Your 18-page letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, which was leaked to the press yesterday, left many mouths agape in utter wonderment. That letter, every patriotic citizen must agree, summarizes Mr Jonathan’s administration in content and character. His regime is a marvel of transgression. In fact, General, many of us – Nigeria’s nobodies who have somehow found space in twitter’s ability to absorb frustrations in 140 characters – have been dubbed ‘children of anger’ by the president’s spokesperson, Reuben Abati. Our sin? We have long told them that this government is empty, that its head means no good for the country, and that its key players stink of corruption.

The truth in that letter will not permit anybody, and that includes the worst of your critics, Dear General, to accuse you of bitterness. No matter what Abati comes out to feed us, for sure, people like me will not agree with him or his ilk that you are one cranky old man, envious of his principal. It does appear like you were sincerely led by the love for country in drafting that letter.

However, General, the same truth in the said letter has prompted some of those who read you to wonder where this patriotism was while you bestrode Nigeria’s political landscape with visible mercilessness in the 8 years that you ruled. And while it lasted, you probably never imagined that a day would come when the genie you planted in your kitchen will spring up and give every family member the run of their lives. For those of us who think you did this land evil by your choice of successors, this is that ah ha! moment.

General, you rightly recognized that by being Nigeria’s president, one was handling five positions concurrently. It was from these five positions that you created this president Jonathan and foisted him on a nation in need of speed. Like I have said in the past, Jonathan is your legacy. You will live with this reality till the day you die. In your essential nature, which is particularly common with the Nigerian politician anyway, you kept dropping God’s name in that letter. You claimed God made Jonathan president through you. That’s not true, General. God did not make Jonathan Nigeria’s president. You did. Actually, Nigeria’s president as of today could have been anybody. It was just for you to decide. Whoever you foisted on the nation in 2007 was your choice, not God’s. And like I said, that president could have been anybody. Do you realize, General, that if the presidential candidate in 2007 had been a Nuhu Ribadu or an El-Rufai, then there wouldn’t have been a President Jonathan today? Because, for one, they are both still alive. I am assuming that your VP choice would still have remained Jonathan. I mean, if you had tinkered with your combination for that contest, the outcome today wouldn’t be exactly what it is. If it had been Yar’Adua and another Ijaw person, capable and detribalized, we wouldn’t be having a President Jonathan now. It’s important you note this.

May the General be reminded that, as at the night you conscripted Governor Goodluck Jonathan into the presidential race – to serve as Yar’Adua’s running mate- he had a huge case of corruption hanging on his neck. Which makes it, permit me to use this, hypocritical of you to now accuse the president of corruption. You are worried about the allegation that sales of crude worth billions weren’t remitted into the nation’s treasury? Seriously, General, what makes you think a corrupt governor will not be a corrupt Vice President? And how will a corrupt Vice President not make a corrupt president? Interestingly, you were the one who constituted a Joint Task Force in 2006 which listed Goodluck Jonathan amongst candidates for prosecution on the grounds of false declaration of assets. It was a breach of Code of Conduct for public office holders. That Task Force was headed by your anti-corruption chief, Nuhu Ribadu. It comprised of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), The Department of State Services (DSS), and the Nigerian Police. In their report, they recommended for prosecution of Dr Goodluck Jonathan and some other state governors of that time. The grounds for Jonathan’s potential prosecution were stated as follows:

Substance of Charges (1) False Declaration of Assets

(i) Lexus Jeep worth N18 million claimed to have been acquired through savings in 2004. Verification reveals that the Jeep was a gift collected in contravention of the CCB Act of 1990. Same for BMW 7351 Series bought in 2005 worth N5.5 million;

(ii) Acquisition of properties outside legitimate income; Seven Bedroom Duplex acquired in 2001 worth N18 million at Otuke Ogbia LGA, Four Bedroom Duplex acquired in 2003 worth N15 million at Goodluck Jonathan Street, Yenegoa;
Five Bedroom Duplex – acquired in 2003 worth N25 million at Citec Villas, Gwarimpa II – Abuja.

