Atiku visits Obasanjo in Abeokuta
It's a meeting of father and son, says ex-president
Trip not on 2011 polls, Atiku insists
By Akpo Esajere (Lagos) and Charles Coffie-Gyamfi (Abeokuta)

AT 10 a.m. yesterday, a convoy of seven cars, all bearing the Osun State government's number plates, arrived at the hilltop palatial residence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Ogun State.


Former President Olusegun Obasanjo (right) and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar during the latter's visit to Obasanjo in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Ogun State , yesterday.



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Many who saw the convoy mistook it as the usual visit of Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola to Obasanjo. But they soon discovered that they were wrong as Oyinlola was sitting on the back seat beside an unusual guest of Obasanjo.

A few minutes later, a personality sauntered out of Oyinlola's official car and headed for the living room of Obasanjo. Then whispers everywhere, with those who managed to utter words in low tones saying: "It is Atiku Abubakar," "This is Turaki Adamawa. What is he doing here?"

Obasanjo and Atiku answered this question and others after the closed-door meeting, which lasted for two hours. Obasanjo told reporters: "We were in government together. Though we had political differences which is normal; we looked at it as a political difference between father and son."

Oyinlola, the facilitator of the meeting, used a local adage to describe his presence when he said that he was a mere watcher of "two witches" in a public dance.

Atiku spotted a white and a brown brocade with a brown cap during the visit.

Obasanjo, however, insisted that it was not true, saying, "it is a normal visit of a son to his father."

Described last night as "reconciliation in the making," the process was said to have begun over one year ago.

The initial efforts were co-ordinated by Obasanjo's former Senior Special Assistant (Domestic Duties), Chief Andy Uba, who had paid furtive visits to Atiku both in Abuja and Lagos and on at least one occasion prevailed on him to join him (Uba) in his car for a ride to Ota Farm.

But Atiku declined, citing his ankle injury which had forced him abroad for treatment.

Then came the reconciliation moves in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, following which scores of both former and serving state governors elected on the party platform started visiting Atiku in Dubai to talk politics and mostly prevailed on him to return to the PDP.

The PDP governors are believed to have recruited Governor Oyinlola for the job of wrapping up the reconciliation being close to both Obasanjo and Atiku.

Obasanjo controls at least three of the five South-West governors, including Oyinlola. Oyinlola's political career as governor of Osun State was made by the late Chief S.M. Afolabi, a co-traveller with Atiku in the Peoples Front, a political group set up by the late Shehu Yar'Adua, thus making Oyinlola a political son of Atiku.

Lately, scores of prominent traditional rulers, religious leaders, industrialists and economic movers had been involved in several meetings with Atiku in an effort to further stabilise the polity.

In second term of Obasanjo's presidency, the two leaders for over three years had a bitter running battle resulting in expulsion of Atiku and many of his loyalists from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which the former vice president was a foundation member.

The animosity this action generated continued between the duo even after Atiku led others to form the Action Congress (AC), under which platform he contested the 2007 presidential election and lost to the incumbent President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.

Obasanjo did everything humanly possible to stop Atiku's entry into the race but he got a judicial reprieve when the court ruled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no power to disqualify any Nigerian, who has not been convicted from seeking any public office.

Besides, Obasanjo used his official position to cripple some of Atiku's businesses. In fact, the former vice president once said publicly that he was the most victimised vice president in Nigeria's history. But all that now appears to be history as Atiku seems to have put everything behind him.

Atiku told reporters after the meeting that the visit had nothing to do with the 2011 elections, saying, "I have only come to pay my respect to my boss. I am not here because of 2011 polls but on courtesy call."

Asked whether his visit was an indication that he was on his way back to the PDP, Atiku simply said: "I will talk about that later. It is a New Year courtesy visit to my former boss."

He was also asked whether he had reconciled with Obasanjo, to which he replied: "There is no personal issue between us, there is no personal animosity between me and the ex-President. Yes, we had political disagreement but such could even happen between a father and his son."

Obasanjo said that Oyinlola was the facilitator of the visit.

Pressed by reporters to comment on this, Oyinlola said: "I am told that where two witches are dancing, a big man does not go there to watch."

Obasanjo, in his characteristic humour, stated that he could not be a political associate of Abubakar "because you belong to a wrong party."

He told journalists that it was the first time they were meeting after leaving office but Atiku replied that "we have met after we left office, I met you last year."

The undeclared cold war between the two leaders started shortly after Obasanjo got the PDP nomination to contest the presidential election for his second term in office.

