greatest nigerian as leader or former leader? not yet and i'm not at all surprised that people get paid to become praise singers,this shows the way poverty has forced many into be zombies at the wish of these evil so called polithiefcian.we have no great former or current leaders at all in this land but we have great men and women, and somehow only one of them has been mentioned here and is wole soyinka.so the op shame on you,only you know what you are trying to acheive by coming up with such ludicrous topic.

I like him for killing those useless biafra/ojukwu the bingo boys. Kudos for that

[size=20pt]In 1976 Fela sang this song about Obasanjo - his 11.5 years in power including his time as military ruler, he met with US presidents about 7-8 time [/size]

[size=18pt]Fela Kuti uses music to criticise Obasanjo's Regime[/size]


[flash=800,800]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRAF8Xv3tGw?version=3[/flash]

seanet02:

I like him for killing those useless biafra/ojukwu the bingo boys. Kudos for that

Please let us be more sensitive about these things. The war should not have happened. A lot of things, especially killing of Nigerians, should not have happened and should not be happening

History of nations are written over centuries. Someone who has the upper hand today should not mock others. It might be his turn tomorrow.

Where is Sparta today?

General buhari thanks for posting those excerpts on that criminal - the sooner we open our eyes and stop acting like sheep the better for all of us - this man still wields a lot of power behind the scenes and is responsible for lumbering us with that other clueless puppet GEJ.

WELL, IF IT GIVES YOU JOY, HIM BEING IN THE NIGERIAN ARMY THAT FOUGHT AGAINST BIAFRA AND RECENTLY ORDERING THE WIPING OUT OF ODI AND ZAKIBIAM,IF THAT IS WHAT YOU SEE AS BEING GREAT THEN OF COS THIS IS NIGERIA AND SOONER OR LATER YOU WILL BE SINGING BOKOHARAM PRAISES,BUT REMEMBER NO CONDITION IS PERMANENT ONLY A FOOL DISAGREES THAT.

seanet02:

I like him for killing those useless biafra/ojukwu the bingo boys. Kudos for that

Greatest living Nigeria?

Nigeria, very backward country.

What are his achievements

If the poster had touted Obasanjo as the greatest living Nigerian President, I might just live with it as I consider him a disaster in the midst of calamities. But to recommend him as the greatest living Nigerian in the same land that sprouted Tai Solarin, Gani Fawehinmi, Obafemi Awolowo, Fela Anikulapo Kuti and MKO Abiola? Men who denied themselves for the betterment of other people's lives.
Over my dead body!

[size=18pt]14th February 1977 - Wikipedia
Obasanjo raids and burns down Fela Kuti's compound, Fela's elderly mother thrown out of window and fatally wounded[/size]
[flash=800,800]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5QfLc5xZRg?version=3[/flash]

As far as I am concerned, OBJ did a lot for our dear country and will forever be Nigeria's greatest.

Poster stop this PR job. I am far better than OBJ. During his reime many ppl were killed mostly political opponents. I didn't say he killed them but why are they nt dying again since OBJ leave office? Who killed Bola Ige? Na armed robbers really? He sold all Nigeria business to his friends and cronies.,Where is Nigeria airways,Nigeria shipping line,Nitel,etc. The debts he settled were procured by him. Check nigeria budget b4 1999 and budget frm 1999-2007? How were they financed? massive borrowing.-hat about implementation?zero. Is it his xter. A man dt slept with his son's wife.His son said it blame him nt me.Or is it his politics? OBJ shld never be portrayed as a model or you will be throwing Nigeria to d gutter. POSTER, will you be happy if all nigerians start beheving like OBJ? I prefer Abacha,IBB and saint abubakar over OBJ at least,we were in military regime during their tenure and we know that.

thousands of people both (youth and adult ) in National Open University of Nigeria NOUN will never forget OBJ.

adamaw2tuf:

greatest nigerian as leader or former leader? not yet and i'm not at all surprised that people get paid to become praise singers,this shows the way poverty has forced many into be zombies at the wish of these evil so called polithiefcian.we have no great former or current leaders at all in this land but we have great men and women, and somehow only one of them has been mentioned here and is wole soyinka.so the op shame on you,only you know what you are trying to acheive by coming up with such ludicrous topic.

adamawa boy apart from Awolowo, Zik, Bello

who is better than OBJ presently ?

