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Tinubu Government Replies Obasanjo: Use Your Remaining Years To Reflect On Your Failures As President And Head Of State

In a statement on Monday by Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu's Special Adviser (Information and Strategy), the presidency, while cataloguing the scandals and missteps of the Obasanjo's administration said "it would be better and more advisable for former President Obasanjo to temper his self-righteousness in his public discussions regarding our nation’s temporary difficulties."

The President Bola Tinubu-led government has asked former Head of State and former President Olusegun Obasanjo to use "his remaining years" to reflect on the failures of his government and the scandals which rocked his administration.

In a statement on Monday by Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu's Special Adviser (Information and Strategy), the presidency, while cataloguing the scandals and missteps of the Obasanjo's administration said "it would be better and more advisable for former President Obasanjo to temper his self-righteousness in his public discussions regarding our nation’s temporary difficulties."

SaharaReporters had on Saturday reported that Obasanjo lamented that Nigeria’s current economic situation was very bad and that the situation was made worse by the "baba-go-slow" and "emilokan" government of Bola Tinubu and his unwillingness to take responsibility.

Obasanjo had made this statement in his keynote address at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum, held on Saturday at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

In his speech, titled, “Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria,” he expressed concern over the country's dire situation, noting, “as the world can see and understand, Nigeria’s situation is bad.”

Reacting, the Tinubu presidency said, "In a recent display of his characteristic self-importance, former President Olusegun Obasanjo once again took to the public stage to bestow his unsolicited wisdom on leadership and governance in Nigeria. From his lofty perch, he blamed those who served after his tenure for the nation's myriad challenges.

"Unfortunately, the former leader's habit of casting aspersions on every subsequent administration has devolved into a recurring pastime, overshadowing the expectation of an elder statesman to join a constructive dialogue on attaining national progress.

"In his latest critique of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he pejoratively called 'Baba Go Slow' and President Bola Tinubu, who he tagged 'Emilokan', Chief Obasanjo used the platform provided by Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University to unfurl his latest treatise on leadership and public morality. He also used the forum to write off Nigeria as a failing country.

"The irony of Chief Obasanjo using the platform that celebrates Achebe to sermonise on the ideals of good governance, statecraft, economic management, and corruption should be apparent to discerning minds. When he was alive, Chinua Achebe was a universally acclaimed moral, cultural and literary icon with scant regard for Obasanjo.

"It is on record that Professor Achebe rejected the third highest national honour bestowed on him by the Obasanjo-led administration in 2004 on the grounds of the prevalence of abuse of power, corruption, poor leadership, and, in particular, state-sponsored brigandage endorsed by Chief Obasanjo in Achebe's home state of Anambra. In Anambra, the former president actively supported the abduction of a sitting governor, Dr Chris Ngige, by non-state actors led by Chris Uba, a younger brother of Obasanjo's senior aide.

"Brazen illegality and assault on the Constitution of Nigeria reached a disturbing height under the leadership of Chief Obasanjo. During Obasanjo’s era, the unconstitutional impeachment of four governors who belonged to his party occurred. The governors impeached by minority members of the Houses of Assembly were Joshua Dariye of Plateau, Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo, Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti and Diepreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa. A man under whose watch all of these egregious infractions occurred should certainly not be the one to give any lecture on leadership and corruption. He should not be taken seriously as he reeks of profound hypocrisy of the worst form.

"Former President Obasanjo has continuously pumped himself up as the economic wizard of Nigeria. But a reality check showed he was nothing of such. He left unresolved many, if not all, of the problems of Nigeria, which he itemised in his lecture. He even recently admitted that his government made a mistake by not focussing on gas development, as the Tinubu administration does today. All oil and gas players know that Nigeria has more gas than oil. The only positive of the Obasanjo era was fiscal and monetary policy management buoyed by a consistent rise in crude oil prices throughout his eight-year tenure. This rise in crude oil prices started in 2000 and peaked in 2013 when it reached over 100 dollars per barrel before a decline in 2014, which set the oil-dependent economy downward. The current economic crisis the All Progressives Congress administrations have been battling since 2015 is the product of the poor choices in economic management made by Obasanjo and the two successors from his party. Obasanjo prides his government on paying the $15 billion debt owed to the Paris Club. Still, it was not a wise decision as it was done when the country's critical economic infrastructure across sectors was in shambles.

