It brings me no joy to have to write this
but since you started this trend of open
letters I thought I would follow suit
since you don’t listen to anyone
anyway. The only way to reach you
may be to make the public aware of
some things. As a child well brought
up by my long-suffering mother in
Yoruba tradition, I have been reluctant
to tell the truth about you but as it
seems you still continue to delude
yourself about the kind of person you
are and I think for posterity’s sake it is
time to set the records straight.
I will return to the issue of my long-
suffering mother later in this letter.
Like most Nigerians, I believe there are
very enormous issues currently
plaguing the country but I was surely
surprised that you will be the one to
publish such a treatise. I remember
clearly as if it was yesterday the day I
came over to Abuja from Abeokuta
when I was Commissioner of Health in
OgunState, specifically to ask you not
to continue to pursue the third term
issue.
I had tried to bring it up when your
sycophantic aides were present and
they brushed my comments aside and
as usual you listened to their self-
serving counsel. For you to accuse
someone else of what you so obviously
practiced yourself tells of your
narcissistic megalomaniac personality.
Everyone around for even a few
minutes knows that the only thing you
respond to is praise and worship of
you. People have learnt how to
manipulate you by giving you what
you crave. The only ones that can’t
and will not stroke your ego are family
members who you universally treat like
poo (sic) apart from the few who have
learned to manipulate you like others.
Before I continue, Nigerians are people
who see conspiracy and self-service in
everything because I think they believe
everyone is like them. This letter is not
in support of President Jonathan or
APC or any other group or person, but
an outpouring from my soul to God. I
don’t blame you for the many
atrocities you have been able to get
away with, Nigerians were your
enablers every step of the way.
People
ultimately get leaders that reflect them.
Getting back to the story, I made sure
your aides were not around and
brought up the issue, trying to deliver
the presentation of the issue as I had
practiced it in my head. I started with
the fact that we copied the US
constitution which has term limits of
two terms for a President. As is your
usual manner, you didn’t allow me to
finish my thought process and listen to
my point of view. Once I broached the
subject you sat up and said that the
US had no term limits in the past but
that it had been introduced in the
1940s after the death of President
Roosevelt, which is true.
I wanted to say to you: when you copy
something you also copy the
modifications based on the learning
from the original; only a fool starts
from scratch and does not base his
decisions on the learning of others. In
science, we use the modifications
found by others long ago to the most
recent, as the basis of new findings;
not going back to discover and learn
what others have learnt. Human
knowledge and development and
civilization will not have progressed if
each new generation and society did
not build on the knowledge of others
before them.
The American constitution itself is
based on several theories and
philosophies of governance available
in the 18th century. Democracy itself is
a governance method started by the
ancient Greeks. America’s founding
fathers used it with modifications
based on what hadn’t worked well for
the ancient Greeks and on new
theories since then.
As usual in our conversations, I kept
quiet because I know you well. You
weren’t going to change your mind
based on my intervention as you had
already made up your mind on the
persuasion of the minions working for
you who were ripping the country
blind. When I spoke to you, your
outward attitude to the people of the
country was that you were not
interested in the third term and that it
was others pushing it. Your statement
to me that day proved to me that you
were the brain behind the third term
debacle. It is therefore outrageous that
you accuse the current President of a
similar two-facedness that you
yourself used against the people of the
country.
I was on a plane trip between Abuja
and Lagos around the time of the third
term issue and I sat next to one of
your sycophants on the plane. He told
me: “Only Obasanjo can rule Nigeria”.
I replied: “God has not created a
country where only one person can
rule. If only one person can rule
Nigeria then the whole Nigeria project
is not a viable one, as it will be a non-
sustainable project”
I don’t know how you came about
Yar’Adua as the candidate for your
party as it was not my priority or job.