I am waiting

cjfavour:

Poster stop this PR job. I am far better than OBJ. During his reime many ppl were killed mostly political opponents. I didn't say he killed them but why are they nt dying again since OBJ leave office? Who killed Bola Ige? Na armed robbers really? He sold all Nigeria business to his friends and cronies.,Where is Nigeria airways,Nigeria shipping line,Nitel,etc. The debts he settled were procured by him. Check nigeria budget b4 1999 and budget frm 1999-2007? How were they financed? massive borrowing.-hat about implementation?zero. Is it his xter. A man dt slept with his son's wife.His son said it blame him nt me.Or is it his politics? OBJ shld never be portrayed as a model or you will be throwing Nigeria to d gutter. POSTER, will you be happy if all nigerians start beheving like OBJ? I prefer Abacha,IBB and saint abubakar over OBJ at least,we were in military regime during their tenure and we know that.

No you are not better than OBJ neither would you prefer Abacha, IBB etc over OBJ because that is a dumb way of thinking

[size=18pt]19 June, 2002 - BBC news
Obasanjo impeachment moves blocked by behind the scenes deal[/size]

A behind the scenes deal between senators has derailed an opposition attempt to force Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to give details of the whereabouts of millions of dollars of public funds.

The issue of the funds will now be considered by a senate committee before there is any further discussion in the National Assembly.
This is a time-honoured practice for blocking discussion of controversial issues by the assembly, according to our Nigeria correspondent, Dan Issacs.

It is likely to be the death knell for the attempt to embarrass or even impeach the president.

Power cut

The motion before the Senate was expected to be a fight between the senators and the presidency over control of Nigerian finances and a step towards impeachment of the president for his handling of public cash.

The money includes substantial sums recovered from associates of the late military dictator, General Sani Abacha.

When debate started on Tuesday, it was cut short by a power cut in the senate building. When it resumed the Senate president called a closed session, excluding journalists from the chamber.

'Cynical'

Correspondents say a deal was clearly struck during the closed session.

When the Senate returned to open session, the motion on the finances had been put before a committee.

This new obstacle to the move against the president led to a walk-out by some disgruntled senators.

Our correspondent says journalists who cover the Senate proceedings daily were taken aback by what they described as "cynical manipulation" of the discussion.

But the move is unlikely to stop the opposition attempts to pin down the president over his management of government money.

To say OBJ is the greatest living Nigerian is an understatement. He is, in fact, the greatest human to walk the face of the earth.
There has been no one like him before. I'm glad to live in the same era as him.

i am always very analytical in matters lile this. OBJ, to say the least, is the greatest LIVING (note the qualification)nigerian, but he is in no way the greatest nigerian ever.
However, for him to have deservedly earned this title points to the backwardnes of the nation. We need more hands , pls.

[color=#006600][/color] if u think Obj is not our living heros, who then is? Babangida abi? Hmm, take it or leave it, Obj remains the best 4 now, i dont know what 2moro might bring o.

^^ see how much praise singer Obasanjo has hired on Nairaland

GenBuhari:

^^ see how much praise singer Obasanjo has hired on Nairaland

^^^^^^^Buhari only needs one demented suicide bomber who goes against the grain

Interesting post. Its a tough call. But looking back now, its hard to see any past leader who outperformed OBJ's 99-2007 years - given the circumstances. He had several issues - conflicts of interests, corruption in his Govt etc. but give it to him. He had quite remarkable achievements as well - GSM, Debt cancellation, substantial FDI, and most importantly Security. Boko Haram wouldn't have flourished under OBJ. Never!