Yet you, without regards for decency and honour – oh, that word! – for the office of the president, forced Jonathan into the presidential contest the very next year. So who is the problem? The leopard which is unable to change its spot or the man who didn’t like the spots but still opted for the leopard in a contest where only the Zebra was good enough? Your argument that you wanted a core North/South South combination in 2007 isn’t tenable, because much as it (the North/South divide) is our reality, Yar’Adua/Jonathan wasn’t the only solution to that challenge. In truth, if you went for merit, they never came near the mark. There were hundreds of more qualified and better people from the two regions. General, admit it, your choice of Yar’Adua and Jonathan was in your best interest, not Nigeria’s. It was more of an ego trip than a journey to bequeath our fledgling democracy competent, and able hands.

I heard you mention ‘honour’ in your letter. That sounded strange. Honour? Well… there’s a coalesced consensus on your person, that you aren’t the type who qualifies even remotely to charge anybody of lacking in ‘honour’. Would you be kind enough, General, to remind us how honourable it was to want to tinker with our nation’s constitution for a self-serving third term to be inserted therein? Some of the most qualified people in your administration to succeed you in office were snubbed because they didn’t support your third term plot. Remember how much you bribed legislators to ensure the constitutional amendment did happen? At that point in our history, you, General Obasanjo, did not care if Nigeria was tottering on the edge of entropy. It never mattered that your action was driving us back to 1966. Today, Jonathan, driven by the same ambition that propelled you, doesn’t really give a damn. Those who tried it before him are still alive and well, and you would want to also add, superbly rich, to junket the whole globe donning the garb of international statesmen. Jonathan thinks he has a future in the trade that sustained – and still sustains – you. So why blame him? You showed him the path to dishonour. He is not likely to depart from it. It is good to suddenly remember such an ideal as honour. I just however, thought to remind you that it would have come handy when you were the president. And with such example, the presidency wouldn’t have attracted a character like Goodluck Jonathan under your supervision.

You talked about crises in your party and how the president fuels it. Well, you are right. For self-serving interests, Jonathan has factionalized his party. But I just think he learnt that from you. Dear General, do you remember a man called Audu Ogbeh? How did he stop being PDP national chairman? You went to his house at the thick of the night and procured his resignation at gun-point. And what was his offense? Oh, it was a letter. You see, a letter! Letters, especially this type you wrote Jonathan, are known to get you irate. Mr Audu Ogbeh wrote you a letter seeking your intervention – in your capacity as the Party Leader – in the political crises engulfing one of your PDP states. Recall, General, that Chris Ubah, billionaire tout and a relative of your late wife Stella, kidnapped the state Governor Chris Ngige and practically brought governance in the state to a halt. He had also set ablaze the seat of government. The governor’s security details were withdrawn with order from your Abuja and all you did was look the other way. Even when it became public knowledge that all Ubah wanted was for the state finances to be emptied into his bank accounts, you never acted irritated. You never cautioned Ubah who was enjoying your support. You can’t deny this, General, because Ubah’s blood brother, Andy, was your domestic aide then. And, as you once made us know, he used to serenade you to sleep. You masterminded the destabilization of a couple of states in Nigeria as the president. You effectively played God, sir. Isn’t it clear that Mr Jonathan’s polarization of PDP is reminicscent of the manner you equally polarized the party?

On sycophancy, you equally enjoyed a substantial dose of it. Remember Ojo Maduekwe? He was your man-Friday. You know, we all know he has a history of excellence in playing the perfect courtier. In early 1998, while you were languishing in prison, Ojo was at Abuja telling Nigerians why Abacha must transmute from army camouflage to baban riga. He said Abacha was the best thing to happen to Nigeria since the invention of Garri Ijebu. And then the moment Abacha died, he did a 360 degree and became your best man. At Eagle Square, at the twilight of your presidency, when you were plotting your eternal hold on PDP, Ojo was the one who helped you change your party’s constitution to make way for your emergence as the BOT chairman. That a character like that was very close to your government says much about your love, or lack of it, for truth.

There is an area I am tempted to absolve you of blame on the Jonathan presidency: the President’s clannishness. He hasn’t risen beyond ethnicity. He won’t. You see, it takes an upbringing of sufficient exposure to Nigeria’s diversity to not be tribal. Jonathan doesn’t have the heart to refrain from being the president of the ‘Ijaw Nation’. Sad as this is, you still are to blame. There are ways to find out if a man is a closet bigot, especially if the man isn’t ambitious. Ambitious men have a way of hiding their true selves. Jonathan the governor in an Ijaw state wouldn’t have been able to hide his disdain for other parts of the country; because, he never aspired to play at the national level. If you had sought for signs in 2007, you’d have seen many. But let’s face it, General: you weren’t after a detribalized Nigerian being the Vice President. You were only for a Vice President who had the capacity, alongside his principal, to be manipulated. And that you planned to do from your Ota Farm. Remember you told El-Rufai this? Well, The Accidental Public Servant, his expose on all that transpired in that government of yours, is my supporting evidence.