Atiku, who was under pressure by former PDP governors and a horde of his associates across the country to challenge Obasanjo for the party's ticket, agreed to support Obasanjo after he was sure to run for the second term with his boss.

But the animosity between them became apparent after the 2003 elections, which they still won on a joint ticket. From that time, Obasanjo had perfected plans to frustrate Atiku and his associates from the PDP which he, in close collaboration with the party's leadership under Senator Ahmadu Ali, accomplished by deregistering Atiku and other key party leaders loyal to him.

Atiku was effectively isolated from the Presidency when Obasanjo denied him all the paraphernalia of the office of the vice president. Atiku was made redundant and he became completely a stranger in government.

In fact, at a time, Atiku was prevented from attending the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting. Prior to this, most of his personal aides were sacked and official cars withdrawn from his office.

In a desperate move to frustrate Atiku's presidential ambition under his new political platform, AC, Obasanjo instigated a multi-faceted probe into his finances, personal businesses and activities when he held sway in government. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under Nuhu Ribadu co-ordinated the execution of the massive probes in which Atiku was indicted and roundly condemned.

Armed with the daunting evidence of Atiku's purported culpability from the probes, Obasanjo instigated INEC to disqualify him from contesting the 2007 presidential election, which the commission actually did.

However, Atiku, who has been relying on the judiciary to fight his cause, eventually got a clean bill from the court which ruled that he should be allowed to contest.

On his part, Atiku also put up a strong fight against Obasanjo. He openly opposed the alleged plans by Obasanjo to seek for a third term in office by mobilising his loyalists and other Nigerians to frustrate the move. Atiku also exposed a lot of alleged misdeeds of his boss, most of which he released to the media for publication.

http://odili.net/news/source/2009/jan/20/28.html

Atiku inches closer to PDP return - Visits OBJ in Abeokuta - It’s a private visit -AC -Eminent Nigerians speak
From Olayinka Olukoya, Taiwo Adisa, Bola Badmus, Wale Ajayi and Stephen Gbadamosi
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
FORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Monday inched closer to his return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) when he visited his former boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.






The visit is largely believed to be the start of a fresh rapprochement between the two estranged leaders, whose open animosity threatened the peace of the Presidency between late 2005 and 2007.

Abubakar arrived at Obasanjo Hilltop mansion at around 9.58 a.m. in the black Lexus Jeep of the Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and held a closed door meeting with Chief Obasanjo which lasted almost two hours.

Atiku, clad in a white flowing agbada, with a brown cap, told journalists that he had come to felicitate with Obasanjo on the New Year as a mark of respect, and that his visit was just a normal courtesy call.

He added that he never fought Obasanjo, saying that what happened between them was a mere political disagreement.

He said, ”I have come here today to pay my respects and New Year greetings to my former boss. I think it is a normal thing that should be done. There was no fight before.”

The host, Chief Obasanjo, also explained that he never had any personal animosity towards Abubakar, noting that what happened between them, especially towards the end of their eight years in power, were nothing but mere political differences.

Asked whether they discussed Nigeria, the former president said that as past leaders, it was necessary for them to deliberate on the state of the nation, adding that some of them were involved in the affairs of the country.

He said, “Some of us are involved in the affairs of this nation, that is why we can never say that we are not concerned.

“This meeting was an opportunity for us to discuss Nigeria and we are able to review and assess the nation.”

Obasanjo also admitted that he and the former vice-president were being seen together for the first time since they both left office in 2007.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP added that he and Atiku were back only as political “friends” and not “associates,” pending the time Atiku would leave the Action Congress (AC) to rejoin his former party.

OBJ said, ”I had no personal animosity with Atiku. There was no personal issue all together. The life of the government which we both administered came to an end. When we were in, government, we had political disagreement. Now we are back like father and son.

We are back as political friends. “You are in a wrong party and not until you come back to the PDP, I will never call you my political associate.”

Meanwhile, Oyinlola, who accompanied Abubakar to Obasanjo’s residence in Abeokuta, said that the former president was the facilitator of the meeting, which, according him, ended well.

Sources close to the Atiku camp told the Nigerian Tribune that close friends of the duo, who facilitated the meeting, challenged them to find a solution to the slide in governance in the country.

The source noted that the meeting was for the good and in the interest of the country and had nothing to do with 2011 as being speculated by political observers.

It was learnt that Oyinlola, early on Monday picked the former vice president at his Ikoyi home from where they drove to Abeokuta, though followed by Atiku’s vehicle.