"While oil receipts brought money into the country, Obasanjo failed to fix the deplorable federal roads or expand the national road network. He did not repair the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, the Lagos-Abeokuta road leading to his hometown in Abeokuta, the Otta-Idiroko road, and many others.

"His administration also should have paid more serious attention to universities and polytechnics. In a joint vote of no confidence in our tertiary institutions, Obasanjo and his deputy, Atiku Abubakar, sought to profit from their weaknesses by establishing their private universities. As a sitting President, Chief Obasanjo abused his office to advance personal interest against the spirit and letters of our constitution when he corralled leading businessmen, women and government contractors to donate billions of naira for his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library and Resorts in Abeokuta and his Bell University in Otta

"For eight years, the Obasanjo administration made no significant investment in security by modernising the Armed Forces. He did not redesign the national security architecture or change the military doctrine. The most critical [quote]investment in our armed forces, especially the military, since the administration of President Shehu Shagari in 1980 was made by the APC-led administration of President Buhari from 2015-2023. When President Buhari assumed office in 2015, the Air Force had fewer than three serviceable fighter jets, and the Navy barely had one serviceable vessel. Within eight years, President Buhari acquired over 40 new fighter jets of different capabilities, including 12 Tucano jets. He also acquired naval ships to strengthen the Navy. The APC administration of Buhari developed the air wings of the Army and Navy and changed the entire Armed Forces into one of the most potent fighting forces in the world.

"[quote]President Tinubu has continued to sustain the same support and funding to the military and other security agencies. It is the reason the country is winning in the multi-pronged fight against Boko Haram terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, and other perpetrators of violent crimes. In the last year, over 400 terror and bandit kingpins have been eliminated, and thousands of Nigerians have been freed from their abductors. The insecurity that engulfed Nigeria started under the Obasanjo administration with militancy and kidnapping of expatriate oil workers in the Niger Delta, which later became a festering wound from which the nation has not recovered. Boko Haram, which became a violent movement in 2009, began its build-up under Obasanjo’s regime.

"On matters of integrity, honesty, and morality in public leadership, Chief Obasanjo is certainly not a paragon of virtue for anyone to model after. Nigerians can still remember the messy public spat between Chief Obasanjo and his then-vice president, Atiku Abubakar, over PTDF money that led to a Senate Public Hearing in 2004. The sordid details of the public hearing included unsettling evidence of how Obasanjo instructed his Vice President to buy Sport Utility Vehicles for his mistresses with PTDF funds. There was also the Halliburton bribe scandal, which the US Congress probe revealed. Bribe payments were made to the highest political authorities at the Villa while Obasanjo was in charge.

"If Chief Obasanjo had addressed the many problems he critiqued in his poorly written Yale lecture when he ruled Nigeria for eight years, President Buhari and President Tinubu would have had a much lighter burden of fixing the country.

"While the Tinubu administration diligently works to overcome the country's economic [quote]challenges, it would be better and more advisable for former President Obasanjo to temper his self-righteousness in his public discussions regarding our nation’s temporary difficulties. Instead, his remaining years would be better spent reflecting on the missed opportunities during his own time in leadership, both as military head of state and civilian president."


https://saharareporters.com/2024/11/18/tinubu-government-replies-obasanjo-use-your-remaining-years-reflect-your-failures?

Obasanjo is the best president as far as Nigeria is concerned despite his shortcomings, you can't compare the time of Obasanjo with what we are going through under Apc.


Under Obasanjo, Nigerians were buying cars and building houses everyday, but now Nigerians are selling their cars and houses just to feed.

Hmmm!

God1000:
Obasanjo is the best president as far as Nigeria is concerned, you can't compare Obasanjo time with what we are going through under Apc.

how old were u in 1999?

I have to know your age before arguing with u cos it doesn't make sense arguing with someone who was still in heaven or probably a toddler when obj was ruling

Enjoy your day

The only set of people praising obj today are Igbos n it's simply because he supported obi n he's against their worst enemy tinubu

OBJ was a far better president than the last two we had

Failure is talking….both Buhari and Tinubu are failures. They were voted by failure without any future!.