As a president, you were nationalistic, no doubt. And for that you deserve my commendation. But you did not necessarily seek nationalists to succeed you. You wanted puppets. You just got served, General.

I do not intend to do you an 18-page letter. I do not have such luxury of time. I’m in my productive years, and must use it to, in the absence of social security put in place in the country you ruled for 11 years, work extra hard in search of a secure retirement for myself.

So permit me to conclude this letter by referring to a very courageous assertion you made in your letter. I personally think that line should resonate in all books of Nigeria’s history at the right time. You said; “I have passed the stage of being flattered, intimidated, threatened, frightened, induced or bought… Death is the end of all human beings and may it come when God wills it to come.”

If you had abided this philosophy while you reigned, I doubt if we would be where we are today. For instance, the Ibrahim Babangida whom you craved the President’s indulgence to put in copy of the letter would have been where those who mismanage $12.4b of their countries’ wealth are kept: jail.

It’s disgusting to flaunt a friendship with a man who liberalized corruption in the country you claim to love, when, in truth, you had the opportunity to extract justice from him for the rest of the citizens, and even humanity.

You see, you wrote a good letter. It is only sad that this mess we are into could have been completely avoided…by you. Now, the next solution, which is the president heeding your wise counsel, will unfortunately be rubbished by his knowledge and those of his aides, that you did not lead by example. The president will, as it is practiced amongst Nigeria’s political elite, hurl the message inside the trash bin because the messenger is tainted.

This is why your message came way too late, because you, while you served in that same capacity, should have been the message yourself. And if you had been, Jonathan wouldn’t have become, because in him you wouldn’t have found the depth required to steer the ship of the Nigerian state, the entity you profess so much love for.

Thank you, General, and please accept the assurances of my highest regards.

Chinedu Ekeke
(An unknown Nigerian)

Source: http://www.ekekeee.com/sorry-general-obasanjo-already-late-chinedu-ekeke/

My thoughts exactly. ....OBJ'S letter was DEAD ON ARRIVAL.

A clear case of a sound message from a tainted messenger. He should live with the direction this country is heading to and die with a conscience of great guilt when his time comes.

This is definitely front page material.

Beautiful! Obasanjo is culpable in Goodluck's gross incompetence at leadership.
However,with that grand snub by South Africa, a serious soul searching should be done by all Nigerians,not just by our irresponsible leaders

Well sais Chinedu Ekeke......... Obasanjo wanted a puppet but got something different. Donald Duke/Ribadu combo was my choice in 2007 but the devilish Obasanjo brought the "government magic" at the last minute and chose walking dead Umoru Yaradua/Otuoke dullard.

God Bless.

NosoChic: My thoughts exactly. ....OBJ'S letter was DEAD ON ARRIVAL.

A clear case of a sound message from a tainted messenger. He should live with the direction this country is heading to.

This is definitely front page material.

the direction he help put in place just in case u have 4gotten the part he played to make Nigeriathe way it is. Anything OBJ touches in tainted.

Well chinedu.. Its too late to fix it witout violence but its nt too late to fix it wit violence. D chosen one is already preparing for dat violence, so all we can say nw is God help us. And for OBJ, i hope he gtes burned in dis fire he started.

What a beautifully penned masterpiece....am very suprised that someone from eastern nigeria can write an article devoid of bias and sentiments.
Kudos Chinedu okeke!!!

You couldn't have put it better.

Regret is the core motivation of this 18- page letter from OBJ. He wanted to exonerate himself. GEJ is very incompetent, and OBJ was aware of it, yet he foisted him on us.

Time, they say is a naughty lady.

Very succinctly put.

It is time for Nigerians to rise above ethnic sentiments and take Nigeria back not only from the hands of Ebele Jonathan and his thieving accomplices but also from the corrupt Nigerian elite
GEJ was put in Aso Rock to manage the status quo of the thieving Nigerian elite
[size=18pt]However he has become a Frankenstein monster who endangers not only them but has the tendency to bring the house down on them and ruin all their thieving endeavours
The alarm bells been rung by OBJ to the rest of their thieving clique is that let us cast GEJ overboard lest he sink the boat with all of us inside[/size]
Get your ringside seats
This drama will get more interesting in the days ahead

Obj is an outlaw and has no moral standing to dictate to anybody what is right or wrong.
For GEJ,surely they shall gather in one way but surely,they shall scatter in more than seven ways.

