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| Obasanjo & Osoba |
A former Governor of Ogun State, Chief
Olusegun Osoba, says former President Olusegun Obasanjo, is too critical
of people and sees nothing good in anyone.
Osoba said this during an interview with journalists in Lagos on Saturday.
He said this while reacting to
Obasanjo’s claim that Chief Obafemi Awolowo was never the leader of the
Yoruba but was only elected leader by his supporters.
He said, “I would not like to judge
Chief Obasanjo because as I am trying to put the facts straight, I don’t
want to join him in condemnation of individuals. I respect him for his
own strong points and weaknesses. But one thing I disagree with him is
his condemnation of virtually everybody and even those around him.
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“Wole
Soyinka is not good, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is not good, Atiku Abubakar is
not good, Reuben Aabati is useless, Doyin Okupe is not to be associated
with. Who then is good?”
Osoba said even the dead were not spared
of unfair criticism by Obasanjo. He noted that even MKO Abiola, who
gave his life for democracy, did not escape Obasanjo’s criticism.
He said this was unfortunate because without Abiola, Obasanjo would never have emerged President.
He said, “Whether he likes it or not,
MKO Abiola will forever be the symbol and hero of modern day democracy
in Nigeria. When Abiola couldn’t negotiate his freedom by signing away
his mandate to General Sani Abacha, he laid down his life and I expect
Chief Obasanjo to understand the fact that he became a beneficiary and
should see Abiola as a hero.
“Nobody can claim to be the only hero in
any society. Society is a team. Within our Egba community, the
Ransome-Kutis are heroes. Their mother was an activist, Fela was an
acitivist, Beko Ransome-Kuti was an activist. Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti
took his father’s nature. He was a gentleman but was also an activist
with his philosophy of primary healthcare.
“Wole Soyinka is a hero, Ebenezer Obey
is a hero; he recorded over 50 records and delivered philosophical
lyrics. Akintola Williams, an Egba man, is the first accountant and is
still worshipped today. Society is the totality of a team. A tree can
never make a forest and that is where I disagree with Chief Obasanjo. To
reduce Soyinka to a wine connoisseur hurts me.”
The veteran journalist, who described
Obasanjo’s book, ‘My Watch’, as a distortion of history, said Awolowo
was unanimously elected as the leader of the Yoruba in 1966 shortly
before the civil war.
He said Obasanjo was privy to the
meeting where Awolowo was elected but only wanted to denigrate the late
sage for reasons best known to him.
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