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‘2023: Obasanjo And The Legend Of Tenea‘

He approximates Oedipus orientation in consummate complexity. Raised and reared to preserve a kingdom, Oedipus, a grand patron of hubris, fell into a complex interplay of fate and pride to become an albatross to the kingdom he sought to preserve.

Sophocles in his play ‘Oedipus Rex’ presents a gripping narrative of a man at the mercy of fate, but who pride would not allow to rediscover himself until he suffers irredeemable consequences.

The ancient legend of Oedipus, the mythical king of Thebes who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother, in several of his sojourns, lived in Tenea, a mythical lost city in Greece, according to the Greek mythology.

As recently as 1984, one of Greece’s top archaeologists, Eleni Korka, a Greek-American,  made the biggest discovery of her 40-year career: the mythical city of Tenea, which was built by Trojan prisoners of war sometime around 1100BC.

After a laborious excavation by Korka and her team, the abandoned Tenea City in ruins was discovered to harbour golden carvings and other precious, high levels of art that could turn the fortunes of the delerict city of Tenea for good.

As it is with both Oedipus and Tenea, so it is for Nigeria and General Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd), former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as Nigerians again prepare for the February 2023 ballot to elect their President. After long years of misrule that left Nigerians at the mercy of poverty and Nigeria herself in the throe of ruins, conscious efforts were made to find a befitting leader to turn the nation’s fortunes for good after the conspiracy among the Nigerian ruling elite claimed MKO Abiola’s life in 1998, the unfortunate incident that sank Nigeria in the abyss like was the case with the lost city of Tenea.

And so like archaeologist Korka, Nigerian ‘archaeologists’ in military fatigue led by Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdusalami Abubakar, dug through the length and breadth of the thoroughly degraded Nigeria to find a leader to turn the nation’s fortunes for good. Their search through ‘diligent excavation’, just like that of Korka, yielded Obasanjo, who had already decayed in General Sani Abacha’s gulag like the ruins of Tenea. Pronto, most parts of Nigeria hooted, prospecting that the nation had found fortune and so had hit the road to prosperity.

But unlike Korka, what Nigeria’s excavators found was never gold, but a crippling albatross in the class of Oedipus: a fortune turned awry that opened the floodgate to compound-complex problems that stalk Nigerians even in their sleep”.

Obasanjo, who I suspect usually momentarily forgets about himself when writing about the presumed failings of others, became something of a teacher of morals in the letter, which he described as an appeal to Nigerians, especially the youth. Therein he easily painted a picture of Nigeria the country was certainly not under him as president. He also attempted to give the impression that he left power of his own volition, forgetting that the National Assembly had to rescue Nigeria from his longed for life presidency through an ingenious Third Term project, for which reason he coyly convoked a National Political Reform Conference, NPRC i00n 2005 but which was angrily voted down by a diligent National Assembly.

It is apposite to state at the very beginning that Obasanjo has all the rights, human as well as legal, to endorse any presidential candidate of his choosing, but it is equally important that the Nigerian youths, to whom he specifically directed his appeal, should be adequately informed that this is a man of incomparable hubris; a very brilliant man who can easily sell a poke for a pig, and who, having cancelled the teaching of History in Nigerian schools, has , a priori, denied the same youths, the knowledge of the past which they sorely need in determining the truth, or falsity of his preachment.

A past master in decoy, he had cleverly harangued the youths as follows:”My dear young men and women, you must come together and bring about a truly meaningful change in your lives. If you fail, you have no one else to blame. Your present and future are in your hands to make or to mar. The future of Nigeria is in the same manner in your hands and literally so. If for any reason you fail to redeem yourself and your country, you will have lost the opportunity for good and you will have no one to blame but yourselves and posterity will not forgive you. Get up, get together, get going and get us to where we should be. And you, the youth, it is your time and your turn. ‘Eyin Lokan’ (Your turn”.)