It pains me to concede that OBJ has performed all past - and current - leaders.


Without a shadow of a doubt. But expect the sheep in 3-2-1, they'll start bleating as usual, without any proof beyond the same old tired rubbish, Odi (soldiers were killed, their colleagues retaliated), power (sabotaged by the Northern power clique, led by Yar'Adunce), $16b spent on power (debunked time and again by people who know better), power probe (the man replied, they scattered, turned out it was a shake-down, led by the lead investigator himself, with the approval of Yar'Adull).Obasanjo almost single handedly squelched apartheid and negotiated Mandela's freedom (says Margaret Thatcher), sent the military back to the barracks and kept them there, got rid of the odious debt inherited from idiots like IBB, Shagari and Abacha, brought back the dead middle class, sorted out telecoms, strengthened the banks, got us R-E-S-P-E-C-T from the international community, so tey even Gaddhafi, who intimidated Abacha in this same Nigeria with his guards, was made to behave himself by small Fani-Kayode!!He put our aboki friends in their place, and demystified them completely, freeing the Middle-Belt and Nigeria as a whole from their grip in the process. He almost single handedly installed Jonathan with that famous statement to the comatose but concealed Yar'Adua that the cabal was using to torment all of us:"Yar'Adua should do the honorable thing and resign"! That's the statement that set off the noisemakers like awon Save Nigeria, and gave Dora Akunyili the courage to set the chain of events rolling that would eventually see Jonathan installed as Acting President. First time a Southern Minority, first time an Ijaw Man, the people feeding Nigeria with their oyel, would become President!!!Stopped Atiku, IBB and the murderous Buhari dead in their tracks with some correct political maneuvering that left them dazed and gasping for breath. They're still gasping!!On top of it all, the man still actually works as a farmer, daily!!! At his age, !! IBB, the younger man, has ALL his(our) money abroad in France, servicing the comatose French economy, instead of bringing it back here to help our own economy.Atiku is busy collecting mansions all over the world. If it's not Potomac, it's Dubai. Buhari is busy building a private Boko Harmy and bomb us all to death, all this while Obasanjo feeds the nation!!Yes indeed. Obasanjo IS without a shadow of a doubt, the most influential, powerful, patriotic, detribalised African alive today.

[size=18pt]27 October 2001  - wsws.org
Obasanjos sends troops to Zaki Biam in Benue State hundreds of unarmed villagers  massacred as town is completely destroyed[/size]
This week hundreds of villagers in Nigeria have been massacred by the army. In four ethnic-Tiv villages in Benue, soldiers rounded up and killed over 200 unarmed civilians. Zaki Biam, a town of about 20,000 people, was completely destroyed.

According to eyewitnesses, the military team came in eight armoured cars. They came to Anyiin first where they were said to have summoned all the villagers to Gbeji public square, claiming that they had an urgent message for them.

As soon as the villagers were gathered, the troops asked all the women and children to leave and then opened fire on the men, killing 100. At another village, the village head, a blind old man who is uncle to the former army chief, General Victor Malu, was killed alongside his wife. Their bodies were burnt inside the house.

A BBC correspondent in Nigeria, Dan Isaacs, reported from Zaki Biam that “they have destroyed every single building. Everything is burned out—walls are still standing but everything has been gutted. They came in and shelled buildings. They shot buildings with rocket propelled grenades—there are bullet holes all around.”

A local television crew visited Zaki Biam shortly after the massacre, and filmed graphic pictures of around 100 charred bodies lying in the streets. There is compelling evidence that people in other villages were rounded up, shot and their bodies subsequently set alight.

Tens of thousands of Tiv villagers have fled into the bush to escape the army crackdown. A Benue official in charge of resettling displaced people told Reuters, “We can’t account for the displaced,  The people fleeing have no access to food, water or medicine.” He said that up to 60,000 displaced people streaming in from Taraba had been registered even before this week’s killings.

