witnesses, their credibility and the overwhelming similarities in the testimonies given, the Committee could not easily overlook the illegal actions of both Atiku and Obasanjo. That said, the recommendations of the Committee are clearly softer on Obasanjo than Atiku. While no claim of corruption in the Nigerian context can be accepted as completely accurate, post
believes the observations and findings contained in the Senate report may be the closest we can come to finding out what actually happened to the PTDF funds.
END COMMENT. CAMPBELL
______________________________________________

PTDF - THE DISSENTING SENATE REPORT

SUMMARY. In conjunction with the Senate report on the PTDF, Senator Titus Olapitan issued an independent report taking issue with the scope of the investigation, the Committee's impartiality, and several of the specific conclusions. Both houses of the National Assembly have established new committees to continue the investigations. Keeping the investigation in committee keeps the issue open, while avoiding any immediate actions such as impeachments. END SUMMARY.

On March 1, Senator Titus Olapitan (AD from Ondo State), a member of the initial ad hoc Senate Committee reporting on the PTDF (Ref. A), issued a dissent report. Olapitan took issue with the scope and completeness of the investigation, the Committee's impartiality, methodologies used and several conclusions. In particular, Olapitan criticized the Committee for not concluding its investigation and leaving "fundamental trails and questions" unanswered.

Specific unanswered questions outlined in Olapitan's report are:

-- PTDF management asserted no funds were received from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in 2002, 2004, and ¶2005. However, the DPR testified that money was paid into the PTDF Reserve Account at the Central Bank (CBN) during this same period. What happened to this money?

-- Testimony indicates the PTDF that it has no access to information on inflows and outflows from the Reserve Account. Who manages this account and how funds are withdrawn?

-- The balance of more than 404 million USD in the PTDF Reserve Account at the CBN was reduced to only 5 million USD as of September 2006. How was this money spent or who authorized the expenditures?

-- PTDF management testified that they were unaware of an Inspectorate Account in the name of the PTDF at the CBN (with a balance of more than 70 million USD as of mid December). What is the function of this account and who manages it?

-- Representatives of the DPR testified that 222 million USD from the 2000 licensing round was paid to the federal government. This money has never been placed in the PTDF Reserve Account. Where is the 222 million USD?

-- Vice President Atiku testified that Obasanjo requested 20 billion Naira (156 million USD) be allocated to the PTDF for a specific project; however, Atiku alleged these funds were used for the third term campaign. The PTDF confirmed receipt of 10 billion Naira (78 million USD). What happened to the remaining 10 billion Naira?

-- The Committee did not look into the numerous multibillion Naira contracts awarded by the PTDF to determine their legitimacy, whether due process was observed, or whether the projects were ever carried out.

-- The Committee failed to follow-up on some accusations made by Vice President Atiku. In particular, it did not investigate the complete account statements for Marine Float, Mofas Shipping and NDTV.

-- The Committee did not investigate the linkages between UBA Plc (a bank) and President Obasanjo. In particular, UBA Plc received large deposits of PTDF funds and the PTDF gave a loan of 2.4 billion Naira (18.75 million USD) to UBA in a "Note Purchase Agreement."
The Federal Government then borrowed money from UBA to purchase vehicles for public officials. As well, Obasanjo borrowed 200 million Naira (1.5 million USD) from UBA to acquire shares in Transcorp.

-- The Committee did not speak out against Obasanjo's decision to raise the approval limit of the PTDF Executive Secretary from 700,000 (5,500 USD) Naira to 10 million Naira (78,000 USD).

Although he did not provide specifics, Olapitan also alleged that during the public hearing phase of the
investigation most of the Committee members believed that Globacom was established with the money from the PTDF deposit with Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB), as alleged by the EFCC.
Olapitan claimed, however, that following a meeting of the Senate Leader, the Committee Chairman and a member of the Committee at the Villa, the Committee halted its pursuit of this line of questioning. (NOTE: Olapitan did not offer an opinion on the actual content of the Villa meeting.)

On March 7, the Senate announced it would form another seven-member Review Committee to continue the investigation initiated by the first. The Committee was given one week to report back to the Senate with its findings. Concurrently, the House announced it would establish a new committee as well, noting that the previous committee had done little and had never submitted a report. House member Baba Detti Ahmed alleged publically that the former committee had not acted because of the danger associated with investigating top members of the administration.

COMMENT. Keeping the investigation in committee allows the National Assembly to keep the topic open for discussion but forestalls any immediate action -- such as impeachments. This supports reports we have heard that the primary objective is a transition of power in May. Assembly members appear to be holding their options open should this handover not occur, while consciously choosing not to take actions that could lead to unrest and a call to postpone elections. END COMMENT.

CAMPBELL

Source: US Diplomatic cable 07ABUJA417, PTDF - EXPOSING NIGERIA'S EXECUTIVE MALFEASANCE
07ABUJA417 2007-03-06 14:45 2011-08-30 01:44 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Abuja

SUBJECT: PTDF - EXPOSING NIGERIA'S EXECUTIVE MALFEASANCE, Classified By: Ambassador John Campbell

FOR THE PTDF - THE DISSENTING SENATE REPORT, See , 07ABUJA449 2007-03-08 15:00 2011-08-30 01:44 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Abuja

www.elombah.com

http://www.elombah.com/index.php/special-reports/8278-wikileaks-how-obasanjo-and-atiku-looted-the-ptdf-v15-8278

Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 8:55am On Aug 15, 2012
[size=18pt]Your govt, most corrupt, CNPP tells Obasanjo[/size]

Posted on Friday, May 25th, 2012

Former President looking for relevance – Reps

By Rotimi Akinwumi (Abuja) and Akinwunmi King (Lagos)

Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has challenged former President Olusegun Obasanjo to render “account of his rogue regime” while he was at the helm of the nation’s affairs.

CNPP in a statement on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Osita Okechukwu, explained, however, that it agreed with Obasanjo that “integrity is necessary for systems and institutions to be strong.”

The group was reacting to a statement credited to Obasanjo at the fourth Academy for Entrepreneurial Studies, Nigeria, Annual National Conference in Lagos on Tuesday where he described both the federal and state lawmakers as lacking in integrity.

He had remarked that, “Today, rogues, armed robbers are in the state Houses of Assembly and the National Assembly. What sort of laws will they make?”

Obasanjo did not spare the judiciary either, as he said the sector “is also corrupt.”

But CNPP said while it was not holding brief for either the National Assembly, the state Assemblies or the judiciary, “However, now that Chief Obasanjo has cast the first stone, we challenge him to render account of his rogue regime.

“A regime that harvested unprecedented oil revenue without commensurate project performance, a regime that bastardised our democracy and a regime which simulated the fault lines hence Boko Haram and other insurgencies.

“Those who live in glass house, the saying goes, should not throw stones, for we recall with pain how Chief Obasanjo, who came out of prison as poor as a church rat, paradoxically has become one of the richest Africans after eight years of looting in power.

“We recall with trepidation, how late Chief Gani Fawehnmi went to Federal High Court challenging the billions of naira which Chief Obasanjo extorted from government contractors to build his Presidential library, contrary to Code of Conduct and ICPC Acts.

“He pleaded immunity and when immunity elapsed he resorted to manipulation of the judiciary,” the statement said.

CNPP alleged that Obasanjo’s corrupt practices are monumental and legendary.

It added that “the stench and foul odour of corruption, which oozed out from the Presidency, when he was in power was one of the factors which made him to lose the MO Ibrahim Annual Award for Good Governance when he left office in 2007.”

CNPP added: “We cannot forget in a hurry how Chief Obasanjo doctored the 2002 Electoral Act, declared the 2007 election as do-or-die election and other uncountable breaches, which debased the integrity of the electoral process and produced 2003 and 2007 sham elections.

“It can be said factually that Obasanjo’s manipulation and subversion of the electoral process denied Nigerians the right to elect people of their choice, hence entry of rogues into the legislature.

“We challenge Chief Obasanjo to explain why all the probes and audit of his regime by the National Assembly, ranging from power to privatisation probes found him culpable.

“Or can it be said that he is antagonising the National Assembly for the probes? Or for stopping his third term inordinate ambition?

“Chief Obasanjo blatantly looted the treasury of the nation, withdrew billions from the treasury without appropriation, corrupted the privatisation process, and serially obstructed justice, which made CNPP to file a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on December 24, 2007, when his immunity elapsed.

“Regrettably, it has become the trade mark of Chief Obasanjo to paint Nigeria black each time he is out of power, a deceptive strategy he designed long time ago to curry the favour and recognition of the international community,” CNPP stated.

Also reacting to Obasanjo’s remarks for the second day running, the House of Representatives on Thursday described him as a man who wants to be noticed at all cost, having lost relevance since he quit power in 2007.

Deputy spokesman of the House, Victor Ogene, at his weekly news briefing noted that the comment by Obasanjo did not surprise the House, as such had been his trademark.

According to Ogene, there is no regime in history of Nigeria that has attempted to stain the image of the legislature with corrupt overtures than that of Obasanjo.

Ogene made reference to how foreign currencies found their way into the hands of past lawmakers in a bid to buy them into Obasanjo’s third term agenda.

He said though there was no need to engage the ex-President in verbal jabs, it was appropriate to liken him (Obasanjo) to an elder who had out of ignorance decided to pee inside his own house thereby expressing concerns over his quality of “eldership”.

He also noted that Obasanjo may have made his statement following frustration he suffered after Aminu Waziri Tambuwal emerged Speaker of the House against his own favoured candidate on June 6, 2011.

“Ordinarily, we should not join issues with the man. We know where he is coming from. If he has issues with one or two people that does not mean he should attack all of us,” Ogene said.

http://dailyindependentnig.com/2012/05/your-govt-most-corrupt-cnpp-tells-obasanjo/
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 5:09pm On Sep 08, 2012
angry
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 11:00am On Sep 09, 2012
[size=18pt]The Sudden Wealth of Former President of Nigeria[/size]
Friday, 17 August 2007 23:54 Africa


If Obasanjo can demonstrate that he managed the feat of turning around his business fortunes without resorting to corrupt means, then he deserves the most prestigious endowed chair at the Harvard Business School. The rest of the world should drink from the spring of his business genius. But if he can’t account for the startling rejuvenation of his businesses, then he may deserve a different kind of endowed chair—back in the hole where Abacha put him. And there are, I hazard, millions of Nigerians who won’t mind seeing that happen—sooner rather than later.
From Founder to Villain

By Okey Ndibe (Monday, August 6, 2007)

My friend and colleague Sonala Olumhense recently offered a prayer for ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. He wished for the man to live long in order to get a true measure of how Nigerians regard him.