I earlier levelled a charge of momentary amnesia against the ex-president. Were this not true, he would have realised that he should be the last person to attempt to lecture any group of Nigerians, especially its youth, given the agony Nigerian Universities went through under his watch.

Both at the governmental and domestic levels, Nigerian youths need all the information they can get in deciding whether, for them, Obasanjo can pass for a good mentor, or as an elderstatesman who, judging by his own life trajectory, should be listened to, emulated or not.

As very highly educated Nigerians, these youths must, on their own, decide which way to go and in doing this, I only need to remind them of the popular saying that Google never forgets.

And rather than leave them to go searching the entire Wide Web, I have gone out of my way to search for, and recommend to them, a single article which will provide far more than they would ever need to decide on former President Obasanjo’s suitability, or not, to play his self- appointed role in their lives.

I have in mind here, FAMILY SCANDALS – THE NEWS, published by Sahara Reporters on January 22, 2008 and it is in keeping with the popular Yoruba saying that if somebody promises you clothes, first look at what he is wearing.  There is, however, this proviso: please take everything you read therein, court depositions inclusive, as allegations only, (even though the former president did not sue Sahara Reporters in respect of the publication. You must, however, read the story to the end, as this piece barely contains half, to enable you make a valid judgement.

The story reads as follows:

“The Obasanjo family produces a blockbuster sequel to the contract scandal involving Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, as Gbenga, second son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, accuses his father of gross sexual misconduct.

Having spent a greater part of his life in important public positions, Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s former president, is familiar with scandals.

In many of these, he starred or co-starred, injuring his reputation in a series of political and personal misdemeanours. .  Several reports accused him of abusing his office to favour cronies and himself and of selling privatised government assets cheap and in questionable circumstances.  But none of the scandals had the toxicity of the latest one: the allegation by Gbenga, Obasanjo’s second son, that his father had sexual relations with his wife, Mojisola. The lethal allegation is the highlight of an affidavit filed at the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja Division, in which Gbenga is requesting to dissolve his marriage to Mojisola. Gbenga’s affidavit was a response to a cross-petition filed by Mojisola, who was responding to her husband’s petition (ID/289/HD/05) for dissolution of the marriage on account of her alleged desertion from home. … the greater number of Gbenga’s poisoned darts were shot at his father, whom Gbenga alleged slept with Mojisola and compensated her with oil contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, via her company, Bowen & Brown. “The petitioner (Gbenga) avers that the respondent (Mojisola) also got rewarded for her adulterous acts with several oil contracts with the NNPC from his father, General Olusegun Obasanjo, amongst which was the NNPC Consultancy training in supply chain management and project management awarded to her company, Bowen and Brown,” the affidavit read in part” – a gross misuse of the important office of President, more examples of which litter Obasanjo’s entire time in office, including the 16Billions he allegedly spent procuring darkness in place of light.

“The alleged dalliances, he said, have traumatised him, and on account of that, he wants the court to order a DNA test to ascertain the true father of the two children produced during the marriage”. “Gbenga, a medical doctor and one of Obasanjo’s sons from Oluremi, his first wife, married Mojisola in Lagos on 29 April 2000 at a lavish ceremony. By 2004, the union was devoid of bliss, forcing them to separate”. Things further degenerated, prompting Gbenga to seek a divorce. But 15 days later, a notice of discontinuance was filed on Gbenga’s orders, a development attributed to pressure by the former president”.

“Sources close to the estranged couple, however, list wife battering and infidelity on Gbenga’s part as major causes of friction in the marriage. Though Mojisola’s response was not as racy as Gbenga’s, it brimmed with delicious details of its own, which are hissing like animal fat in fire”.

In her cross-petition, she alleged that Gbenga got contracts from the NNPC and Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, while his father was in office”.

Almiron:
it's 2-0 now. Mumu team

MyExpression:
24-yr old man, who roasts meat (chicken suya) around the hospital, got into the hospital, visits your wife frequently, gives her roasted meat, and his raw hard meat too.

