Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday rejected former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba’s account of the political events leading to the 2003 general elections, insisting that he never deceived the leadership of the Alliance for Democracy.
In a lengthy statement titled, “Reply to Your Inaccurate Posture: ‘How Obasanjo Deceived Us in 2003’,” the former President described Osoba’s article published in The Legal Observer on July 20 as inaccurate, incomplete and “farfetched.”
Obasanjo also alleged that his former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, sponsored an impeachment plot against him during his first term and secretly worked with some political actors to stop his re-election in 2003.
He disclosed details of the political intrigues that shaped the country’s Fourth Republic.
The former President said he took “strong and serious objection” to Osoba’s allegation that he deceived the Yoruba political leadership ahead of the 2003 elections.
“I take strong and serious objection to your calling me a deceiver because I deceived nobody.
I always presented my case and all issues as I had them and as I understood them, no matter whose ox is gored,” Obasanjo said.
He argued that Osoba was not privy to several sensitive political engagements that took place between him and the leadership of Afenifere and the Alliance for Democracy, adding that many of the issues were handled by elders of the Yoruba political movement.
“There were issues you did not know or understand because, as you pointed out, they were above your head. They were handled by your elders in Alliance for Democracy and Afenifere,” he stated.
Obasanjo defended the outcome of the controversial 2003 governorship elections in the South-West, which saw the PDP capture five of the six states controlled by the Alliance for Democracy.
He maintained that the defeats suffered by the AD governors reflected the mood of the electorate.
“Your loss or defeat in 2003 was genuine in all the six states except the one where the figures were successfully and murderously changed,” he alleged.
He also claimed that Osoba barely campaigned before the election and eventually apologised to Ogun residents during a television appearance for what he described as his arrogant disposition.
He said: “Your loss or defeat in 2003 was genuine in all the six states except the one where the figures were successfully and murderously changed as Chief Tinubu, the Head of Service in Lagos State then, accurately reported to me. I took it as what God allowed.
“From information that reached me from the political field, you barely campaigned, and at the tail end of the campaign, you went on TV to apologise to the people for your arrogance and informed them that the starch in your agbada caused your arrogant appearance.”
Obasanjo also alleged that his former Vice-President, Atiku, masterminded an impeachment plot against him through the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, the late Ghali Na’Abba.
According to the former President, the alleged plot began while he was away from the office on a Friday.
He claimed that the Vice-President invited Na’Abba to his office and allegedly provided him with N5m to commence impeachment proceedings.
Obasanjo said: “And that takes me to Na’Abba’s impeachment you glowingly talked about. And the way you wrote about it, talking about remorse would suggest stack ignorance on your part or being an accomplice. And both were possible.
“Na’Abba’s impeachment began at the presidency by the Vice-President, who on a Friday when I was out of the office, invited Na’Abba to his office and convinced him, as he had convinced himself and some others but of insignificant number, that I should have only one term as President and this was the act of a man I brought up from governorship to Vice-President.
“From the first day as Vice-President, he raised campaigners for his presidency. On the Friday, he invited Na’Abba; he gave him N5 million to begin his impeachment work. It was all noted, recorded and reported to me by my Chief of Staff, a professional intelligence officer.
“The game continued to be played on with me treating it with contempt as I have committed no impeachable offence except my Vice-President who wanted to take over by hook or by crook.
“It was President Shagari who, on his own volition, asked me about impeachment and I told him that for me, there was absolutely nothing in it.
“He requested my permission to handle it and, of course, I gave him the go-ahead. Aremo Olusegun Osoba, please show me what you will be remorseful for if you were in my position.”
The former President further alleged that after the impeachment bid failed, the former Vice-President pursued another political arrangement involving the six AD governors.
Obasanjo said: “There is one thing more that you may need to be reminded of in the AD governors and my Vice-President honeymoon.
“When he failed in the impeachment exercise, he made a two-track approach: one to go with Alex Ekwueme and Alex to hand over to him in the third year of his presidency; second is for the six AD governors of South-West not to have competition from any other party in 2003 so that in 2007, you would all yield the field to my Vice-President.