Well, the verdict is not just trickling in, it’s coming in a deluge. Many Nigerians want the man in the dock—to answer for his myriad misacts in office. Last week proved instructive in this regard. First, activist lawyer Femi Falana told an audience that it’s a matter of time before Obasanjo is invited to account for the source of his sudden wealth. Like many Nigerians, Falana is amazed that a man who was virtually bankrupt when he emerged from Sani Abacha’s gaol has turned into a mega commercial farmer. Temperance Farms in Ota, all but moribund in 1999, has become a miracle cash cow, generating—as Femi Fani Kayode told the BBC two years ago—a monthly profit of about $250,000. Besides, Obasanjo has gone ahead to buy choice farmland throughout the country.

If Obasanjo can demonstrate that he managed the feat of turning around his business fortunes without resorting to corrupt means, then he deserves the most prestigious endowed chair at the Harvard Business School. The rest of the world should drink from the spring of his business genius. But if he can’t account for the startling rejuvenation of his businesses, then he may deserve a different kind of endowed chair—back in the hole where Abacha put him. And there are, I hazard, millions of Nigerians who won’t mind seeing that happen—sooner rather than later.

Falana was not Obasanjo’s lone nemesis from last week. An unlikely salvo came from Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, one of the ex-president’s erstwhile acolytes. This is how close Iwuanyanwu was to Obasanjo: he anchored the ex-president’s campaigns in the southeast in 1999 and 2003. He was also one of the misguided champions of Obasanjo’s third term gambit. When the ruling PDP orchestrated one of the political farces of this young century by declaring Obasanjo the founder of modern Nigeria, Iwuanyanwu was there to lend his imprimatur.

In short, Iwuanyanwu, who can’t seem to decide between road and political contracting, is not one to be mistaken for a reflexive Obasanjo-basher. Yet, Iwuanyanwu seems to know a troubled, expired political product when he sees one. Last week, fresh from a meeting with Umar Yar’Adua, the current occupant of Aso Rock, Iwuanyanwu felt a need to disabuse Nigerians of the notion that Obasanjo was the nation’s remote controller. Obasanjo, declared Iwuanyanwu, has no power in the party or government. He stopped short of dubbing the ex-president a spent force.

Last week as well, Pastor Tunde Bakare, for eight years a consistent thorn in Obasanjo’s side, asked his congregants to pray that no corrupt public officer, including Obasanjo, escaped justice. Turning his attention to the ex-president, Bakare said: “We know how much you weighed before you became head of state, you have to give account of how much you are worth now and how you came by it.”

There was more of the same in the Vanguard of last Saturday, August 4. The headline told much of the story: “Probe Obasanjo, others now, Nigerians tell EFCC.” Part of the report disclosed that many Nigerians believe that “what EFCC is doing is mere scratching on the surface of the problem” of corruption until the agency turns “its searchlight…on the bigger boys of the last administration at the federal level for the wanton and flagrant looting of the national treasury.”

Continued the report: “Specifically, many Nigerians are demanding that the

EFCC turns its searchlight on former President Olusegun Obasanjo who also doubled as the energy minister and his vice president, Atiku Abubakar who presided over the affairs of the PTDF and bring them to account for their actions in office.”

Among those who made the cry for justice was Iro Dan-Musa, a member of the Board of Trustees of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party. His exact words: “If the EFCC would be sincere and extend its investigation to all levels of government in the former administration, nobody would be spared. If we look at the resources this country made from 1999 to the present time at all levels, we will agree that there is a problem. In other words, you can hardly let anyone off the hook in this war against corruption and financial impropriety.”

One of Obasanjo’s wives, Major Moji Obasanjo, even lent her voice to the chorus to probe the ex-president. For her, it was appropriate for the EFCC to pry into her husband’s wealth. “It is okay to do that,” she said, “because I have been asked several questions on the official conduct of former President Obasanjo. When I went for a presidential debate during the election, somebody said that Obasanjo has a refinery outside the country and expected me to react to that.” Her reaction? “I told them that I don’t know because really I don’t. We don’t need to bring sentiment in anything that has to do with the nation especially in its fight against corruption. There should be no sacred cows. Yes, former President Obasanjo is my husband but then, justice has to be done. If he has a case to answer, let him be quizzed because I have been asked questions on his official conducts on many occasions.”

Balarabe Musa, former governor of old Kaduna State, was even more direct in echoing Mrs. Obasanjo. The anti-corruption agency’s failure to investigate Obasanjo, said Musa, makes “nonsense of everything the EFCC has been doing.” Then he added: “Former President Obasanjo has many allegations against him some of which have been made public at different times but he made no replies to them. If you ask me, Obasanjo is more corrupt than those indicted by the EFCC who are currently being tried. EFCC, ICPC and Code of Conduct Bureau should probe Obasanjo now that he has lost the immunity that covered him all these years.”

Ayo Adebanjo, a politician and leader of Afenifere, told the newspaper that Obasanjo and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ought to be queried. “There are many questions begging for answers of these former public officers,” said Adebanjo. “For instance, Obasanjo allegedly had only N20,000 in 1999 when he came out of prison. How did he become the multi-billionaire that he is now? Atiku Abubakar allegedly saved him from bankruptcy but he has not said anything on that. How did he purchase Transcorp multi-million shares with only N20,000? He has questions to answer and EFCC should go after him now.”

One of Obasanjo’s gravest scams was his diversion of the nation’s resources to wangle a constitutional amendment that would have enabled him to own the presidency unto death. It was no secret that billions of naira was spent to bribe legislators into assenting to the rape of the national will. In the heat of the illicit campaign, each reluctant legislator was reportedly offered a bait of N50 million.

Jigawa State’s former governor, Saminu Turaki, has told the EFCC that, at Obasanjo’s behest, he put in over N10 billion of his state’s income in the third term war chest. Turaki specifically named Andy Uba as the man who picked up the money on behalf of the former president. Uba rushed out with a tepid refutation, implying that Turaki’s fertile imagination had run away with him. I’m sorry, but I found Turaki’s claim more convincing than the denial.

In fact, Turaki was far from being the only governor to make a foolish, imprudent investment in the dud that was third term. Many other governors, seduced with promises of getting automatic third term berths, also dipped hands in their state treasuries to support a crooked proposition. Obasanjo and his aides threw slush funds into a diseased political project, but the former president could neither find the money nor the inclination to repair the Sagamu-Ore-Benin expressway—perhaps the most heavily used highway in the nation.

In the past, with Obasanjo still in the saddle, the EFCC had chosen to feign ignorance. The commission pretended not to know that the whole third term charade was sponsored and sustained through corrupt inducement. It is time the commission got cracking, and got to the bottom of this mess. Obasanjo’s depraved pursuit of third term in the face of unmistakable national opposition brought the nation dangerously close to anarchy.

Obasanjo’s major contribution to Nigeria’s political experience may well be as a chastening, cautionary tale about the limits of power. Though gifted with a great outpouring of goodwill in 1999, Obasanjo chose to fritter away his fund of goodwill in pursuit of self-aggrandizement. At each dramatic turn he placed himself on the wrong side of public expectation. He consorted with thugs and more than a smattering of criminals. Then, as he faced the certainty of his exit from office, he began an effete attempt to rig history. He declared himself founder of modern Nigeria. He even suggested that, without him as our perpetual guide, Nigeria was lost.

He has lived long enough after leaving office to grasp the low regard in which he’s held in and outside of Nigeria. Any praise that’s come Yar’Adua’s way so far owed precisely to his reversal of Obasanjo’s policies and renunciation of the ex-president’s odious style. Last week, few Nigerians used a flattering word while speaking about Obasanjo. The delusive founder of modern Nigeria has turned into Nigeria’s chief villain.

http://www.africaresource.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=374:the-sudden-wealth-of-former-president-of-nigeria&catid=36:essays-a-discussions&Itemid=346

Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 6:46pm On Sep 09, 2012
[size=18pt]DERIVATION AND DEPRIVATION II: THE ILL GOTTEN WEALTH OF OBASANJO.[/size]
Posted by Abdullahi Aborode on 07/03/2012

I found out one astonishing thing about most of our influential politicians in Nigeria,they are all bunch of looters united for a single cause. All they care about is money. Their interest is on how to dip their hands and loot from our treasury till there is no more left so the life of the people they govern will be miserable.
The life of Obasanjo of today is an echo of his life after retirement 1st october 1979. Obasanjo whom one of his ministers said could not boast of more than twenty thousand naira in his bank account in 1999, today is one of the richest former presidents in the world.
Obasanjo’s stupendous wealth is inversely proportional to the abject poverty that ravages Nigerians. Squalor swaggers on two legs in the country while the likes of obasanjo make millions everyday. Obasanjo’s investment ranges from oil,ethanol,hospitality business,farming,education and other businesses. The big question is: HOW DID HE ACQUIRE ALL THESE WEALTH?
OBASANJO’S FARM: Established since 1978,Obasanjo farm has been producing fresh agricultural products for almost 30 years. According to Chief Fani-kayode, a former special assistant to obasanjo on public communications and one time minister of Aviation, Obasanjo’s farm makes an average of 30 million a month or 360 million per year. While in power, Obasanjo was so selfish that he wanted to be the richest farmer in Nigeria. He banned the importation of “GRANDPARENT STOCKS” (a variety of chickens), only his farm has the sole franchise for them. Obasanjo was the only one with authority to import and sell them to other poultry farmers in the country.

When Obasanjo became president in 1999, he could boast of only one farm in Ota and in mambilla. By 2007,Obasanjo has developed farms in Ibadan, Iseyin, Lanlate, Igbo ora and Ibogun. Each of these farms boast of chinese experts. Obasanjo was busy flying presidential jets to foreign countries in the guise of scouring for foreign investment not for Nigeria but for his own selfish self. He has the biggest cattle ranch and hatchery in Africa located at Igbo ora(Oyo state). He has big fish farms in Lanlate,Ota and a big poultry in Ibogun. He procured appropriate medical facilities to insulate his chickens from the influenza pandemic that ravaged many poultry farmers years back. Other poultry farmers,however lost almost all their chickens. Their president was so selfish he only procured medical facilities for his chickens. Just like GEJ, Obasanjo also don’t give a damn about the people he govern or their welfare.

