Obasanjo’s recycled propaganda against president Tinubu, by Kola Amzat  

The generality of Nigerians are of the view that consequent upon the ex-president, Olusegun Obasanjo last days on the earth surface, it’s an auspicious time for him to start mellowing down, embrace rapprochement, and seek atonement for those despicable, unsavory and irascible enterprises he’s engaged in the past that have not only pitched him against the Yoruba race and its highly cerebral people, but have also made him an object of hate, scorn and ridicule.       

His recent condemnable and very appalling pronouncements on President Tinubu’s government’s policies is an eloquent testimony that those who are expecting change of attitude from the old man would have to wait endlessly until he breath his last, as the Owu high chief has eternally resolved that nothing has changed and that he would continue to tread this inglorious path of infamy until death comes knocking.

It’s in the public domain that he frustrated the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s ascendance to the topmost office in the land during the 1979 presidential election with his infamous role in the 122/3 Supreme Court verdict in skewed in favour of National Party of Nigeria largely believed to have been orchestrated by him, a very sad judgment that would continually remain darkest spot in the Nigeria political annals.

Of course, during the presidential elections of 1993, Nigerians—home and in Diaspora, as well as the international community duly acknowledged Obasanjo’s disruptive role in the electioneering outcome through his non-statesmanship declaration that MKO Abiola was not the Messiah that Nigeria needed, a pronouncement that further emboldened IBB and his goons to ultimately RATIFIED their decision on the annulment of presidential mandate freely given to Aare MKO Abiola by the generality of Nigerians.

For emphasis, ex-president, Olusegun Obasanjo has never left anyone in doubt that he’s not with the Yorubas in actions and in deeds, and if another opportunity presents itself, he would harbor no hard feelings to continue to terrorize, oppress and engage in untoward acts that would continually drag Yoruba race backwards in all facets.

During his reign as military head of states, as well as a democratically elected president, hardly could the retired general point to any accomplishment of note in the entire spread of Yoruba land.

For want of space, I reserve this for another time.

The crux of this piece: while the ex-president was speaking some few days ago at 7.0 Presidential Youth Mentorship Retreat, themed ‘African Youth Renaissance at the Youth Development Centre OOPL, Abeokuta, he deployed the platform to blast President Tinubu government over the state of the nation, declaring that Tinubu government has failed Nigerians and shouldn’t be re-elected. He went further that Tinubu has failed and that his incompetence has made many businesses to die and that many Nigerians who were doing well before are now struggling to survive.

It’s instructive to submit that in all the aforementioned, the ex-president has made no new accusations. Nothing absolutely new! The pronouncements are all RECYCLED disruptive tirades that has for years  signposts his satanic and incongruous stand on government policies, dropping them at a critical and defining time especially when election comes very close.

Nigerians vividly recollect that it was vintage Obasanjo at his destructive best, sporadically attacking and dropping bombshells aimed at frustrating the Tinubu’s candidacy in the build to 2023 general elections; supposedly paving and navigating roads for his anointed candidate-Peter Obi.

The ex-president’s frantic efforts aimed at setting up and inciting Nigerians against Tinubu’s candidacy proved efforts in futility, as concocted lies, falsehood and propaganda deployed then, fell flat under the weight of impressive political and purposeful governance antecedent that Tinubu recorded while in charge of Lagos as Chief Executive Officer.

As it was in the build up to 2023 presidential elections when the rtd general antics in all ramifications failed, so would it be ahead of the forthcoming polls.

The Owu high chief’s attempts to undo, unhorse and truncate the re-election of the president would continue to be an effort in futility. The attempts would ultimately pale into insignificance.

A pertinent question: has Chief Obasanjo not acknowledged that the president already has political MOMENTUM all over the country, with 33 governors, more than THREE QUARTERS of National Assembly members and virtually all political blocs, irrespective of political affiliations rooting for the president’s re-election bid? Can he beat that?