The killings were reprisals for the deaths of 19 soldiers who had been abducted and killed in the same district two weeks ago. They had been sent to quell violence between two local tribes, the Tivs and Jukuns, and the army blames Tiv militias for their deaths.

A press release by Amnesty International said, “It appears that the attack by the troops was an act of revenge which went on for three days. There was no imminent danger to the life of soldiers who took part in this military operation. It can only be described as a killing spree.”

Military officials acknowledged Thursday that troops were deployed with instructions to disarm ethnic militias and arrest those responsible for the death of the 19 soldiers, but claimed that the troops were under strict instructions not to shoot unless fired upon. A spokesman for the Nigerian army, Colonel Felix Chukwuma, denied that troops had killed any villagers, in spite of the evidence and eyewitness reports.

Obasanjo was  responsible for collapse of Nigeria Airways

@ zaki biam/odi issues
those sldrs killed by civilians have families too, they went there to help them stop the madness going on in their communities, so if they can take up arms against them 4 representing d govt, 4 no just reason, then they should be ready 4 d consequences

don't think d history of this great country will be complete without mentioning this man's name

we are all living witnesses to what BH are doing rite now, they won't try that if it were 2 be IBB,abacha,Buhari or OBJ's regime, de 4 don run enter niger or chad tay tay, but this is GEJ, let's see what will happen n hope de will not have d guts to enter aso rock one day

[size=18pt]Wikileaks: How Obasanjo and his inner circle Stole Nigeria's Billions of Dollars [/size]
Friday, 09 September 2011 17:09
[elombah.com]

Corruption pervades the entire levels of the private and public sector under the administration of Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, so said a US Diplomatic cables revealed by wikileaks. The report said that "the arrests in London of the Bayelsa and Plateau State governors have barely scratched the surface of the endemic corruption at the federal, state, and local level. The diplomatic cables noted that in a
widely-circulated August 22 letter to President Obasanjo, Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu accused Obasanjo of corruption, listing a number of dubious deals, including:


--Cancellation of the contract for the construction of the national stadium in Abuja, only to re-award the contract to a different vendor at a higher price.


--Use of public funds for capital improvements at two private schools secretly owned by Obasanjo.


Obasanjo's response was to agree to be "investigated by the EFCC, which reports to the President. When the EFCC invited Kalu to provide evidence to support his accusations, Kalu refused, pointing out that the EFCC was not an independent investigative body and had no authority to prosecute the President, and the investigation died out.


The President's chicken farm in Otta is one of the largest in Nigeria. A Presidential spokesman said in November 2004, in order to explain Obasanjo's personal wealth, that the farm generated about $250,000 per month in income, though it was nearly bankrupt in the late 1990s (ref
A). Regardless of whether the current income figure is accurate, at least some Nigerians think it is unlikely that Obasanjo's military pension and benefits were the sole source of investment for establishing this huge enterprise, valued by a construction engineer involved in the construction at
more than $250 million.


It is also widely believed that the President's inner circle also reaps hefty rewards with impunity. Some frequently cited examples are:


--Edmund Daukoro, recently named Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, was charged in 1994 for embezzling some $47 million as a managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The charges were abandoned, and Daukoro's political career soared when Obasanjo took office in 1999.


--Senator Florence Ita Giwa, indicted for misappropriation of funds by the Idris Kuta Panel in 2000, was pardoned along with other indicted senators, and she was named a special advisor to Obasanjo when she left office.


--The head of the National Airport Management Authority (NAMA), Rochas Okorocha, was caught and dismissed for embezzling about $1 million through an inflated contract; Obasanjo then appointed him as a senior aide, without requiring Okorocha to repay the stolen funds. Okorocha was
eventually fired on July 13 in a cabinet reshuffle, but went on to start a political party for his renewed presidential ambitions.