Unlike you, I focus on the issues I have
been given responsibility over and not
on the jobs of others. It was the day of
the PDP Presidential Campaign in
Abeokuta during the state-by-state
tour of 2007 that Yar’Adua got sick
and had to be flown abroad. The MKO
Abiola Stadium was already filled with
people by 9am when I drove by (and)
we had told people based on the
campaign schedule that the rally would
start at noon.
At 11 am I headed for the stadium on
foot; it was a short walk as there were
so many cars already parked in and
out. As I walked on with two other
people, we saw crowds of people
leaving the stadium. I recognized some
of them as politicians and I asked
them why people were leaving. They
said the Presidential candidate had
died. I was alarmed and shocked. I
walked back home and received a call
from a friend in Lagos who said the
same and added that he had died in
the plane carrying him abroad for
treatment and that the plane was on
its way to Katsina to bury him.
I called you, and told you the
information and that the stadium was
already half-empty. You told me to go
to the stadium and tell the people on
the podium to announce that the
Presidential candidate had taken ill
that morning but the rest of the team,
including you and the Vice-Presidential
candidate would arrive shortly. I did as
I was told, but even the people on the
podium at first didn’t make the
announcement because they thought it
was true that Yar’Adua had died. I had
to take the microphone and make the
announcement myself. It did little
good. People kept trooping out of the
stadium. Your team didn’t arrive until
4pm and by this time we had just a
sprinkling of people left.
That evening after the disaster of a
rally, you said you had insisted that
the Presidential candidate fly to
Germany for a check-up although you
said he only had a cold. I asked why
would anyone fly to Germany to treat a
cold? And you said “I would rather die
than have the man die at this time.” I
thought of this profound statement as
things later unfolded against me.
Then
I thought it a silly statement but as
usual I kept quiet, little did I know how
your machinations for a person would
be used against me. When Yar’Adua
eventually died, you stayed alive, I
would have expected you to jump into
his grave.
I left Nigeria in 1989 right after youth
service to study in the US and I visited
in 1994 for a week and didn’t visit
again until your inauguration in 1999.
In between, you had been arrested by
Abacha and jailed. We, your children,
had no one who stood with us. Stella
famously went around collecting
money on your behalf but we had no
one. We survived. I was the only one of
the children working then as a post-
doctoral fellow when I got the call
from a friend informing me of your
arrest.
A week before your arrest, you had
called me from Denmark and I had
told you that you should be careful
that the government was very offended
by some of your statements and
actions and may be planning to arrest
or kill you as was occurring to many at
the time. The source of my information
was my mother who, agitated, had
called me, saying I should warn you as
this was the rumour in the country.
As
usual you brushed aside my
comments, shouting on the phone that
they cannot try anything and you will
do and say as you please. The
consequence of your bravado is
history.
We, your family, have borne the brunt
of your direct cruelty and also suffered
the consequences of your stupidity but
got none of the benefits of your
successes. Of course, anyone around
you knows how little respect you have
for your children.
You think our existence on earth is
about you. By the way, how many are
we? 19, 20, 21? Do you even know? In
the last five years, how many of these
children have you spoken to? How
many grandchildren do you have and
when did you last see each of them?
As President you would listen to advice
of people that never finished high
school who would say anything to
keep having access to you so as to
make money over your children who
loved you and genuinely wished you
well.
At your first inauguration in 1999, I
and my brothers and sisters told you
we were coming from the US. As is
usual with you, you made no
arrangements for our trip, instead our
mom organized to meet each of us
and provided accommodation. At the
actual swearing-in at Eagle Square,
the others decided to watch it on TV.
Instead I went to the square and I was
pushed and tossed by the crowd.
I managed to get in front of the crowd
where I waved and shouted at you as
you and General Abdulsalam
Abubakar walked past to go back to
the VIP seating area. I saw you mouth
‘my daughter’ to General Abdullahi
who was the one who pulled me out of
the crowd and gave me a seat. As I
looked around I saw Stella and Stella’s
family prominently seated but none of
your children. I am sure General
Abdullahi would remember this
incident and I am eternally grateful to
him.
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