Leave Obj and do a dam Job.
No single working policy nor any development since you entered. Tribal bigot masquerading as president!.

Sharpsharp00123:
how old were u in 1999?

I have to know your age before arguing with u cos it doesn't make sense arguing with someone who was still in heaven or probably a toddler when obj was ruling

Enjoy your day

The only set of people praising obj today are Igbos n it's simply because he supported obi n he's against their worst enemy tinubu

You're not even worth replying, enjoy the disaster you have as president, and for your info, I'm not Igbo okay, take your tribalism to somewhere else

Obasanjo the hypocrite. The fact Obasanjo established a private university shows that he doesn't care about the public universities and the Nigerian people. .

Sharpsharp00123:
how old were u in 1999?

I have to know your age before arguing with u cos it doesn't make sense arguing with someone who was still in heaven or probably a toddler when obj was ruling

Enjoy your day

The only set of people praising obj today are Igbos n it's simply because he supported obi n he's against their worst enemy tinubu

I was 19 years old and I can tell you for free that it was a breath of fresh air from Obasanjo to Yaradua to Jonathan. Nigeria’s demise started the moment APC came in to “clean up” 16 years of imaginary PDP rot. Even the stats don’t lie!

Obasanjo really messed up the country during his time.

Sharpsharp00123:
how old were u in 1999?

I have to know your age before arguing with u cos it doesn't make sense arguing with someone who was still in heaven or probably a toddler when obj was ruling

Enjoy your day

The only set of people praising obj today are Igbos n it's simply because he supported obi n he's against their worst enemy tinubu

Bros abeg rest
He was far better

Look at the appointments
One is was of detribalised appointments which evidently performed competently creditably well

The other one just kept on jampacking his tribal brothers into his cabinet and key positions. You know what usually results from such? Complacency, little or no competition which leads to incompetence thus poor performance since they know it is only their brothers that they will be seeing around in those positions,

Government of Tinubu filled with illiterates that are so clueless in governance have the guts to say this to OBJ? If the most uselèss government in the history of man kind can say this to the legendary government of OBJ, then the world is actually ending.

trutharena:
Obasanjo really messed up the country during his time.

Because of monthly stipend, this one fit sell him mama

VikingKing:
I was 19 years old and I can tell you for free that it was a breath of fresh air from Obasanjo to Yaradua to Jonathan. Nigeria’s demise started the moment APC came in to “clean up” 16 years of imaginary PDP rot. Even the stats don’t lie!

I won't talk much but just few questions

I know u will blame tinubu for collapse in power grid today n call him names

Do u realize obj took 16 billion dollars loan to fix electricity?
If he had spent d money on electricity then, do u think we will b here today?

Answer that one first, I still get many

This Bayo....hmmm. I pity him. He talks before he thinks or allows greed or money to cloud his mind. Always quick to talk. When it was said the refineries won't work last year December, this same Bayo attacked was it Atiku or ... And said NNPC said it will be ready in December, how dare he who is not an engineer question engineers. It is over a year now and no refinery is working. Instead of him to go and apologize he is going up and down looking for trouble because of one position, title and money he never imagined . NIPR that is always screening up and down that spokes persons must be their members, I went through their course but I am disappointed in them. Is it about money? Look at how your members act like zombies and talk like Zombies.

God1000:
Obasanjo is the best president as far as Nigeria is concerned despite his shortcomings, you can't compare the time of Obasanjo with what we are going through under Apc.

Yes. I remember that under Obasanjo, all the roads in Nigeria were paved in gold. We even had 25 hours of electricity within 24 hours. Every graduate got job even before they left school. Infact Obasanjo met naira at N200 to a dollar and left it at N1 to 1USD. No Nigerian died unjustly under Obasanjo, not even Bola Ige, Harry Marshal etc.

VikingKing:
Because of monthly stipend, this one fit sell him mama

don't b stupid

Which stipend? U people are highly annoying. Anyone who has a contrary opinion to u guys is being paid, don't u think that's stupidity?

Listen to yourself n ask yourself if it makes sense, so u don't believe some people also like d person u hate?