--The recent auction of oil blocks included some firms bidding,, sometimes with no prior ties to the oil industry, that were linked to Obasanjo associates, including Daukoro, Rivers State governor Peter Odili, Ogun State governor Gbenga Daniel, presidential advisor Andy Uba, presidential
chief of staff Abdullahi Mohammed, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nasir al-Rufai and PDP Board of Trustees Chairman Tony Anenih.


--Anenih was indicted by the National Assembly for the sum of 300 billion Naira (approximately $2.4 billion) missing from Ministry of Works and Housing while he was the minister. The missing money is widely believed to have paid off 2003 elections "expenses," including to Balogun, in addition to
lining his own pockets.


--Minister of Finance Ngozie Okonjo-Iweala is said to have steered contracts to her brother (JonJon) with the help of el-Rufai. The contracts, said to amount to about $50 million, have been paid for consulting work for the Ministry.


--Al-Rufai is at the center of the corruption allegations. Well-known to PolCouns eight year ago, when he was homeless and seeking a loan to import a taxi from the UK, al-Rufai is said to have recently purchased seven upscale properties in a posh Abuja neighborhood. His demolitions of commercial and residential buildings in the capital have reportedly provided an opportunity for himself and several of his friends. After demolishing residential properties in Kubwa, the land was reallocated to several of his friends and to an investment company he allegedly owns. The community of Chika, where about two square miles of development was demolished in December, has allegedly been allocated to the same group of people.


--Chief Olabode George, current PDP National Chairman (Southwest) is a close friend of President Obasanjo and a leading proponent of the Third Term Agenda. He is one of the people accused of financial recklessness in the affairs of the National Port Authority, where he was chairman when the financial scandals were allegedly committed. He was retired from the Navy in the 1990s by the Babangida Administration after serving as military governor of Ondo State from 1987 to 1990 in addition to other military postings.


--Chris Uba, recently appointed to the PDP Board of Trustees, admitted rigging during the 2003 elections and attempted to kidnap the governor of Anambra state to try to collect payments for his efforts. Linked closely to several vigilante groups in the state, he is widely believed to be
responsible for the burning of many state government buildings in Awka, crimes that have yet to be solved.


¶10. (C/REL UK) Obasanjo himself is believed to be one of the owners of Suntrust Petroleum. And questions remain about the Obasanjo Library project, which collected enormous sums of money from government contractors, banks, industrialists, and state governors, ostensibly for the construction of a presidential library, the plans for which are vague. It is widely believed throughout the country that Obasanjo and his
son, Gbenga, are major shareholders in the newly reorganized Zenith Bank and UBA Bank as well as in airlines and the telecommunications sector.


¶11. (C/REL UK) The Bureau of Private Enterprises oversaw the privatization of many government-owned business, including sugar, steel, rice and other sectors. It is widely believed that the privatization exercise benefited both the President, through Aliko Dangote, and the Vice President,
through various agents.


¶12. (C/REL UK) Meanwhile, at the state level, the personal excesses of several governors indicate that they are finding ways to supplement their government salaries:


--Edo State governor Lucky Igbenedion purchased a $6 million mansion in London in 2000 through a series of shell companies, a year after he was elected governor. He has two Ferraris on the premises. He also owns reputedly the most expensive residence in Abuja, estimated at $25 million.


--Delta State governor James Ibori owns two London estates. The properties were purchased for $3 million and $4 million, respectively, after Ibori was elected governor. Through a shell company registered to his London-based wife, he offered for public auction an ongoing supply of 6 million barrels of oil per month. When reporters confronted his wife, the shell companies abruptly changed their directors so that Ibori's wife was no longer listed.


--Rivers State governor Peter Odili has built an impressive portfolio from his corrupt dealings as governor of one of the oil-rich states in Nigeria since his first election in 1999. Beginning his political career as a medical doctor with a small private clinic in Port Harcourt, he now hosts extravagant events and boasts that it would not have been possible "before he became governor." Further, he is widely suspected of being directly responsible for facilitating massive irregularities in both the 1999 and 2003 elections. His own state officials have claimed that Odili has employed militia groups, many of which are responsible for the continuing unrest in the delta region.