But the spokesman of the Action Congress (AC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed said on Monday that the visit was a private one that should not be misconstrued.

He said he also heard of the visit just like any other person, saying, “It must be a very private and personal. When he returns he will tell us what happened.”

Atiku’s visit, according to sources, amounted to a breakthrough in the plot by some concerned members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who had been concerned about the fate of the party and the need to ensure a united PDP once again.

A source said that the time was ripe for Atiku to come to the PDP, adding that he did not have any business in the opposition party at this time.

A number of top politicians spoken to on Monday said that the situation should be allowed to unfold, but they added that reconciliation was good for Atiku and Obasanjo.

Third Republic governor of Edo State, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, said in an interview that while reconciliation was good for the two, what was happening was a confirmation that there cannot be permanent enemies in politics.

“Reconciliation is good for the two of them and I wish them well. But what happens to the damage that had been done in the course of their quarrel, how are we going to redress that? In any way, reconciliation is good for the polity,” he said.

The senator representing Abia South, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe also welcomed the visit of Atiku to Obasanjo. He, however, said that people should not immediately jump into conclusions on the implications of the visit for the polity.

He stated that the visit of the former number two man to Obasanjo could help in lessening tension in the polity.

“The situation of 2005-2006, leading to the 2007 election is different from what we will see in the process leading to 2011 election. It must, however, be said that there is no permanent friend or permanent enemy in politics, what we have is permanent interest,” Abaribe said.

A senator of the Action Congress, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market, Senator Ganiyu Solomon, said that people should not jump into conclusions.

A member of the House of Representatives, Hon Leo Ogor, also said that people in politics should learn to agree to disagree.

“People should agree to disagree; there is no permanent enemy in politics. Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution also allows the freedom of association, but by and large, it is a good development for the polity.

Lol, Obasanjo stood like Obama. They very much look alike posture wise.

the 2011 positioning begins

earTHMama:

Lol, Obasanjo stood like Obama. They very much look alike posture wise.

For ya left mind abi

earTHMama:

Lol, Obasanjo stood like Obama. They very much look alike posture wise.

I am beginning to think OBJ puts three square meals on your table!

Glorification of an old bloody buffoon like OBJ is pathetic!!

earTHMama:

Lol, Obasanjo stood like Obama. They very much look alike posture wise.

earthmama,u ar not just a bigot but also a comedian.
Or rather a bigot comedian,
How can u ever compare thief Obj to Obama,how?
They are not similar in the smallest way.

So i demand u take that back and apologies to everyone for insulting our intelligence.

"My God does not need Numbers to win his battle, ask Gideon, He does not need your God-Father or connections before He can lift you up, ask Esther, He does not need your education to magnify you, ask Peter, He does not need wisdom before making you king, ask, Solomon, He does not need your experience in leadership before make you President, ask Nelson Mandela.
All we need is simple heart of Trust, Prayer, Confidence, Unconditional Love in Nigeria, with the practice of justice for all, forgiving spirit, Selflessness that devoid hatred. Nigeria should embrace symbol of progress like, Nelson Mandela, the First Black President of South Africa.
God that is greater than us has a greater plan for us in this Country, God who unite us to survive many wars in this Country is all Nigerians need. Our God that returned the lost glory of Jerusalem is still alive.
Nigeria has just started to move from grace to grace . As we celebrate Nine days to New Year, May His eyes of mercy be upon all Citizens of this Country now and always.
Merry Xmas & A PROSPEROUS 2014. Awaiting your hands of fellowship in Christ.
Thanks and God bless.
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.
Prophet Segun Akintoye +234-816 6696 667. My BB Pin2A832B A4.

Jan 20th 2009 OBJ & Atiku walked the path APC are walking today and we know where they ALL ended.

Come 2015 same story to those bad losers.

GEJ TILL 2019!

greatgilbert: Jan 20th 2009 OBJ & Atiku walked the path APC are walking today and we know where they ALL ended.

Come 2015 same story to those bad losers.

GEJ TILL 2019!

Igbo boy my friend, you must be enjoying your Cassava bread.

EDIT:
Seun's word-censor is now changing Yib0 to Igbo

Good Job Seun!! I can see you tryna fight Tribalism. But not everyone that uses the word is tribalist.

ha ha I dey laugh o. APC is dead on arrival. Nothing good for the masses from these same looters. He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

These APC thieves are just making OBJ to feel big and OBJ is just having his ego boosted for nothing.