Doctors dey aware....wahala no dey finish for Africa

timbros:
If you watched them when they were produced, you won't be arguing with everyone telling you that "Commando" made Arnold more popular.

Just stop the argument. I grew up watching all these guys. We hardly know their real names then. We know them as Commando, Rambo etc....

yarimo:
as a patriotic Nigerian I always support patriotic Nigerian too

IamAsiri:
Lols. You must be a clown like Charlie boy, as he is the only old clown I know, else you would not be body-shaming the likes of those who endured all odds to push you out of their wombs. Meanwhile, I am neither a child (and you can never be as old as my dad) nor an APC urchin (I have no problem with those soliciting for their political leaders however aggressive they might be). I am just a woman who would not want an unwise old man or a silly young man/boy to talk ill of women who face so many things before they push out precious babies from their bodies, because I was definitely taught well by my parents.

P.S: It will be such a shame if you are actually a father and a father to middle-aged women like me .

emonkey:
Tattoo looks like an undeniable sign of worldliness and not paying heed to God's words. The bible says in Leviticus 19:28, "You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord."
What do you say?

Don't insult me I am only showing you Bible.

IamAsiri:
So many insensitive children on Nairaland .

abbey621:
Better sell those eyes for recharge card

BigSarah:
Lol abi, God mention name wey you no like? .

How will the omnipresent not speak about something that's maybe 2 months away

Sha vote Atiku, say no to rookies and drug barons

BigSarah:
Lol abi, God mention name wey you no like? .

How will the omnipresent not speak about something that's maybe 2 months away

Sha vote Atiku, say no to rookies and drug barons

AvailethNone:
I'm sure they don't want to suffer food poisoning from decaying suya meat

thelegend1:
Bmw 535i 2005 model. Lagos to Ondo = N280kmph

Honda Accord 2004 model = Never dared beyond 140kmph [b](E get why[/b])

Ford Something 2015 model. Abuja environs = was doing about 120kmph when Cow entered the road from nowhere. Lucky to be alive after the crash.


Speed kills...use only in times of absolute necessity, controlled environment or emergency.

waice6571:
How many wives has Abraham?
How many has Jacob?
How many has David?

We must not at all times be a judge in another man's case. Every one created by God has their self will and no man has authority to question another on expression of his or her self will provided that it doesn't have direct negative impact on you.

Let us learn to separate Christ from religion and dogmatism.

Shalom.

victoryukpong:
haba nau, isn't it normal that other people do fall for scam, they are usually being warned but since deaf people aren't rich, they try every means to make their lives better

this deaf guy works in a poultry and the environment is usually sicken, he really wished to make enough to become independent, so him falling for the bait really is not his fault


I myself has been unlucky at times even though I don't play bet but still I won't blame him

just help with useful information that I can use to assist him

mariahAngel:
Stay away from those kind of women o!
They don't mean well for your wife especially.
They might even kill her.
They're envious snakes whose aim is to destroy your peace.
Generous/kind men who take good care of their wives are usually their target, and only the gullible fall prey.
Don't be charmed, they usually lack substance.
You'll find out only when it's too late - that's what is happening to Yul.

Oludara202:
I'm not against polygamy either, it's a choice.
However if I have to break this down a little further, then it has to be this way. Yul and Judith were more like colleague in an office and the latter knew quite well that the guy was happily married but decided to still come in through the back door sort of.
Imagine if you were in the shoes of May and your husband's colleagues turned a co-wife .
This won't have been an issue to many if Yul went out of his way and got her as a second wife before all the drama started.

mariahAngel:
Hehehehehehehehe
Na so them dey take marry the marry? Shuuuu!

mariahAngel:
With a man that the whole world knows he's married?

hifocus:
Why didn't she work things out with her first husband since she's that desperate to stay married? Judy is nothing but an ungrateful wench, a cheat and a disgusting hoe.