--Each of the 36 state governors donated 10 million naira (about $75,000) to the Obasanjo library project. Following a public outcry, the library organizers stated the donations were from the governors' personal funds, but several governors backpedaled from their commitments, claiming they
had made no such pledges. When a Lagos lawyer filed a code of conduct complaint alleging conflict of interest in the President's receiving these donations from recipients of government funds, Obasanjo invoked the immunity clause of the constitution, and the complaint died out.

Section 308 of the 1999 constitution gives immunity from civil or criminal prosecution to the President, Vice President, Governors, and Deputy Governors, and many holders of these offices have clearly taken advantage of this privilege.

The rest of the wikileaks report:

SUBJECT: CORRUPTION: NIGERIA "IMPROVES" TO SIXTH-WORST IN THE WORLD, WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
-------
Summary
-------


¶1. (U) Transparency International recently released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index for 2005, showing that
there are now five countries in the world perceived to be more corrupt than Nigeria. In 2004, only two countries had
been listed as more corrupt. As expected, the GON both claimed credit for the "improvement" in position, and denied
that there was still a corruption problem in Nigeria.


¶2. (S/REL UK) Corruption remains widespread in Nigeria at all levels of the private and public sector. The arrests in
London of the Bayelsa and Plateau State governors barely scratched the surface of the endemic corruption at the
federal, state, and local level. The current campaign to ferret out corrupt officials is widely perceived to be nothing more than a political witch hunt by President Obasanjo, a view supported by examining cases targeted at
high-level officials.
Section 308 of the 1999 constitution gives immunity from civil or criminal prosecution to the President, Vice President, Governors, and Deputy Governors, and many holders of these offices have clearly taken advantage of this privilege. There is no such immunity from U.S. visa revocation under Presidential Proclamation 7750, however, and post plans to submit further requests for revocation of visas of corrupt public officials. End Summary.


--------------------------------------------- --------
Transparency International: Nigeria's a Little Better
--------------------------------------------- --------


¶3. (U) Transparency International (TI) recently released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index for 2005, showing
that there are now five countries in the world perceived to be more corrupt than Nigeria: Chad, Bangladesh,
Turkmenistan, Myanmar, and Haiti. In 2004, only Bangladeshnand Haiti had been listed as more corrupt. Nigeria's
absolute rating increased slightly, from 1.6 (out of 10) to 1.9, though the range of the confidence interval could have
placed the country anywhere in the bottom nine. As expected, the GON claimed credit for the "improvement" in position, saying it was evidence of the Obasanjo administration's reforms. And as expected, the GON also faulted TI's
methodology and denied there was still a corruption problem in Nigeria.


¶4. (U) The World Economic Forum has released the results of a survey finding improvement in Nigerian firms'
perceptions of corruption in the country. For example, from 2002-2005, the percentage of Nigerian firms that believed
public funds in Nigeria were diverted due to corruption decreased from 100% to about 75%.


¶5. (U) The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and its chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, continue to grab
headlines, as newspapers eagerly report the rumored targets
of EFCC investigations. Independent Corrupt Practices
Commission (ICPC) chairman Mustapha Akanbi stepped down on
September 29 and was replaced by another former Supreme Court
justice, Emmanuel Olayinka Ayoola. Meanwhile, the EFCC and
the ICPC have won only a single conviction of a high-level
public official: on November 22, former Inspector-General of
Police Tafa Balogun, fired for corruption, pled guilty to
minor obstruction charges and received a sentence of just six
months, less time served.