Obasanjo made good for himself and his chickens while the masses he was governing as president have been wallowing at the lowest level of the global human development index. The chickens on his farm don’t feed on raw corn rather they feed on highly concentrated mineral fortified feeds. The ordinary man on the street of Tafawa-Balewa, Tilden-Fulani, Ningi, katagum, Zaki,(Bauchi state), Ajegunle, ketu, Agege,(Lagos state), Yelwa-shendam, Farin-gada, unguwar-rogo, unguwar-rimi, Gangare, Gada-Biu, Riyom,(Plateau state) find it hardly to afford a roasted corn or cooked corn. There is no chicken in Obasanjo’s farm that can be in want of water but the ordinary man in the street of Yemetu, Elekuro, Gege, Bere, Oje,(Oyo State), Tudun-wada, Zangon-kataf, panteka,Rigachuku,Soba, Gidan-waya,Jema’a, (Kaduna State) scoop water from gutters and brooks.

HOW DID A FARM WHICH WAS MORIBUND BEFORE OBASANJO CAME TO POWER BECAME SO RICH? Obasanjo claimed that he secured a 2 billion naira loan. How on earth did a man who one of his closest minister said couldn’t boast of 20,000 naira in 1999 transformed to someone with a collateral of 6 billion naira to take a 2 billion naira loan? (Anyone conversant with the banking system knows that you need collateral of about 6 billion naira to raise a 2 billion naira loan.)
The truth of the matter is obasanjo took or should i say stole from the 50 billion naira agriculture fund approved by his corrupt government when there are millions of farmers all across the country who should have been given that loan but were denied access to the loan. They wept and cried but the government as usual didn’t give a damn about them.


Obasanjo took advantage of the Land use decree law of 1978 which he promulgated(The law stipulates that all rights to land were vested in the governor of a state who has the sole authority to issue certificates of occupancy to those who want to secure land for residential, business and agricultural purposes). He didn’t just stop at Ota, his agenda was to expand to all geo-political zones of Nigeria.

The people of Gembu village in mambilla were harassed by obasanjo using force to acquire their land. They were disposed off their farmland by their commander-in-chief who doesn’t give a damn about them. The people of lekitaba were not left also. The people of Ishasi-Akute in Ogun state and Ayetoro in Lagos state were also disposed off their farms.

Obasanjo in 2001, acquired 10,000 hectares of land from Donald Duke of Cross River for his oil palm estate. Due to his selfishness, he wasn’t satisfied with Duke’s gesture. He grabbed an additional 5,000 hectares at Kwa plantation and took over the government oil palm nursery in Ochong(Cross River state). Obasanjo tricked the people of Cross River that he was into Cross River for what he called”AGRO-FORESTRY”(a scheme that allows the growth of forest friendly crops to restore virginity into degraded lands) before the people of that community knew it, a signboard was erected that read “OBASANJO FARMS,MFAMOSONG”.

The people of that council protested but it was all in vain. Their leader, chief Daniel Asuquo who was the chairman of Akampa council was allegedly victimised. He lost his re-election bid and was detained for 18 months for alleged involvement in murder. It was only when the court ruled in his favor in 2004 that he regained his freedom. To show that he meant business, Obasanjo fixed the revival of a moribund dam in oyo state for the benefit of his farm. He also influenced the construction of a road from his Mfamosong farm to Calabar-Oban highway.

Obasanjo’s oil palm mill on his plantation has been producing 10 tonnes of palm oil per day since 2000. The factory is under the supervision of a Malaysian. Majority of his oil mill staffs where recruited from Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Reasearch(NIFOR), Evborneka in Edo state. The staff quarters are located at Kwa Housing Estate. He also built a farm house on a former property of calabar sports club on Ekorenium road. Obasanjo also has an Oil palm estate in Ehuagie, Rivers state. He also owns two fish farms in Ota Ahoada and Ogbo communities. And other choice lands at Omuotude all in Rivers state.


EDUCATION: Obasanjo gave himself licence to establish a private university, the BELLS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY. Obasanjo has always shown that he hates the poor. He dislikes the masses. Over 70 percent of students in our universities are from poor homes, students whose parents sell dry fish, leaves, vegetables, fruits, fairly used cloth(Gwanjo or Okrika). He killed our universities, he only wants private universities where fees range between 250,000 naira to 1 million naira per session.

BELLS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY is among the seven private universities approved by Obasanjo to himself and his friends in 2005. It has two campuses, one in Ota, Ogun state and one in Badagry, Lagos. BELLS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY has a board of trustees which is the highest ruling body of the university. Professor Isaac Adeyemi is the vice-Chancellor; Mrs Oluyemi Gbadebo is the registrar; Adegoke Omotosho is the Bursar; Clement Omagbeni is the principal librarian.

TRANSCORP: A company emerged called Transcorp. Very few people know about Transcorp. Transcorp is Obasanjo’s other treasure box which was launched 17th November 2004. Transcorp emerged from the bowel of Aso rock, founded with the collaboration and connivance of Obasanjo. General Obasanjo alone owns 200 million shares. According to late Gani fawehinmi(may his soul Rest in peace),” there is no difference between Transcorp and obasanjo, except that a few friends like Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke was brought in to run transcorp”.

I was ashamed when i saw Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke on channels TV during the capital market probe saying rubbish. In October 2005, Transcorp bought 51 percent stake in NICON hilton hotel and changed it to TRANSCORP HILTON for 13 billion naira. It bought NITEL in july 2006. Transcorp acquired not one but FOUR OIL BLOCS. They are OPL 218, 219, 209 and 220 on july 2005 under the leadership of Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke.

Obasanjo was giving his company Transcorp a preferential treatment while he was president. Transcorp got approval from Obasanjo to build a 33.25 billion naira refinery in the lekki free trade zone in lagos. Obasanjo also gave Transcorp licence to build an independent power facility. Obasanjo’s hands are in different oil deals, some of which cut across countries. He has a friend called CARL MASTERS who is his go between for his shady oil deals abroad.


To me, obasanjo is the most corrupt Nigerian ever and i will never agree with anyone who says Obasanjo is not corrupt. A man who went Bankrupt before 1999 is now the richest former head of state in africa and one of the richest former presidents in the world all in a space of 8 years he governed Nigeria.

Obasanjo has an ethanol factory at Akodo in Ibeju Lekki LGA of Lagos state. The foundation stone of the factory was laid on 5th october 2005. Very few Nigerians know of Obasanjo’s 7 billion naira presidential library. National and state’s library are dilapidated, most of the shelves are empty and the books found in few of the shelves are outdated. Obasanjo’s 7 billion naira presidential library was launched on 14th may,2005. The library have facilities like guest houses,cyber cafe,publishing resources,souvenir/gift shops,auditorium,(for seminars,exhibition,social events), amphitheatre and a museum. Others are artificial lake/stream/waterfall,garden/park,zoo,restaurant and a park.

The launch of the project was one of a kind. Mike Adenuga(Globacom/Con oil chairman) donated 350 million naira, Aliko Dangote(president Dangote Group) donated 220 million naira, Femi Otedola(chairman Zenon oil/AP) donated 250 million, Sunny Odogwu(chairman of Odogwu Group of companies) gave 200 million.

State governments were not left out in the rain of our common wealth. Each governor of our 36 states poured 100 million naira. Private sector chipped in 622 million naira, NPA gave 1 million dollars, Michael Ibru donated 50 million naira, Arisekola Alao donated 100 million naira, Sam Nwake 20 million naira, Dapo Abiodun 10 million naira, Oba sijuwade 10 million naira, Bayo kuku 5 million naira, Ernest Shonekan 1 million naira, Ogun state Obas 5 million naira, All aides of OBJ 2 million naira Obasanjo Holdings poured 100 million naira and the PDP donated 25 million naira.

All the donors of the gifts of money at the launch of the library were involved in all the scams and fraud that took place during Obasanjo’s years in office. Obasanjo connived and collaborated with them to loot our common wealth.

Follow me on twitter @muhammadsageer let’s unite and strategize on how to oust PDP out of power come 2015. GOD BLESS NIGERIA.

By Muhammad Sageer.

http://abdullahiaborode./2012/07/03/derivation-and-deprivation-ii-the-ill-gotten-wealth-of-obasanjo/
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 8:31pm On Sep 10, 2012
Where are all you hired Obj praise singers gone to? grin
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 9:25pm On Sep 15, 2012
angry angry
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 9:28pm On Sep 15, 2012
angry Obj = thief

Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 6:50pm On Sep 24, 2012
People should try and remember everything Obasanjo has ever told them and start questioning because the man is a very corrupt , evil compulsive liar.
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 12:53am On Sep 25, 2012
angry
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by OluwadamilareO(m): 10:39am On Sep 25, 2012
When it comes to interest satisfaction,there is no exception including the former,but it seems they go extra mile than one another.
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 11:18am On Sep 25, 2012
^ your post does not make any sense to me. can you clarify your point?
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 2:22pm On Sep 27, 2012

[size=18pt]Obasanjo Buys Private Jet?[/size]

http://www.leadershipnigeria.com/pro...oducts_id=8173

Akin Orimolade, Abuja

Even with the anger triggered by the draconian economic measures President Olusegun Obasanjo introduced before leaving the seat of power, Aso Rock, the former president has allegedly purchased a private jet worth $36 million.

Presidency officials, who had gone to Ota to consult with ex-president Obasanjo, who had earlier indicated his interest in using one of the presidential jets after his tour of duty in Aso Rock, concerning the workers� strike, were taken by surprise when they learnt that the former number one citizen had travelled with a private jet.

The private jet was registered in the name of MRS, a company owned by Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Sayyu Dantata.

Sources close to the former leader�s Ota Farm revealed that even workers in the multimillionaire farm were not sure whether the private jet was a free gift to ex-president Obasanjo or a loan for his current globe trotting jamboree.

They, however, argued that it was a well merited offer if it was a gift, considering the unprecedented assistance the former president has offered to Dangote and Dantata, whom some claimed, were former president Obasanjo�s business partners.

In 2003 alone, Obasanjo allocated 980,000 tonnes of Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO), to MRS from which the company made over $300 million.

Some Nigerians had queried the allocation because MRS was given the allocation at the local price, while the company sold it at international price, thus smiling to the bank with a wide profit margin.

Leadership Weekend investigations, however, revealed that it was a compensation to Dangote for being the highest donor to Obasanjo for the rigged election in 2003.

This action, it was gathered, consequently forced almost all textile industries to close shop in the Northern part of the country and a few others in Lagos.

But that deal was just the tip of the iceberg. The president made sure that Dangote, despite all protests from Benue State people, bought Benue Cement Company (BCC) at a give-away price, while other heavy government investments were transferred to the smooth palms of Dangote.

