Presidents Obasanjo and Babangida are the most villified politicians in the country. They are also the most interested in the affairs of the country of all the past heads of government, especially President Obasanjo.

President Obasanjo said he joined the army because it offered him a refuge from poverty as he was not born with a silver spoon. Apart from someone like Colonel Victor Banjo and maybe a few others, it is rare to see the children of the elite among the Yoruba in the armed forces. The British established the Nigerian army though not under that name. It was natural for them to use mainly Middle belt Christians as rifle men and not the Yoruba obviously because their main contender that could have overrun their Lagos outpost would have been Ibadan, a Yoruba state so it may not have made sense to staff the ranks of their armed forces with Yoruba men. However, Ibadan ended up as an ally of the British when they supported the British with up to 50 thousand men during the expedition to occupy the Ijebu country after the Ijebu expelled European traders and refused them passage through the Ijebu lands. After this expedition, the Ibadan had its hand full with the Kiriji war for 16 years and it was the British again that arrived Igbajo to broker peace and put all the Yoruba under mutually agreed British protection leading to colonisation. Meanwhile, the foundation of the Nigerian army had been laid and it was with rifle men drawn principally from the Christian middlebelt areas of Benue and Plateau. Later, the Yoruba were in the opposition in Nigeria and did not really see the army as their institution. None of the Yoruba leaders arrested for treasonable felony during the first republic was a soldier and none of them put their children in the NDA. For example, my uncle retired as a Doctor in the Nigerian Army and would have been a General in the Medical Corps but my Grandad insisted he must not join the army, asked him to leave the military hospital after his NYSC and take a job at a teaching hospital in Ilesa but the military authourities refused to release him, so he retired there. It is likely that one of the first scions of the Yoruba elite to voluntarily and willingly join the Nigerian army is the General Eniitan Ransome Kuti who has now been jailed for cowardice and dismissed from the army. That is just by the way.

So General Obasanjo joined the army under such an atmosphere, trained as a technician, trained as an officer just like others, got commissioned and started to rise, fought the civil war, was appointed Chief of General Staff after a coup while his more popular and senior colleague during the civil war, Brigadier Adekunle was retired. He later became Head of State when an attempt by some Middle belters to return one of their own to power after General Gowon was removed by Northern Muslims was foiled. General Obasanjo was the consensus candidate while General Yaradua became the Chief of General Staff. He quietly did his job, kickstarted a return to democracy, publicly voted for the NPN and handed over to Alhaji Shagari, a Northern Muslim and gentleman. General Obasanjo was accused of stealing 2.8 billion dollars by the UPN but his lifestyle after leaving office exonerates him. He became a struggling farmer. His first wife wrote a book where she said she needed money and President Obasanjo was not forthcoming, so Basorun Abiola wanted to advance a loan but was reported to the Alake by President Obasanjo for interfering in his marital affairs without his consent, so Basorun Abiola withdrew. Later the woman got money, then started a poultry using land and other resources of the then retired General Obasanjo, who then emerged after the business has blossomed to start posturing as the owner being the husband and landlord but Mrs Obasanjo would have none of that probably because Gen Obasanjo then had left her for Mrs Stella Obasanjo, she then attempted to relocate her birds to a neutral place but it ended in a scuffle with her husband and she ended up being detained by the police and she said Mrs Stella Obasanjo seized the opportunity to telephone her young children to inform them that their mother has been arrested for stealing chickens.

All these information are in the public domain and General Obasanjo was just like Prof Oluwasanmi who retired as OAU Vc to become a poultry farmer around thesame time. I believe his Araromi farms was bigger than General Obasanjo's farm but later after being jailed for coup plotting by General Abacha, General Obasanjo emerged as a consensus civilian President and after two terms he retired for the second time. He is now one of the biggest farmer and employer of labour in the Agric sector, doing more than his fair share of providing food security for the nation. He is a bit like President Clinton who became very wealthy after office. Of course he may have helped himself but I believe he will support a compulsory public asset declaration for all Nigerians.

So ur point is?

Cant you see that this appraisal of the former President is to present him in the right light? as against the campaign of calumny going on against him.