Obasanjo: What is an endorsement worth?

Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was a chimera once. His influence was legendary, yet far-reaching. Previously, Nigeria was too small to contain his stature, as he ruled the horizons of Africa and beyond. He is still regarded as one of Africa’s most respected leaders.

However, Obasanjo’s influence in Nigeria appears to have waned over time. His words appear to have lost their luster, and his presence appears to be devoid of command. Perhaps a masquerade loses its allure and charm when it appears to perform all the time, and sometimes without an invitation.

Obasanjo had his wonder and thunder from 2007 (after he left office) until 2014. His opinion on national issues was valued and sought after. His letters were dubbed “letter bombs” because of their ability to inflict maximum casualties on the target while swaying public opinion.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan was a “casualty” of one of Obasanjo’s missives in 2013. Obasanjo issued an open letter that effectively killed Jonathan’s re-election bid.

Obasanjo accused Jonathan of numerous wrongdoings in a letter titled ‘Before It Is Too Late.’ ‘Allegation of keeping over 1000 people on political watch list rather than criminal or security watch list and secretly and clandestinely acquiring weapons to match for political purposes like Abacha and training them where Abacha trained his own killers, if true, cannot augur well for the initiator, the government, and the people of Nigeria,’ he said.

He also accused Jonathan of tearing Nigeria apart, particularly along the weak seams of north-south and Christian-Muslim divisions. Jonathan, he claimed, was favoring and promoting his Ijaw kin at the expense of other Nigerians.

Obasanjo’s letter was widely publicized. It was held up as a final and conclusive verdict on Jonathan’s administration. Obasanjo was praised for his “courage and forthrightness,” as well as his audacity in looking power in the eye and spitting the truth. But everything changed after the 2015 elections.

Obasanjo returned to his usual business in 2018, just three years after President Buhari took office. He sent Buhari an open letter in which he accused him of incompetence. ‘The lice of poor performance in government – poverty, insecurity, poor economic management, nepotism, gross dereliction of duty, condonation of misdeed – if not outright encouragement of it, lack of progress and hope for the future, lack of national cohesion, poor management of internal political dynamics, and widening inequality – are very much with us today,’ says Obasanjo.

‘For more than ten years, for four of which you have been the captain of the ship, Boko Haram has menacingly ravaged the land, and in spite of government’s claim of victory over Boko Haram, the potency and activities of Boko Haram, where they are active, remain undiminished, putting lie to government’s claim,’ he said in 2019. If I may say so, the main issue is poor management or mismanagement of diversity, which is, on the other hand, one of our greatest and most important assets. As a result, a very heavy cloud is forming. And the only possible outcome is a deluge of destruction, violence, disaster, and discord.’

Obasanjo repeated himself in a letter to Buhari in 2021. However, his perspective or opinion on national issues has become tepid, vapid, and lacking in magnetism to hold public interest and sway public opinion over time. His words no longer have the ability to kill. And those who once lauded him as the embodiment of courage, truth, and honesty when it was politically expedient to do so are now his harshest critics.

Obasanjo’s hilltop mansion in Abeokuta, Ogun State, has recently become a cynosure of political pilgrimage, with politicians falling over themselves to seek his endorsement of their campaigns. Some supporters of Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, claim that the former governor has Obasanjo’s blessing. Although Obasanjo has not publicly declared his support for any candidate, there are reports that he favors Peter Obi’s candidacy.

Even so, Obasanjo’s support will not be enough to propel Peter Obi to the presidency. It’s not even going to get him anywhere. Obasanjo is a master of disguise. But, in the course of time, the big masquerade will have to retire – when there are no more people in the crowd.