Such money-making industries that were deliberately run down to give room for such offers include the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries and the 24 per cent shares in NITEL bought by Alheri Engineering Company, a company hurriedly packaged for the takeover of NITEL but which had no previous experience in telecommunications sector. Dangote also owns Obajana Cement and some oil blocs.

But sources close to Obasanjo�s traducers claimed that the former president allegedly made the money with which he bought the jet by making only half of the presidential campaign funds available to President Umoru Musa Yar�Adua�s campaign team.

This, they claimed, made logistic for the Yar�Adua/Goodluck campaign team difficult at a stage during the campaign.
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 8:24pm On Sep 27, 2012
[size=28pt]Obasanjo's Kleptomania[/size]

By

Sam Nda-Isaiah

ndaisaiah@yahoo.com



After the ignominy of the defeat of his self-perpetuation bid last week, which was designed only to massage his large ego, President Olusegun Obasanjo, not quite out of character, simply looked us all in the eye with a straight face and declared that he never told anyone he wanted "third term". Nigerians were shocked at the audacity of their president but I don't think they should. They should in fact accept the lies with thanks. We have managed to live through seven years of compulsive lying from the president anyway, so one more lie isn't going to kill us. It takes some courage and mettle to engage in the kind of lying to oneself that we see with the Nigerian president almost on a daily basis, but that is his nature; and we should stop thinking we can change a man that is well over 70.


The third term project was going to fail anyway whether the National Assembly passed it or not. It was just that it was cheaper to kill and bury it at the stage of the NASS because if it ever got beyond the portals of NASS, the struggle would have left the pages of newspapers into the trenches. And at that stage, just like it happened in 1966, people could start openly calling for a military coup. If that spectre could be avoided, the better for all of us. And if it would take the president an extra lie to help save the deaths of thousands, we should accept it and pretend that we believe the man.


But for the purpose of the records, President Obasanjo did indeed canvass a third term. He shared N50 million bribes to legislators in order to obtain their consent and imprimatur for the self-perpetuation scheme. It is just that many of the legislators he attempted to corrupt had more integrity than him. Since journalism remains the first rough draft of history, we shall record it, that, yes Obasanjo attempted to self-perpetuate himself in power and that, yes, he bribed senators to procure their consent. Beyond that, I am sure many Nigerians would be ready to forgive the president as long as he doesn't attempt to pull another rabbit out of a hat.


As it stands today, Obasanjo's public image is that of a failed president who came into power to a surfeit of goodwill, which he frittered away because he saw power as an opportunity to get even with old foes. Obasanjo is viewed today as a very incompetent leader who has no answer to Nigeria's myriad of problems. Power outage is worse than he met it in 1999, and after spending more than N1 trillion, all Nigerians got was a change of name from NEPA to PHCN and a promise from the minister of power and steel not to expect steady power supply till sometime in 2056, when those born tomorrow will be 50 years old. He is also the president who could not revive Nigeria's prostrate refineries and was so mean and cold blooded as to increase the pump price of petrol seven times - from N20.00 per litre in 1999 to more than N70 today. The president will also be remembered for his contributions towards the phenomenal growth of corruption in Nigeria. When Obasanjo became president in 1999, Nigeria was about the 27th in the Transparency International's corruption perception index. A few years into Obasanjo's regime, Nigeria became number two. Yet, another study in 2002 showed that more than 50% of the corruption in the country was perpetuated at the presidency. And there was ample evidence on ground to corroborate this.


In 2002, after Mr. Vincent Azie, the acting auditor general of the federation said Obasanjo's men stole N23 billion from the public till in 2001 alone, the president swiftly removed him. And now a few days ago, the Due Process Office reported that the cost of constructing Obasanjo's Abuja National Stadium was inflated by N7 billion as if we didn't know that already. Before then, we knew that even though Obasanjo's government said that the stadium was at the end constructed for about N100 billion, the World Bank declared that the stadium could not have been built for more than N19 billion. In between, we have billions of naira of the excess crude proceeds, which can still not be accounted for; the Presidential Library fund raising nepotism; the impunity with which the president associates with Transcorp, as a promoter even and the serial misappropriation of budgets. He will also be remembered as the president who forged an electoral law and one who conducted the most scandalous elections in the annals of the nation simply to remain in power against the peoples' will. And to all these, he added the roguery of bribing senators in order to illegally elongate his already illegal tenure. Obasanjo could go into history as the lowliest of Nigerian presidents. The legacy he leaves behind could haunt anyone unfortunate enough to have an Obasanjo surname.


But the president can still change all that. At least there are still 371 days left from today and this is a long time in the tenure of a serious president. General Murtala Mohammed didn't need this number of days to etch his name permanently in the nation's golden books. But to do that, Obasanjo will have to re-invent himself. In other words, he has to renew. He will need something of a character transplant. He must, like Gen. Murtala did in 1975 give up things he cannot account for, and for him, these are several. For starters, the president must stop lying through his teeth. All the lies about his "overwhelmingly" winning the 2003 elections only makes him look ludicrous. The president must give Nigerians some credit for basic intelligence. The president thinks he can just concoct some things in his head, believe it and then it becomes true. He also would have to stop associating with some funny characters around him. Today, Obasanjo's soul mates are Chris Uba, Tony Anenih, Ojo Maduekwe, Festus Odimegwu, Bode George, Ibrahim Mantu, Lamidi Adedibu and Co. One hardly sees any decent person around the old man these days. If the president enjoys the company of these people so much, then he must be like them. And no one would want a president in the mould of these people.


He must also repudiate "Transcorp" and forfeit all the shares (about six million shares) that have allegedly been allotted to him for which he must have made billions of naira when the shares moved from N1.00 per share to N6.00 per share during the company's private placement. The Initial Public Offer (IPO) is expected to be offered at a whopping N10.00 per share. Which means that by the time the IPO is concluded, the president would have made a killing of N9.00 x 600,000,000 shares. Since my calculator does not have the capacity to record all the zeros, I will leave the final figures to your imagination.


It is also an extraordinary act of corruption to hand over Hilton Hotel, Abuja, to a company partly owned by the president; especially since the sale transaction was not too straight. It is even more egregious to contemplate handing over NITEL and the nation's oil blocs to such an organisation. Even Abacha whom the president loves to demonise even in death was not as shameless in corruption as this. Obasanjo must also return the Presidential Library to the state after May 29, 2007. That would be in sync with the norm the world over. He must not allow fair weather friends like Mr. Carl Masters (who declared on the day of the fundraising that Obasanjo would never return the library to the government) to decide his destiny. By 6pm of May 29, 2007, he will look around and find he is alone. Carl Masters and his ilk would be looking for their next victim.


And if the president wants to change his image and outlook permanently and be seen as a statesman once again, then he must prepare to conduct a respectable election in 2007, and not the type of rubbish he supervised in 2003. He can start this by asking Ahmadu Ali to subject himself to a proper election within the party. Candidates for elections must be seen to have emerged the same fair way he (Obasanjo) emerged as a presidential candidate in Jos in 1998. If he does that, then Nigerians will start taking him seriously again.


If Obasanjo can for a change begin to see power as an opportunity to better the lives of the people and not a facility to bring down people as he currently does, he will start looking good again. But if he persists in doing things like closing down Intels Ltd, belonging to the vice president, simply because he wanted to financially emasculate an opponent, prevent elections to hold in his party according to the party constitution because he wants to disenfranchise competitors or as is being speculated, witch hunt his third term opponents and especially punish the North for going against his third term scheme, then he must know that he is heading for a flop. Actually that mindset will inexorably lead to his terminal and inexorable downfall.


But the good news for the president is that it doesn't have to be so.

http://www.gamji.com/sam/sam4.htm

Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 9:29am On Oct 02, 2012
angry
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 7:42am On Oct 04, 2012
Arrest Obasanjo now!
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 7:54am On Oct 08, 2012
angry
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 2:01am On Oct 17, 2012
Even recovering the money looted by this criminal would solve most of the hardship Nigerians are currently experiencing.

Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 7:11pm On Oct 23, 2012
GenBuhari: [size=24pt]Obasanjo's destruction of Nigeria[/size]
These are the rulers of Nigeria up till date: Nnamdi Azikwe/Tafawa Balewa tandem, Aguiyi Ironsi, Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Olusegun Obasanjo, Shehu Shagari, Mohamadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida,Ernest Shonekan, Sani Abacha, Abdusallam Abubakar, Olusegun Obasanjo and Musa Yar’Adua.

Of all these rulers, who has done the most to destroy Nigeria? The answer may vary and it may also depend on whom you ask. This piece has become necessary to answer some questions raised by my previous article “Obasanjo: A digbolugi in the House?” These are my answers to those questions raised as to why Obasanjo is a bonafide “digbolugi.”

I am in agreement with so many commentators on the Nigerian issues that no one man can be solely responsible for the destruction of a country like Nigeria. I also agree that no one can bear all the blame of what has been going wrong and what is presently wrong with Nigeria. But I am very convinced that it is very “establishable” that one man can play more roles than the others.

In my estimation, Olusegun Obasanjo has done more than any past or present rulers of Nigeria to destroy the country. It would be unfair to assume that Obasanjo did not achieve anything in his eight years during his second coming. But the way I see it is like a child who sat for a test and gets 18%. Obasanjo got some marks for his efforts, but he failed woefully.

Here are the kernels of my case not in order of importance or chronology:

It is a matter of public secret that during the trial of Major Buka Suka Dimka who led the assassination of General Murtala Mohammed, it was Obasanjo who reportedly arm-twisted General Theophelus Yakubu Danjuma not to try Ibrahim Babangida for his treachery against the nation for allowing Major Dimka to escape from the Radio Station. How Major Dimka was able to do that without firing a single bullet when Babangida was commanding several mechanized armoured vehicles is anybody's imagination. Yet, Obasanjo overlooked such an act against the nation. This is TREASON.



In the days leading to the elections of the 2nd republic - Obasanjo told Nigerians that they should not vote for the best man who was qualified for the job in Obafemi Awolowo, though he did not mention the latter by name, but every Nigerian knew what he meant. Anyone would think that any patriotic Nigerian would want the best for his or her country, but not Obasanjo. He wanted the worst in Shehu Shagari, imposed him on Nigeria and Nigeria has never been the same since then. This is TREASON.



