The North Has Lost Obasanjo

By Chuks Ekpeneru

One of the several reasons ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo is loved by northern elites is his desire for a very strong and united Nigeria.

From his time as military Head of State, Obasanjo constantly exhibited a nationalistic posture and handed over power to a Fulani leader, late Alhaji Shehu Shagari even when his fellow Ogun State born Chief Obafemi Awolowo was said to have the credentials to move the country forward.

It is for this reason that in 1999, after he escaped Abacha’s hangman that former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), who was in power at the time; former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida; ex-Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.); and a former National Security Adviser, Gen. Aliyu Gusau, developed and executed the plan that helped Obasanjo to return to power as a civilian president in 1999.

During his eight years as civilian President, Obasanjo groomed a new set of politicians, the likes of Rabiu Kwankwanso, Nasir El-Rufai, and Sule Lamido etc who held one position or the other.

However, the story around Obasanjo in his city, Ota in Ogun State is that of one that failed to help his people. According to an elderly man, “Obasanjo did not help us. He is just helping northerners and didn’t help people close to him.

In 2017, Obasanjo in an interview with Channels Television, chided those advocating for the restructuring of the country, saying he cannot be part of it.

According to him all that is needed is change of mentality of Nigerians.

He said he’d rather have a situation where people were championing inclusiveness as opposed to restructuring.

“My own restructuring is what I have said, we have to restructure our mentality, we have to restructure our mind, we have to restructure our understanding of Nigeria. What country do we want? And if we decide on what kind of country we want, how do we get that country? All hands on deck, how do we get inclusive, how do we get every Nigerian feeling a sense.

Obasanjo rejection of restructuring pitied him against a vast majority of his Yoruba race, while the Northern elites found his position comfortable given that the opinion of some is that the country is skewed in favour of the north.

Obasanjo Changes View On Restructuring

How time flies. Last week speaking at the first memorial lecture of Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, the founder of O’odua Peoples Congress (OPC) in Lagos, Obasanjo sounded a warning, that Nigeria must address the agitation for restructuring for the country to move forward.

He said, “Nigeria needs a new constitution which will contain the aspirations, fears and realities of the present state of Nigeria.”

“What is required is a new constitution to meet the agitation and aspiration of all Nigerians and to allay all fears. The executive and the legislature need to work together to establish a Constituent Assembly.

“Everything must, therefore, be put in place to avoid a war, the end of which no one can precisely predict.

This new posture of the former General may have sent a very strong signal to some northern elites who found in him a necessary ally to keep Nigeria together, even when agitations for a strong region and weaker centre is at its peak.

But inherent is a strong message!

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