Could this reply have been scripted better? I doubt it. Even GEJ mouthpieces cannot come close.

OBJ, you are OYO (on your own).

This piece itself is as lengthy as the said 18page letter.

true talk, but who willl bail the cat'

I don't think it came too late.

good write up from Chinedu Ekeke....Obasanjo is a psycophant and a sore loser....he has lost out from the scheme of things

Obasanjo wey dey punana him son wife?

according to d adage 'if you live in a GLASS HOUSE dont throw stone' baba iyabo please allow us to endure dis hardship u put us thru dnt try to compound it. a thief calling a thief a thief!

Please, people get the massage not the messenger.

Unpatriotic tribe of Nigeria always thinking the other way. Think right.

Good one there Chinedu, we agree that the letter was correct and OBJ is also culpable. But should we not deal with the serious issues rather than wasting time assessing OBJ's credibility?

BTW that house on Goodluck street, Yenagoa is grossly undervalued it can never be 15m even @ 2007. Entering the compound practically translate u from Bayelsa to Beverly hills. I once lived on dt street.

This guy is so right! but we have to deal with the situation on hand now, which is kicking the corrupt thieves out of power come 2015.

Maazi Chinedu Okeke, do you belong to the children of anger club?

All I can say is wow.

Even if Goodluck becomes grief-stricken and remorseful as result of Obasanjo's letter, it is practically impossible for him to do anything about it. The man is set in his ways, and it isn't while he is in power that he will now start changing his person.

The best statesmen prepare themselves for decades before assuming leadership, and we can safely assume that Goodluck Jonathan prepared himself for what he is now manifesting. I mean...the President is training snipers?!!!

Thanks Chinedu for the wow reply to Obj's 18 page of "I am clean" episode. It is only kids not born when Obj held sway that will hail him. For those of us who were spectators, Obj has just nailed his own coffin.

A life lesson for Obj is, ''Keep quiet when you are in deep sh.i.t'.

The most spectacular part of this rejoinder is how balanced it is. I doubt there are many south easterners who can write a well balanced article like this without any form of bias.

Great_omotoy: true talk, but who will bell the cat'

Good question.
I also see the pot calling the kettle black and no sign of change from the downward spiral; only that things are shaping up to get real ugly - the gloves already off as they are squaring up and spoiling for a real big fight.
May God help us not to get in between the crossfire.

ChinoElects: Obasanjor is the worst thing to happen to this country. GEJ is a saint where the criminal Obj is..

Even the devil thinks He is a saint right? Jonathan, as Pastor Tunde Bakare warned, is an Ahab to Nigeria and you people have not seen anything yet!

Obasanjo might not be a saint, but the question that begs for answer is: Is the content of His letter a sad reality of what is on ground?

I hear you well Chinedu. If nothing else, Obasanjo must accept full responsibility for the flawed political engineering which produced 'Jonathanism'.

As Nigerians get to grips with the message he conveyed in his 18 page letter, I hope they can remain discerning enough not to get railroaded by his barely disguised 'messianic zeal', a second time around.

"Just because a cat has kittens in the oven doesn’t make them biscuits" - Malcolm X

All I can say is wow!!! Chinedu may God almighty bless you for this wonderful piece. The evil that men do now lives with them, OBJ put us in this mess, he'll be lucky if eventually he didn't pay the ultimate price for his selfishness.

Serves OBJ right

When he saw quality leaders from the South South like Donald Duke but chose to put a clueless Retardeen who failed miserably in every political office he has ever been whether as Deputy governor or Governor, to be the vice president of this country

OBJ knew if he chose a performer, within a yr OBJs ineptitude in governance would be exposed so he chose a man on his deathbed (Umaru are you alive) and a drunkard who due to perpetual drunkenness, cant locate his own asss with his two hands to be Vice president

A man Whose main inspiration comes from bottles after bottles of hard liquor

So as bad as OBj was, he still has someone who could surpass him in poor governance

OBJ wanted people to look back at his admin and still find reasons to commend him

Retardeen really deserves an award for extreme cluelessness

In Tinubus voice : I dey laff oooooooooo