Murtala Mohammend initially did not believe in Nigeria. He became converted after serving with Chief Obafemi Awolowo in Gowon’s cabinet. Late Brigadier Samuel Ogbemudia attested publicly to this saying that all the great achievements he had in then Bendel State as governor was because of the “guidance” of Awolowo. He said he was expression the “overwhelming view” of the Cabinet members who served during that span of time. Obasanjo had resented this for reasons I have been advised not to make public for now. Ebenezer Babatope had publicly challenged Olusegun Obasanjo to deny it if he did not try to convince Murtala Mohammed to do everything to prevent Obafemi Awolowo from becoming the elected President of Nigeria. It was reported that Murtala was skeptical of Obasanjo’s motive. Obasanjo has not had the gut to deny this allegation up till today. It is one of several pointers why Obasanjo has dragged Nigeria to this tragic state by his actions. If he has the guts, he can still come out to deny and we can go from there. Murtala may be dead, but other actors are still alive to bear testimonies.



The subversion of the Nigerian constitution and law is an act of TREASON. This is exactly what Obasanjo did in 1979 when he changed the rules in the middle of the game, without recourse to the people or any institution, removed a clause, in the middle of the night, from the constitution that prescribed ELECTORAL COLLEGE to determine a winner if none of the candidates meet the constitutional requirement in the first ballot.



e. When the issue was taken to Court based on the abracadabra mathematics of Richard Akinjide, Obasanjo violated another rule of impartiality. He removed the Chief Judge of the Federation, Justice Teslim Elias just days before the case was to be heard and installed one of his henchmen, Justice Fatai Williams who carried out the predetermined outcome of the case.



f. Obasanjo is the one who destroyed the Nigerian Tertiary Education by summarily taking over the University of Ife, Ile – Ife; University of Nigeria,Nsukka; University of Benin, Benin and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The objective is to help thwart the educational progress of the South in favour of the North. His henchman is retired Colonel Ahmadu Ali who later became his hatchet man to destroy the PDP as its national chairman.



Obasanjo was the first ruler in Nigerian history to borrow money when Nigeria did not need it from the roguish International Monetary Fund. At the time he did it in 1978, Nigeria had about 50 billion dollars in Foreign Account. One would like to ask the purpose of that borrowing if not to steal through the backdoor. It has been alleged that he diverted some of the IMF money to found his Otta Fams. His Operation Feed the Nation Policy was also alleged to be a cocoon of deceit preparatory to his returning to Otta as a farmer. Whatever the case was, it was evident that for him to accomplish borrowing of that IMF fund, he sacrificed Nigerian children's right to tertiary education, and instituted tuition fees in our universities. When the Nigerian students embarked on a peaceful demonstration to make their case, he asked his police to shoot them. That era was known in the Nigerian lexicon of infamy as "Ali Must Go" crisis. Thus by giving up Nigerian interest for that of the IMF and its foreign backers, Obasanjo committed TREASON.



h. As a result of the Obasanjo sell out of Nigeria to IMF, he became the first Nigeria ruler to devalue our currency which the Shehu Sahagari administration later worsened. Even during the Civil War, a crisis situation, the currency was steady. That devaluation to satisfy the IMF was never done with Nigeria’s interest as the motive.



i. Obasanjo is the one as Head of State who forcibly stole the land from the people of Nigeria with his 1978 Land Decree to pave the way for other crimes against Nigerian peasants and farmers. Others have alleged that this also has to do with his establishing his Ota Farms. This decision was the root of the Bakolori Massacre in the early 1980s in Sokoto. I use the words “forcibly stole” because this policy was not arrived at through democratic process but through Military fiat.



j. It was Olusegun Obasanjo and his hatchet man, Professor Aboyade that nailed the financial coffins of the Southern States prepared by Murtala Mohammed to assuage the Northern States. This was through the Aboyade Technical Commission, which recommended the removal of the remaining 20% of the rents and royalties enjoyed by the Niger Delta after Murtala Mohammed had initially slashed it from 45% in 1975.



It was Obasanjo who supervised the imposition of the first unelected Senate President Adolphus Wabara, in Nigerian history because of interests that has nothing to do with the Nigerian people. This is a subversion of electoral process, a subversion of our constitution and a TREASONABLE act against the nation.



If you lead or rule a people, supposedly, you look after their interests, preserve and protect them. Obasanjo has refused to do this for the people of the Niger Delta. He refused to meet them. He refused to listen to them. He refused to consider their pains. He sides with foreign interests represented by Shell, Chevron/Texaco and others against that of Nigerians in Niger Delta. When they complain, he sends soldiers to go and shoot them at sight. When he felt the soldiers were not killing them enough, he wanted to bring in the American marines. This is TREASON. And now, he will go down in History as the ruler of Nigeria after independence, under whose civilian armed struggle against injustice reared its head again after the “Agbekoya” revolution of the 1960s



By April 2004, Obasanjo has succeeded to be the first ruler in history of Nigeria to dole out Nigerian land and people in Bakassi to a foreign country. Sani Abacha, as deranged as he was would not have allowed that to happen. If this is not TREASON, I do not know what it is. I have not heard or read about any leader of any country in World History who would gleefully cede part of his country without any second thought.



n. Obasanjo is the Nigeria ruler who destroyed Nigeria’s secularism. He personally put Sharia in the 1979 Constitution (at least he said this much during his BBC interview, though not that this was unknown before then)without consultation and against the wish of the Constitution Drafting Committee which he himself put together under the chairmanship of Chief Rotimi Williams. The effects of this treachery is still a pain in the neck for Nigeria stability up till today.



Hear President Obasanjo on Sharia applications in September 2002 :



"The fact that people get worried about Sharia, I am not worried about
it, it affects investments into the country."



If I understand the former president very well what he is saying here is that Sharia worries a lot of people who hold back their investments because of it, and this not withstanding, Obasanjo is not worried about it! This is TREASON by NEGLIGENCE. Can any of Obasanjo's apologists convince me that this is a responsible statement from someone entrusted with the welfare of “our” nation? If Obasanjo could be so intellectually limited not to understand the meanings and implications of such statement, he deserves not just serious pity but profound rebuke.



n. During his first six years in office, Obasanjo spent 512 days - a year and four

months - on hundreds of foreign trips. Obasanjo’s supporters argued that he was trying to convince the creditors to forgive some of our debts. In my opinion, he was not doing Nigeria any favour, he started the borrowing spree any way. Even then, the modalities for the accomplishment of the objective have been questioned for lack of integrity and clarity.



o. The massacre of innocent citizens in Zaki Biam and Odi, without recourse to their legitimate feelings and grievances.

p. The “give away” euphemized as “sale” of Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries to his cronnies. This has already been reversed by Umar Yar’Adua.

q. Selective waiver on import duties to his friends and cronnies; (the Redeem leader Adeboye’s example). Also a policy already reversed by Yar’adua.

r. Have a look at this incomplete list of victims of assassinations under Obasanjo out of which not a single one was solved in the entire 8 years of his tenure - Chief Bola Ige (Attorney General of the Federation); Dr. Marshall Harry (ANPP National Vice Chairman for South-South); Chief Ogbonnaya Uche (ANPP's Senatorial candidate for Orlu Imo State); Mr Theodore Agwatu (Principal Secretary to Imo State Governor); Hon. Odunayo Olagbaju (Member of Osun State House of Assembly);Hon. Uche Nwoke (ANPP Senatorial candidate in Imo State); Hon. Monday Ndor (Member of Rivers State House of Assembly); Dr. Ayodeji Daramola, gurbernatorial candidate in Ekiti State; Ahmed Ahman Pategi (State Chairman of Kwara PDP); Hon Schnapps Omuvwiebese (Councilor, Ughelli - North LG, Delta State); Mr. Funsho Williams, PDP governoship aspirant in Lagos; Mr. Barnabas Igwe (Anambra State Bar Association, Chairman) and his wife, Mrs. Abigail Igwe; Mr. Sunday Ugwu, Mrs. Janet Olapade among many others. Readers should remember that Tafa Balogun has impliedly alleged that he was subjected to Ribadu’s rage by OBJ because he refused to carry out the requested elimination of a former PDP chairman! Reliable sources have confirmed that the only reason Balogun had to spend 6 months in EFCC guest houses as opposed to long time imprisonment and deprivation of all the stolen billions was to prevent him from spilling his guts out.

s. His refusal to give Lagos State its entitlement in financial allocation for several years and in violation of repeated court orders. If Lagos State did not have the means to survive as a rich State, it is better imagined the kind of sorrow and sadness that would have been brought to bear on the people of the State. Obasanjo did not care about decency, etiquette, decorum or self restraint required of a leader in position of responsibility. He was and still is unruly, a thug and above all a “digbolugi” ex-president. He gave Chief Bola Tinubu undeserved credibility and reasons to be forgiven his non-performance.

t. He behaved like a thug and bandit through out his tenure and he is still behaving the same way out of the office. This is manifested in repeated violation of several Court orders. Cases involving Lagos State, Vice President Atiku and Anambra State are examples.

u. Allowed Charles Taylor, the Liberian war criminal to stay in Nigeria in opulence.

v. He subverted the will of Nigerian’s again by denying them the clamour for SNC to honestly and sincerely look at the structure of Nigeria, resource control, cultural and social issues and as an opportunity to self determine. He organized a kangaroo one instead.



w. He arm-twisted officials of Nigerian state to raise 7 billion naira for his personal library. This is abuse of power.

x. He is reportedly worth 25billion Naira in 2007 from his savings of about 20,000 naira in 1999. The issue of Transcorp LLC is still out there. He reportedly bought a farm settlement in Oyo State. He recently moved into a new house. I do not grudge him for this, since I have a couple of mansions myself. But I like to know how he came about this stupendous wealth in which he now revels. How much was his monthly salary for 8 years? Where did the billions come from?

y. Finally, he organized the worst election in Nigeria’s history in 2003. One of the Governors rigged in then actually admitted this. The governor was upset with INEC’s Iwu for doing a “sloppy job” in this regard in not aligning his total number of votes to that of Obasanjo as President in his state in 2003. Obasanjo improved on this record of worst elections in Nigeria, in 2007.

z. On top of all the above, add his uncouth public behaviors and pronouncements. Recall his insulting a Priest publicly (even though I am not a fan of Christianity and its adherents); his insult on the injury of the Lagos bomb explosion victims. Rather than showing understanding and sympathy with them he reportedly rebuked them saying "shut up. I took the opportunity of being here to see what could be done I don’t need to be here". (Vanguard, 29th January, 2002). Add to this his deliberate effort to create disharmony in Yorubaland through his revision of Yoruba History as related to Owu.