So cos u hate him means everyone must hate him, u ain't getting paid for supporting your candidate but everyone else is paid for supporting his candidate

Sharpsharp00123:
I won't talk much but just few questions

I know u will blame tinubu for collapse in power grid today n call him names

Do u realize obj took 16 billion dollars loan to fix electricity?
If he had spent d money on electricity then, do u think we will b here today?

Answer that one first, I still get many

Go and ask this question to the man wey swear for your papa.

Sannisege:
Yes. I remember that under Obasanjo, all the roads in Nigeria were paved in gold. We even had 25 hours of electricity within 24 hours. Every graduate got job even before they left school. Infact Obasanjo met naira at N200 to a dollar and left it at N1 to 1USD.

don't mind those ones

The sole reason they hail obj today is because he supports their obi n he's criticizing d tinubu they hate

They don't care about how obj had d chance to change Nigeria but messed up

Operation feed the nation OFN in otta that Obasanjo change to Obasanjo farms otta, they don't care about that n they don't see it as corruption cos obj is supporting their obi n hating tinubu

These dingbats are ready to hug d devil us d devil can hate on tinubu

They call themselves Christians but they will condemn Jesus if he supports tinubu

Hate for tinubu is what is driving them mad

Nigerians will prefer OBJ time than this tpain era.
Btw Obasanjo and Tinubu are of same age.

VikingKing:
Go and ask this question to the man wey swear for your papa.

Sannisege

See this guy's response, to them just hate n criticize tinubu n u suddenly become their angel

VeeVeeMyLuv:
Bros abeg rest
He was far better

Look at the appointments
One is was of detribalised appointments which evidently performed competently creditably well

The other one just kept on jampacking his tribal brothers into his cabinet and key positions. You know what usually results from such? Complacency, little or no competition which leads to incompetence thus poor performance since they know it is only their brothers that they will be seeing around in those positions,

obj borrowed 16 billion dollars electricity loan n he pocketed it

If obj had used that amount to fix electricity then, will we b experiencing national grid collapse today?

If only Bayo choose been sensible over dumbness.. he would have known that obj was a better president than Tpain and buhari put together... staying relevant does not mean one have to showcase stupidity, but sometimes take corrections silently and work on yourself... Tpain is a failure even APC is can testify...

Dry
I stopped reading when I saw the lie that oil prices was rising under OBJ. Oil price did not even hit $50 till OBJ left office. Tax income was next to zero.
Today, APC has taxed the living daylight out of Nigerians and oil price has been at over $70 yet they've incurred the hugest debts ever. Don't let's even get started with insecurity. What failure can be bigger than these? The same folks who encouraged boko haram with their bitter politics want to blame OBJ for boko haram today!!

Sharpsharp00123:
I won't talk much but just few questions

I know u will blame tinubu for collapse in power grid today n call him names

Do u realize obj took 16 billion dollars loan to fix electricity?
If he had spent d money on electricity then, do u think we will b here today?

Answer that one first, I still get many

Stop telling lies like a zombie
OBJ never spent any $16bn on power
Are you even aware that 90% of the gas power stations we have today were built by OBJ in his 8 years?.

Obasanjo should be ashamed of himself.

How can you criticize Tinubu government when you know fully well that your own government was the worst in Nigeria history?

Baba Iyabo, the self-righteousness is too much.

VikingKing:
Go and ask this question to the man wey swear for your papa.

u claim u were 19 in 99 which means u should b 44 by now if I am not mistaken n this is all your brain can process

It's true foolish people grow old too, your own fool don even pass 4 years so it's for life now

Sharpsharp00123:
Sannisege

See this guy's response, to them just hate n criticize tinubu n u suddenly become their angel

Emmanuel the notorious scammer again. Bobo scammer per excellent. An unrepentant big thief. You thieving days are numbered.

As if he's not as old as Obj...

1000000000 of you and that other failure, buhari still not equal too Obj and you are nit God.

Nkupu:
Emmanuel the notorious scammer again. Bobo scammer per excellent. An unrepentant big thief. You thieving days are numbered.

So he is a scammer!!!!

A scammer bearing Emmanuel

Onanuga even forgot the part of Obasanjo fvcking his son, Gbenga's wife. What of the public letter Iyabo his daughter wrote to him?

Na Gen-Z Obasanjo go deceive no be old cargoes like us.