Besides the fact that the ex-president has completely lost the moral right to attack and criticize the successive administrations, including the present government, owing to the fact that his regime spew of AUGEAN STABLE that lasted eight years till 2007 was riddled and characterized with high octane corruption in all facets, financial malfeasance, policy misdirection & somersault, personal aggrandizement, and most importantly, executive bickering with continual infighting between the president and vice-president, it’s also important to submit that Chief Obasanjo has bluntly refused to acknowledge the diverse MILESTONES that Tinubu government has recorded just within 3 years of inauguration.

With unrivalled courage and lion heart perhaps lacking in all the country’s successive leaders, Tinubu has moved to stabilize the nation’s currency against all other key currencies of the world by HALTING the damaging regime of multiplicity of exchange rates, as well as bringing to a permanent close the inglorious and destructive era of fuel subsidy, an horrendous policy that didn’t only turned many average oil & gas entrepreneurs to sudden BILLIONAIRES, but also extinguished the nation’s foreign reserves account.

Of course, the audacious intervention of fuel subsidy removal alone continually facilitate huge monthly savings amounting to several hundreds of BILLIONS that are now being made available on MONTHLY BASIS through FAAC allocations to all the three (3) tiers of government, and particularly providing FINANCIAL MUSCLE for sub-national governments remarkably funding their infrastructural developments—rails, roads, ports, airports; as well as educational and medical infrastructures, tourism, digital revolutions, as well as socio-economic developments within their jurisdictions all across the country.

Without any iota of doubt, the present administration has salvaged the nation’s economy from the brink of collapse, and state of prostrate.

For emphasis, the following indices succinctly lend credence to the above assertions: the external reserves presently stands at more than $55 billion mark. Market capitalization has consistently been growing at an exponential rate audaciously standing at ₦165 trillion mark—a strong indication of tremendous confidence of local and foreign investors on the Nigerian economy.

The International Credit Rating Agencies on the nation economy has been very impressive of recent, with Fitch’s Proprietary SRM assigns Nigeria a score equivalent to a rating ‘B’ on the Long-Term Currency (LTFC) IDR Scale, and with Moody’s revised its outlook on Nigeria to positive, and Standard & Poor’s Credit Rating for Nigeria presently stands at B with stable outlook.

In the educational sector, more than 1 million Nigerians students in Tertiary Institutions have benefitted from Educational Loan Fund. On a related note, CREDITCORP has significantly changed the fortunes of more than 3 million Nigeria Artisans, propelling them to compete favorably in the global competitive market.

Work is steadily on-going at incredible pace at audacious 750 kilometres Lagos-Calabar Coastal roads and likewise, Badagry-Sokoto Superhighway project where operational activities are progressing at amazing pace.

All over the country, construction and reconstruction of roads, rails, airports, educational and medical facilities etc are on-going at an unbelievable pace.

Wike Nyesom, FCT Minister on the express order and mandate of the president has completely transformed Abuja with remarkably changing the entire face of Abuja in terms of huge developments in all facets. Indeed, Abuja is on its way to compete favourably with all other key capital locations around the globe.

Literally, President Tinubu has taken deliberate and bold steps to genuinely reflect the federal structure in Nigeria, a gigantic step Obasanjo found EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to take, even, with his military background.

The strategic initiatives taken in this direction by the president includes: coming into existence of the Local Government Autonomy; frantic efforts to move Police Force from Exclusive list to Concurrent list; Tax Reforms Act that is already operational, as well as president’s assent to Power Reforms Bill and of course, more are still on the way.

Just within the 3 years in office, President Tinubu has delivered on virtually his mandate.

The pertinent question remains: where lies Obasanjo propaganda that the present administration has failed and that all businesses have folded up?

It’s crystal clear that the ex-president recent attacks on the government are borne out of envy, jealousy and strife.

The fact remains that Owu high chief is quite frustrated, disillusioned and largely uncomfortable seeing what he couldn’t do for solid 8 years as president being seamlessly executed by Tinubu just within 3 years in office.

The ex-president  should also be reminded that for a very long time that Nigerians of goodwill have stopped listen to his divisive message of disruption, hopelessness and self-serving, as they have deemed those messages as highly unpatriotic, divisive and capable of disrupting the peace of the nation which President has vigorously labored to build and protect over the years.       

Kola AMZAT (FCA, FCIB, ACS, MBA),

Lagos based Financial & Management Consultants,

09077509348.