I like to state here that based on my understanding of the contemporary Nigerian history it is my view that without Obasanjo’s TREACHERY against the people of Nigeria, there would have been no President Shehu Shagari or General Mohammadu Buhari that followed him. Without the BETRAYAL of Nigeria by Olusegun Obasanjo there would have been no Military President Ibrahim Babangida and the Head of Government Ernest Shonekan that followed him. Without the TREASONABLE ACTS of Olusegun Obasanjo against the Nigeria State, there would not have been Head of State, Sani Abacha and Abdulsallami Abubakar that followed him. Yes, there would not have been Obasanjo’s second coming to finish the destruction he started.

I do not like Theophelus Yakubu Danjuma. He is the confessed murderer of Adekunle Fajuyi and Aguiyi Ironsi. He also gave the orders to the “Unknown Soldiers” under Olusegun Obasanjo whom he helped to install, to murder the foremost nationalist, Mrs Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, mother of Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, Dr. Bekololari Ransome Kuti and Baba Africa, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. But despite his criminal tendency to kill innocent peoples, he seemed to believe in fairness to a certain degree.

It was Danjuma who insisted that Obasanjo as Number 2 under Murtala Mohammed ought to be the one to take over after the later was assassinated. But to Danjuma’s dismay, Obasanjo allowed Ibrahim Babangida to go free after his (IBB’s) role in the assassination of Murtala. IBB’s act was his inability to explain the escape of Lt. Col. B. S. Dimka from Radio Nigeria without firing a single shot if he (IBB) was not in the know of the coup while he was commanding armoured vehicles that stormed the station when the coup failed. This is why Danjuma and IBB are not friends till today.

I had the temptation to equally blame Yakubu Danjuma too for the woes of Nigeria for helping Obasanjo to take reigns of power. But the fact that he never sat on that seat as a ruler of Nigeria gave him a lesser level of responsibility and culpability as Obasanjo had. The fact that they fell apart when Obasanjo became untamable wild animal in Aso Rock is evident that Obasanjo always did what he wanted without regard to what others think or what is desirable. One can be assisted to get a job, but he can not be assisted to do it.

If Obasanjo did not allow IBB who committed treason against Nigeria to live, Nigeria would have been saved the 8 agonizing years of his rule. Rather according to Ebenezer Babatope in his “NOT HIS WILL: The Awolowo-Obasanjo Wager” Obasanjo without remorse cast a deciding vote to kill an innocent man whose participation in the coup could not be conclusively proved.

But this is not the only reason Obasanjo is responsible for the locust years of IBB as Nigeria’s ruler. By forcibly imposing Shagari on Nigeria, he pre-planned the coming of Buhari and Babangida and as such he is responsible for the damages they have all collectively done to Nigeria. Shagari created the condition to invite Buhari’s iron rule and bias that led to the advent of smiling self proclaimed “Evil - Genius” in IBB.

Apart from being responsible for the havoc Babangida has inflicted on Nigeria, I also believe that he is responsible for the inflictions of Sani Abacha on Nigeria. These are my reasons:

If Obasanjo, knowing fully that IBB is a traitor to the Nigerian State, had allowed the law to take its course, there would be no IBB today and the course of Nigeria’s history would have been different. But he subverted the law to preserve IBB who in the course of his continued treachery against Nigeria promised fake elections until he was cornered during the June 12 imbroglio.

While the crisis of June 12 was on, he (OBJ) went to Nairobi where he declared that M.K.O. Abiola was “not the Messiah Nigeria is looking for.” Then shortly after his return, a meeting was held at his Ota Farm. At this meeting in his house attended by General Mohamadu Buhari, General Tunde Idiagbon, General Alani Akinrinade, Mrs. Titi Ajanaku and many others. My then Editor-In –Chief, Mr. Bayo Onanuga also received invitation to this meeting. They were there to see how the problem of Abiola’s mandate should be resolved. In the course of his contribution, General Buhari had reportedly referred to Abiola as “my president.” He would be the second person during the meeting to do so, the first person being General Idiagbon. Obasanjo had flared up over this saying that Abiola was not his president and that no one should call him “president” in his (Obasanjo’s) house. He had gone ahead to add that he was “not prepared to fight another civil war.”

This last statement was said to have infuriated General Akinrinade who said that if there has to be another Civil War “so be it.” He was said to have rebuked Obasanjo for his cowardice and for supporting injustice because of his spinelessness. Obasanjo did not take kindly to this, so he went ahead to conspire with IBB to install Shonekan, thus preparing the way for the coming of General Sani Abacha.

It has been reported in some quarters that one of the reasons why Abacha roped in Obasanjo for the phantom coup was because he (Abacha) blamed him(Obasanjo) for not allowing IBB to hand over to him. He believed that Shonekan was recommended by Obasanjo as opposed to him.

With Ernest Shonekan, who was generally seen as a traitor across the board, the nation’s crisis deepened. For the 82 days of his inaction, the context was ripe for an ambitious General Sani Abacha who promptly removed General Dongoyaro on assumption of power. Dongoyaro had initially refused to cooperate with him (Abacha) in removing IBB from power shortly before the installation of Shonekan as Interim Head of State.

In order not to lose focus of the point under consideration, readers should look at the chain of events from Obasanjo to making possible the coming of IBB, through the imposition of Shagari and its corollary in Buhari dictatorship. OBJ’s open collaboration to deliberately frustrate the June 12 mandate (this is not to suggest he is the only culprit in this treachery), and creating the conducive atmosphere for Abacha to step in, make him(OBJ) responsible for the sins of Abacha.

Though, he eventually survived the punishment Abacha planned for him, which in retrospect would have served him (OBJ) well, his second coming is a litany of woes for the Nigerian nation. Some of them are included in the list above and the rest are too current to warrant regurgitation here.

In conclusion out of 47 years of Nigeria’s Statehood, Obasanjo’s acts of omission and commission have negatively ricocheted and haunted for 22 years (1975 -2007) and will definitely do so for several years to come, except if there is a miracle. The evidence of this is the imposition of the Umar Yar’Adua as the president, just like he did Shehu Shagari. Nigerians will regret for a very long time that first day that Obasanjo stepped on the national stage, because the consequences of Yar’Adua Presidency which he once again imposed is going to be dire for the tottering country. I know you have heard about Ribadu’s exit. Illegitimacy can not bring forth any legitimacy. This is the way events are indicating. This is the way History is pointing. This is what can only be. Three plus three has to equal six. If you get any other result, then jibiti or 419 is involved. This is because you can not plant onions and reap tomatoes.

From the foregoing, I can not but submit that Matthew Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Obasanjo-Onyejekwe has done more than anyone to bring Nigeria to the present tragic state.

As a bonafide son of Oodua myself, I cannot point to anything of note or of pride that Obasanjo has done for the Yoruba. If I miss it, I will like to be educated. Rather he has brought ruinous ignominy to our heritage. He has worked consciously to destroy the legacy of integrity and accountability. He has manifested noxious rapacity, crude uncouthness, chronic lack of etiquette, unrestrained odious loquacity, unalloyed wickedness, conspicuous cruelty and brutish banditry in his manners and utterances in and out of power. Though, he claimed to be one of us, I refused to believe so. Then, the controversy about his paternity surfaced only to reinforce my initial belief. But since it is established that his mother was from Owu Quarters in Abeokuta, he can still legitimately claim to be a Yoruba. But this ought not to stop him from bearing his father’s name as in Onyejekwe. Nevertheless, with his behaviors so far, I am still insisting that “Ai kuku bi san se radarada” meaning “Barrenness is far better than an unworthy child.”



Like me, Obasanjo’s fans are all entitled to their own views, but neither I nor they are entitled to our own facts. I can only work with what is in the public domain and what my profession as a journalist has privileged me to know, some of which have been published and some of which can not necessarily be published for reasons that are more than obvious. Or still might be published at an auspicious time. It is my contention that if your child comes back from the school with failed grades as is obvious to overwhelming majority of Nigerians in this case of Obasanjo, I do not think the next thing is to indulge him or praise him, especially when he has shown himself to be unduly stubborn and incorrigible. This is why I agree totally with my own “Albert Einstein,” Wale Adebanwi that “…an Afenifere in which General Olusegun Obasanjo, for instance, sits cannot continue to bear such a name.” There is no other reason other than the fact that Obasanjo is an undesirable and wicked element.

Thus if stating this view and calling Olusegun Obasanjo, who has found it impossible to go quietly after messing up the country, a “digbolugi” is considered “irresponsible,” then I will bear the tag with all the honour and pride I can muster without any iota of remorse.

Here, I rest my case.

remi@oyeyemi.net
http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/remi-oyeyemi/the-nigerian-tragedy-how-guilty-is-obasanjo.html

Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 6:03am On Nov 03, 2012
angry
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 9:09am On Nov 05, 2012
angry
GenBuhari: [size=18pt]Obasanjo to hand back 2,500 Hectares of stolen land[/size]

By SaharaReporters, New York

The insatiable greed of former President Olusegun Obasanjo was exposed on Thursday as a commission set up by the Ogun State government revealed that he was fraudulently allocated 2,250 hectares of land by the immediate past Governor of the state, Mr. Gbenga Daniel.

That allocation will now be cancelled.

Obasanjo, who already owns thousands of hectares of land throughout the state, both developed and undeveloped, was allocated the land by Mr. Daniel in Soseri village.

Mr. Daniel, no slouch in the greed department, helped himself to the spoils of office by awarding 100 hectares to a privately owned company, K&F Daniels Ltd, at Oke Odan.

He will also lose that allocation, among others.

These decisions follow the state government’s acceptance of the recommendation of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Land Allocations, Acquisitions, Sales and Concessions of Government Properties and Administration of Land Policies, Rules and Regulations Between January 2004 and May 29, 2011 and Other Matters Connected.

The commission recommended that all the agricultural land allocations of state property made in Ogun State between January 2004 and May 29, 2011 be cancelled.

Following the recommendation, the government has also revoked the allocation of land to Compass Newspaper, which is owned by Mr. Daniel.

The panel held that “the allocation made to this company at such gross under-value and the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to it before it paid any money for the land, were wrongful acts done contrary to established procedure and not in the public interest, and should therefore not be allowed to stand.”

It was also discovered that Daniel’s company, Western Publishing Company, got its C of O before it even paid for the land upon which its headquarters was built.

The C of O, numbered 025305 and registered as 12/12/676, was issued to the company on the 10th of March, 2008, when it had not paid for the land.

“It was stated that the price of the land as at the time it was bought was N24m, whereas Mr. Daniel merely paid N4m after he had signed the C of O for his company,” and the commission recommended that both the allocation and the Certificate of Occupancy be cancelled.