---------------
What Can We Do?
---------------


¶13. (S/REL UK) While we cannot prove all of these
accusations in a court of law, their significance is that
they are widely believed both among political figures and
among that part of the general public that is politically
aware. It is in the USG's interest to support Nigeria's
efforts to root out corruption and, while our positive public
pronouncements contribute to the environment, the biggest
influence we can have is the judicious use of U.S. visa
revocation for corrupt practices, as provided by Presidential
Proclamation 7750. Though we are unable to identify every


ABUJA 00000483 004 OF 004


corrupt official, the Mission is compiling a list of some
prominent and egregious corrupt officials from throughout the
country. This list will take into consideration the
individuals, levels of corruption and the impact on Nigerian
stability of a 7750 decision. The list could be expanded in
many directions, but the Mission feels that such an effort
would demonstrate the sincerity and seriousness of the USG's
commitment to good governance and, if these individuals are
found ineligible, that finding could contribute greatly to
entrenching the precepts of good governance and
accountability in Nigeria.

[size=18pt]Nigerian students pelt Obasanjo with food during a lecture in London School of Economics[/size]

On Wednesday, African students kept their word in London, where they besieged the London School of Economics (LSE), and warned the world that former President Olusegun Obasanjo represents the ugly face of Africa and does not merit the honour of having him say anything on any subject on the continent.

"He was held hostage for hours, with protesters throwing eggs and raw tomatoes at him. He could not immediately leave the venue even after the lecture," a source recounted from London.

Scores of protesters were injured as they engaged the police in a bid to enter the LSE building.

And Obasanjo was booed in the hall as he spoke on the unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where he mediates on behalf of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon.

He delivered a lecture on 'Eastern DRC: What should the international community be doing?' alongside David Leonard and James Putzel, both experts on the Congolese crisis.

The protest was at the instance of the Nigeria Liberty Forum (NLF), a coalition of Nigerians in the United Kingdom, and the Nigerian Students Union (NSU), backed by other African students.

The protesters arrived the LSE with anti-Obasanjo slogans and placards accusing him of heightening the tension in Nigeria's Deep South, introducing anti-people economic reforms, haunting down political foes, corrupt deals, and wanting to manipulate the Constitution to stand for a third term.

They arrived the venue early enough to deny Obasanjo entry into the lecture hall. He was later smuggled in through the Students' Union cafeteria.

"The NLF 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 different versions of Mobutu, Idi Amin, Bokassa, Conteh, Marcias Nguema, and their ilk representing us," NLF Co-ordinator, Kayode Ogundamisi, said in a statement.

"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 decent people!

"Not too curiously, the increasingly retrogressive authorities of the LSE have equally fallen under his spell. They have since revoked all accreditations given to press men for the event and have requested that the (NLF) pass whatever message it has through them to Obasanjo 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.

"Indeed, Obasanjo's well-known corrupt dealings are legion and it would be a bold-faced 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 has his imprints all over them.

"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 a pie in the flaming sky!"

http://www.thetimesofnigeria.com/TON/Article.aspx?id=1525

from sharareporters:

[size=18pt]Obasanjo - A monster as a statesman[/size]

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.

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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 2008, 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 or responsible 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 task force 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 the 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-year tenure, Obasanjo was asked how he felt about the fact that more than 10,000 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 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 whern he described Obasanjo-led PDP as “a nest of killers”.



Not surprisingly, such a regime couldn’t have been sustained Obasanjo’s regime was sustained without massive corruption, which he spearheaded even as president. For instance, Obasanjo 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 legislators and 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.


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Indeed, Obasanjo’s well-known corrupt dealings are legion and it would be a bold-faced 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 has 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, supervised the maiming, killing and sheer robbery that ensured Yar’Adua was put there. Nigeria today still groans 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 is 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 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 as 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. 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 decent people!

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 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.

alj_harem:

adamawa boy apart from Awolowo, Zik, Bello

who is better than OBJ presently ?

I am waiting

Those two where never head of Head of state or president.
The where never influential outside their tribal regions.
How dare u compare them to OBJ

Buhari as thousand times better than Obasanjo

Even the clueless Shagari out performed him.