Among those who benefited from the last-minute gift-giving of land by Daniel were some of his former commissioners like Mrs. Folake Marcus-Bello (20 hectares), Lekan Bello (20 hectares) and Kehinde Sogunle (15 hectares)
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 8:31pm On Nov 18, 2012
[size=18pt]GENERAL OLUSEGUN OBASANJO: A MONSTER AS STATESMAN[/size]



Sometime in the evening of Wednesday, March 18, 2009, at the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building of the London School of Economics, London , England the crème de la crème of the international community will once again be gathered to listen to the ostensible wisdom of an African statesman. But this man, General Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s former president and presently the UN Secretary-General’s peace envoy in the Congo is no statesman. He’s an animal called man, a corrupt and treacherous monster soaked deep in the blood of innocent Nigerians.




As a human being, Obasanjo has had some of the rarest opportunities in public service anybody could get anywhere, which ordinarily should have been a springboard for great things were he someone with an iota of humanity or decency. After a total of eleven years as the head of state and president of Nigeria , the man is only remembered today in Nigeria as a crude, corrupt, lecherous and bloodthirsty tyrant who masqueraded as a democrat and sought at all cost to always impose his perverse will on the nation, even where it is clearly detrimental to national interest.



Before May 1999 when Obasanjo was sworn in as the civilian president of Nigeria , he has had a history of public service at the highest level also as a military head of state between 1976 and 1979. His singular act of handing over government to an elected civilian government in October 1979 was seemingly enough for Nigerians and the international community to forgive him of his atrocities as military head of state. Some of those atrocities include the setting up of the notorious secret detention centre in the island of Ita-Oko, the killing of Nigerian university students in cold blood and the invasion and razing of the home and business premises of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the late iconic Nigerian musician who was an ardent critic of his military government.



Obasanjo transmutation into a pretend statesman after his military career saw him set up the African Leadership Forum at Ota , Nigeria from where he talked glibly about democratic reform in Africa . But when in 1993, he was presented with an opportunity to back up his talk with action with the June 12 elections, he, not for the first time, shocked the nation with his support for the annulment of the election. He viciously attacked Chief MKO Abiola, the man elected president in the election, despite the fact that the national and international communities overwhelmingly declared the election the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s history. In open desperation, Obasanjo was soon in cahoots with his military friends setting up all sorts of anti-democratic political contraptions to negate the people’s mandate.



Obasanjo and his military friends presided over the succeeding locust years until he fell out of favour with General Sani Abacha, the then head of the military junta who jailed him on coup-plotting charges against his government in 1995. This act by the odious Abacha invariably rehabilitated Obasanjo in the eyes of Nigerians and the international community as efforts were made to first commute the sentence passed on him and then get him out of jail. Thus, in June 1998, as Obasanjo walked out of prison preaching Christ and publishing a book titled, This Animal Called Man (a psycho-analytical study of the nature of human-induced evil from the Christian perspective), Nigerians and the international community felt he’d finally learnt his lessons and found God. No sooner after he was rewarded with the presidency of the country in May 1999, he began once again to show his true colour as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.



Seven months after taking over as civilian president, Obasanjo ordered the military invasion of a community in the Niger-Delta in a vain attempt to send the message to the creeks that his government would not tolerate any agitation for fair distribution of the oil wealth irresponsible exploitation of the valuable resource in the area. Obasanjo’s army razed the whole town of Odi to the ground and killed everyone in sight. The massacre had the world in outrage; but, typically, Obasanjo ignored the cries. Just to make sure the message was heard loud and clear, Obasanjo followed up with more massacres in Choba, Igwuruta, Biogbolo and other places in the Niger-Delta.



By these actions, he succeeded in transforming the essentially non-violent agitation for equity, justice and fairness in the region into a full-blown war needing the permanent location of a huge military taskforce in the area, perennial attacks against communities and running battles between the soldiers and the militants, some of whom are the same criminal elements Obasanjo armed to intimidate his political opponents and rig elections for his party, the PDP. It is in this light we must see last year’s visit of President Umaru Yar’Adua who came to ask Downing Street for military assistance to fight the militants, indicating how escalated the problem has now become. The world may not know it, but the seeds of the present crisis were firmly sown by Obasanjo.



Less than two years after Odi, between Monday October 22 to Wednesday October 24, 2001, Obasanjo repeated the same atrocity in the central Nigerian state of Benue where he sent in his murderous soldiers to kill and burn down the communities of Zaki Biam, Vaase, Agbayin, Gbeji, Sankara and several others ostensibly for the killing of some soldiers. Amnesty International described what happened there as “a killing spree” and appropriately advised that rather than seeking to deny, minimize or justify these extrajudicial executions, “the government of Nigeria must...condemn the killings publicly and make it clear that those responsible will be held accountable”.



When Human Rights Watch wrote its report on the massacres, Obasanjo boasted that he “dismissed the report with the contempt it deserves”. He went on in an interview with the Financial Times of April 9, 2002 to justify sending the soldiers on that mission and supported their action by declaring that when you send in soldiers, “they do not go on a picnic”, proclaiming that “in human nature, reaction is always more than the action”. A few weeks after the killings, Obasanjo was being welcomed by President George W Bush in the White House. At a joint press conference in the Rose Garden, Obasanjo unashamedly defended his actions before a shocked world.



From Kano to Kaduna to Jos, Obasanjo’s tenure witnessed the bloodiest peacetime inter-communal clashes in Nigeria . As strong suspicions grew that these clashes were instigated mainly by members of the new political class, especially top members of Obasanjo-led PDP, Obasanjo himself came out to claim he knew those sponsoring the mayhem. But the nation waited forlornly and hopelessly for him to name or institute prosecution against these people. Despite the thousands of lives senselessly lost in these carnages, not one single person has been prosecuted or convicted. Barely three years into his first 4-yeartenure, Obasanjo was asked how he felt about the fact that more than10,000 Nigerians have lost their lives through these politically instigated communal clashes on CNN (aired September 17, 2002) and his response was to imply that 10,000 people dying in a population of over 120 million shouldn’t be a big deal!



While political assassination perforated the reign of General Sani Abacha and largely accounted for the contempt in which he was held worldwide, Obasanjo surpassed the morbid record of the Goggled One in this regard, not only by the sheer number or the manner of their death, but also in the calibre of people that were assassinated. Still western leaders were falling over themselves to welcome him to their capitals, making him a fixture in high level conferences discussing African developmental needs.



Two days before Christmas in 2001, Bola Ige, a political rival to Obasanjo but at the time an uneasy ally, who held the important portfolio of Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in Obasanjo’s cabinet, was gunned down in broad daylight in his own home in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. In a macabre dance of the absurd, Ige’s death was played out in the full glare of the nation. But his blood was still warm when Obasanjo and his party rewarded those strongly suspected of his murder with political power.



On March 5, 2003, Dr Marshall Harry, who used to belong to Obasanjo’s party, but who defected to the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) and posed a great obstacle to Obasanjo’s agenda in the South-south region as vice chairman of his new party kissed the dust. The man was murdered in his own home in Abuja in circumstances that suggested the involvement of highly trained assassins with military background. The killers stayed for almost two hours in the house trying to get the man, who at a point came out on his balcony to cry for help while the men battered his reinforced door and cut through his ceiling. His house was just a few meters from the Police Command of the Federal Capital Territory , yet no help came.



On Feb 6, 2004, Harry’s kinsman, Aminosoari Dikibo, a national vice chairman of Obasanjo’s party was shot dead on his way to a zonal meeting of his party in Asaba. At the time, he belonged to a rival faction to Obasanjo within the party, was seriously opposed to his meddling in Anambra State and openly supported the Obasanjo-embattled Chris Ngige. Two days after the man’s death, before the police could say anything, Obasanjo peremptorily informed the nation that Dikibo was killed by armed-robbers. This was despite the fact that those who killed the man on the road did not take any valuable or money from him. Of course, Obasanjo’s claim was met with national uproar and suspicion. How did he know Dikibo was killed by armed-robbers that soon when the police were yet to come up with anything? Why is he pointing to that direction if not to divert attention from the real source(s) of the man’s death? Like Ige and Harry, Funsho Williams, PDP’s front-runner for the Lagos State governorship slot met his death in the hands of daring assassins in his own home on July 27, 2006. They came in, tied him up, brutalized, stabbed and strangled him.

Apart from the above, we had the cases of Alabi Hassan-Olajokun, a financier of the Alliance for Democracy in the western states; Dr Ayodeji Daramola, a governorship aspirant in Ekiti State; the activist pilot, Jerry Agbeyegbe; the fiery journalist, Godwin Agbroko; Andrew Agom, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees; Jesse Aruku, a governorship aspirant in Plateau State; Ahmed Pategi, PDP Chairman in Kwara State, Ogbonnaya Uche, ANPP senatorial candidate for Orlu and many more.

In all these cases, the killers made sure they left no one in doubt that these were political murders meant to send a message to certain other elements within the system committed to serious democratic party politics. Indeed, there are those who believe the murders were not unconnected with Obasanjo’s self-perpetuation agenda, as, by this time, his pet “Third Term” project was already in full swing. Curiously, since his Third Term plan was shot down by Nigerians, the political assassinations have stopped as well. Needless to say, these murders remain unresolved till this day. Prof Wole Soyinka, the Nobel Laureate said it best when he described Obasanjo-led PDP as “a nest of killers”.

Not surprisingly, such a regime couldn’t have been sustained without massive corruption, which he spearheaded even as president. Obasanjo’s way of fighting democratic battles within the National Assembly was through massive bribery. For instance, when in 2002, there was uproar for his impeachment following the massacres at Odi, Zaki Biam and so on(amongst 16 other charges), he used money to buy over the legislator sand made sure they didn’t get the needed numbers. At one point, Obasanjo’s bribe money was displayed on the floor of the National Assembly publicly.

Indeed, Obasanjo’s well-known corrupt dealings are legion and it would be a boldfaced lie for those who parade him within the international community today as a worthy statesman to claim they have no idea. The series of revelations of the huge corrupt dealings that pervaded the comatose power sector throughout Obasanjo’s tenure have his imprints all over them. In March 2008, the National Assembly indicted him for supposedly spending $2.2 billion on power without due process. The Transcorp shares, the Obasanjo Library Fund, the COJA contracts, the PTDF scandal, the Siemens bribe scandal, the oil contracts and oil wells allocation done directly by Obasanjo who also doubled as Petroleum Resources minister are all tips of the iceberg. Obasanjo ran Nigeria aground and, when it was obvious to him that his Third Term bid has failed, he vengefully imposed on the nation the seriously sick brother of his late friend, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua as president.

For Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua is the pliable tool he needed to make his getaway. He ensured that the election that brought him in was the worst in the nation’s history. He introduced the principle of “do or die” politics and used the security forces and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to intimidate anyone in the way of his designs. Indeed, he personally supervised the maiming, killing and sheer robbery that ensured Yar’Adua was put there. Nigerians today still groan under Obasanjo’s dastard legacy. The term ‘failed leader’ cannot begin to do justice enough to his legacy, yet those who direct affairs of the international community continue to embrace him as some kind of African messiah, pushing him in the forefront of anything Africa. Today, they have inflicted him on the Congo – a man whose legacy of death, mayhem and spectacular failure has knocked Nigeria into comatose is being depended on to provide a pathway to peace in the Congo ! Talk about pie in the flaming sky!



The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the international community who are entrusting Obasanjo with the task of bringing peace to the Congo are perhaps seduced by his glib talk. They probably think as one of the oldest and longest serving former ruler of an important African country and a former military leader who as a young officer served in Congo, he would command more respect from the warring factions there. Well, all they need to jolt them to reality is to think of Liberia. Obasanjo’s policies in Liberia made things worse by enabling his genocidal friend, Charles Taylor, who, when the international community finally decided enough was enough, found refuge in Obasanjo’s abode. The man had to be virtually prised away from his hands to stand trial for crimes against humanity. No one should be surprised. What bind them are not only cheap Liberian women, they are kindred spirits who hunt and kill innocents together!



Lastly, it’s important that the world should get an idea of the kind of father Obasanjo is. Just as Nigerians ushered in the New Year in 2008, they were greeted with the shocking and debasing news that Gbenga Obasanjo, the ex-president’s own son, has accused his father of having sexual relations with his wife, Mojishola Obasanjo. The younger Obasanjo was stating this in court papers, asking for the dissolution of the marriage. A nonplussed nation waited for general Obasanjo to deny this publicly. He didn’t, neither did the lady. Gbenga insisted: “I know for a fact that my father had sexual relationship with Moji due to her greed to curry favour and contracts from him in his capacity as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” The divorce was granted on those grounds and its now there in public record that General Olusegun Obasanjo, who has a reputation as a lecherous man of insatiable sexual appetite, slept with his son’s wife!



The Nigeria Liberty Forum considers it a public duty to stop people like Obasanjo representing Africa anywhere, because he represents the same failed face of Africa .We cannot afford for different versions of Mobutu, Idi Amin, Bokassa, Conteh, Marcias Nguema and their ilk representing us at a time the world is yearning for genuine leadership. Obasanjo has the traits of the worst tyrants in Africa, but he seems to have the international community under his spell. They overlook his indiscretions and scandalous crimes and shower him with credibility when he should be cooling his heels in jail or hiding away in one remote corner of the world, far, far from civilization!



Not too curiously, the increasingly retrogressive authorities of the London School of Economics have equally fallen under his spell. They have since revoked all accreditations given to press men for the event and have requested that the Nigeria Liberty Forum pass whatever message it has through them to Obasanjo, all in an attempt to keep the public away. Well, it’s not going to happen, because the world must know who Obasanjo is. We can speak for ourselves in any public space and we can do so via a peaceful protest. Obasanjo is a monster not a statesman and no amount of lipstick or make-up will change him from who he is. We know him and every decent citizen of our world needs to know him for who he truly is as well.



Long Live the United Kingdom!



Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!





Signed: Kayode Ogundamisi

Convenor, Nigeria Liberty Forum



To join NLF UK , send an email to nlibertyforum@googlemail.com



Telephone (Daytime): +447951402986 (Evening): +442030150739

http://www.thenewblackmagazine.com/view.aspx?index=1866

https://www.nairaland.com/792619/obj-looted-200bn-devalued-naira/4
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 8:06am On Nov 28, 2012
angry

criminal!
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 8:45pm On Dec 02, 2012
[size=18pt]Obasanjo's monumental corruption and looting by Col.Umar (part1)[/size]

culled from:
Source http://www.gamji.com/article6000/NEWS7905.htm


For An Effective Fight Against Corruption By Colonel Abubakar D. Umar (RTD)


The following areas and many more need to be investigated. Needless to say that the facts I supplied below are mere allegations that need to be probed. 1 have been constrained in my research by lack of easy access to official documents which will not be a problem to any government commissioned probe panel.



In The Beginning. The first salvo fired by President Olusegun Obasanjo in his well publicized war against corruption on his inauguration on 29th May 1999 was the revocation of all contracts awarded between January to April 1999 by his immediate predecessor, Genera! Abdulsalam Abubakar, on the allegation that all those contracts were hurriedly and dubiously awarded. To most observers this action was proof enough of the seriousness of the new president in this promise to prosecute a war against corruption in which there would be no sacred cows and his resolve to confront all culprits irrespective of their status. How else could one interpret this move considering the crucial role played by General Abdulsalam in releasing Chief Obasanjo from jail and pardoning him of the conviction of coup plot against Abacha's government and making his election as president possible.



This 'act of courage' soon revealed itself as a ruse. The sinister motive soon manifested. It was, as it tuned out, not aimed at sanitizing the system but the first act of sleaze shrouded in messianic garb, soon to become the hallmark of the Obasanjo anti corruption and other administrative policies. Most of these contracts were later reviewed upwards and re-awarded to some of the same companies after they might have paid bribes. Not many Nigerians are aware that the mysterious N700 Million which Obasanjo entrusted to his estranged friend Chief Otunba Fasawe and which was revealed at the PTDF Senate probe was probably part of the proceeds from this scam.





[img]http://2.bp..com/-ah9Ev6fvRb8/Trl9YojozhI/AAAAAAAAA6E/y9i8jvA6g30/s1600/Nigerian+Airways.jpg[/img]
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 4:37am On Dec 03, 2012
angry
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 3:27am On Dec 04, 2012
[size=18pt]Obasanjo's monumental corruption and looting by Col.Umar (part2)[/size]

culled from:
Source http://www.gamji.com/article6000/NEWS7905.htm


For An Effective Fight Against Corruption By Colonel Abubakar D. Umar (RTD)


NNPC. Nigerians vigorously questioned the rationale of a president choosing to add to his burden by taking over the direct control of the busiest Ministry, that of petroleum, and refusing to give it up despite persistent insinuations and innuendos regarding his selfish motives.



Forensic look at the modus operandi of Obasanjo's control of this cash-cow will reveal that the public is right in its suspicious all along. Let's look at the facts of a few cases.


REFINERIES

The Obasanjo administration inherited refineries that were largely unserviceable, operating much below their 450,000 barrels per day installed capacity. The president promised to reverse the trend. Repair contracts worth hundreds of millions of Dollars were awarded for this purpose. It was money thrown down the drains as the refineries continued to loose their refining capacities, which fell from 250,000 barrels per day as at May 29, 1999 to about 150,000 barrels per day by 2001. No explanation was given for this. No one was held accountable.

In a surprising move the government directed an increase in the crude allocation to NNPC, for local refining and use, from 300,000 barrels per day to 450,000 barrels per day as if the refineries are functioning at full capacity. What could be the reason behind this? Well, the NNPC was supplied crude for local consumption at a heavily subsidized rate. For example, by 2001 when president Obasanjo decided to increase the local allocation, a barrel of crude was selling at $35 per barrel on the international market. NNPC was being charged $18 per barrel. Now since the refineries had a refining capacity of 150,000 barrels per day, NNPC had excess of 300,000 barrels at the subsidized rate which was exported making a profit of 300,000 barrels per day multiplied by $17 per barrel which comes to $5,100,000 profit for NNPC.

The crude allocation was paid in local currency, the Naira. For some inexplicable reason, NNPC paid the CBN at the rate of N110 to the Dollar instead of the prevailing forex rate of N135 to the Dollar. Again, there has not been any explanation for this under payment.



There are two issues that only a probe can resolve:



a) How was the $5,100,000 per day utilized?

b) What informed the decision to discount the Dollar by about

N25 and who authorized this?

NNPC's explanation to the first query that the profit was used for import of petroleum products is unconvincing because the expenditure is an appropriation matter that needed to be approved by the National Assembly and there is no evidence to prove that such approval was ever sought or obtained. The contracts were never a subject of Federal Executive Council consideration and approval therefore lacking transparency. When the RMAFC raised queries, the president felt intimidated enough to set up a committee to investigate allegations of impropriety. One of the findings of the committee was that NNPC's benchmark prices were in some cases higher than the ones quoted by major trading companies. The report was so damaging to the president and NNPC that he quickly suppressed it. Business as usual continued.





[img]http://2.bp..com/-ah9Ev6fvRb8/Trl9YojozhI/AAAAAAAAA6E/y9i8jvA6g30/s1600/Nigerian+Airways.jpg[/img]

1 Like

Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 11:30pm On Dec 11, 2012
angry
Re: Thief Obasanjo - he wrecked Nigeria and stole $200bn by Nobody: 9:55am On Dec 14, 2012
[size=20pt]Obasanjo's monumental corruption and looting by Col.Umar (part3)[/size]

CRUDE OIL CONTRACTS


No where has president Obasanjo shown so much disdain for due process and displayed greed and crass opportunism as in the management of crude oil contracts. The nation was defrauded tens of billions of Dollars in the most opaque and criminal contract process, which was handled between the president and his willing accomplice, the GMD NNPC.



It will interest Nigerians to know that all crude oil lifting contracts signed by the Obasanjo administration were only advertised once. All subsequent awards were done through a roll over. This was achieved through an arranged delay in notification of the expiration of the ongoing contracts. The GMD NNPC writes to the president seeking his approval to roll over the contracts citing lack of time to adhere to a proper procedure and the president willingly approved. In this way due process was circumvented.



It is safe to say that NNPC contracts were not subject to due process verification, The president decided on the terms. So also were winners and losers decided by president Obasanjo. In some cases, the winners were companies with dubious profiles. They won huge contracts on account of their close relationship to the president or members of his family. For example, Petrodel Resources Ltd which got one of the highest allocations of 90,000 barrels per day was initially not known to NNPC consultants based in London. On further inquiry, it was discovered to have been registered in Isle of man as a one man registered company. This fact was made known to the president by the investigative panel which he set up to probe the crude oil contracts in September, 2003. Once again, no action was taken to correct the system.

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