“You were all convinced of this anti-democratic plan, and you all fell for it. I was told that I was said to be selling the idea, and if that was said of me, it was a lie.
“Aremo, such was sold to you: an idaro. And none of you thought it fit to check with me, or I was not worth checking with, since I was not a nominee of AD/Afenifere. Have no dealings with Obasanjo as President but deal with his Vice-President and you would get the best that was a clever political move.”
Tracing events after his release from prison, Obasanjo disclosed that although he initially wanted to focus on family matters, particularly his children’s education, he was later persuaded by different political groups to return to active politics.
According to him, the first delegation urging him to contest for office was led by Lawan Katsina at his Ota Farm, followed by another headed by the late Chief S.M. Afolabi, while a third delegation was led by the late Dr Martins Kuye.
He explained that because the latter delegations were predominantly Yoruba, he insisted that consultations should be broadened to reflect Nigeria’s diversity.
Obasanjo said he subsequently embarked on consultations across the country’s three major regions before joining the Peoples Democratic Party.
He said he consulted prominent leaders including the late Chief Meredith Akinloye, the late Chief Bola Ige, the late Chief Richard Akinjide, Prof Oyeleye, the late Sunday Awoniyi, the late Adamu Ciroma, Prof Anezi Okoro and Arthur Mbanefo.
“That quick consultation was like a sounding board. It gave me a quick and good feel,” he said.
The former President maintained that politics should never create permanent enemies, stressing that competition should be based on ideas rather than personal animosity.
To illustrate the point, he recalled his cordial relationship with the late former Vice-President, Dr Alex Ekwueme, despite contesting against him for the PDP presidential ticket.
“While competing with Alex Ekwueme, I was a guest in his house when I went to Anambra to campaign. We ate together, and the following morning, I went out to campaign,” he said.
Obasanjo also revisited his relationship with the late Afenifere leader, Chief Abraham Adesanya, revealing that despite repeated visits to seek support, the elder statesman consistently maintained that the Yoruba would not vote for him.
“On three occasions, I visited Chief Abraham Adesanya, and on the three occasions, he vowed that the Yoruba would not vote for me. I never stopped calling on him to report and to campaign.”
According to Obasanjo, Adesanya urged him to join the Alliance for Democracy, but he declined because he believed the party had become “essentially a tribal party.”
“I told him that AD as essentially a tribal party was in a cul-de-sac,” he stated.
The former President said their political disagreement never affected their personal relationship.
Obasanjo defended his decision to accommodate members of the Alliance for Democracy in his administration after assuming office in 1999.
He said the move was driven by national integration rather than political weakness.
“Bringing PDP and AD to join me for a sort of national government was not out of weakness; rather, it was out of strength and the unity and progress of the country,” he said.
He disclosed that immediately after his inauguration, he appointed defeated PDP governorship candidates from the South-West to federal positions while simultaneously beginning consultations with influential AD leaders across the region.
According to him, one of the earliest political figures he persuaded to join the PDP was the late Mrs Mobolaji Osomo.
“My position was simple: the Yoruba had been in the periphery for so long; let them come to the mainstream,” he said.
Responding to Osoba’s suggestion that he sought the assistance of the six AD governors to stabilise his administration, Obasanjo dismissed the claim as illogical.
He argued that with the support of 21 PDP governors, nine APP governors, the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council, it was inconceivable that six opposition governors could dictate to him.
“Six to dictate to thirty is ridiculous. I had an Executive Council, I had a National Assembly, I had a virile political party, 21 governors and nine other governors from another party with my government,” Obasanjo said.
He insisted that while he was always willing to listen to opposing views, he would never surrender the authority of the Presidency to regional political interests.
The former President criticised Afenifere for what he described as its inability to evolve beyond ethnic politics.
He argued that the group’s refusal to support him stemmed largely from his refusal to identify with tribal politics.
“There were lessons to learn on both sides. I learned the lesson of whether the other side is right or wrong, there should be no bitterness, and there should be accommodation and tolerance.
“Afenifere and its political party never rose beyond tribal cul de sac. There is a lesson for all in that. And it would appear that once you were not an AD or Afenifere member, you would be a liar or a deceiver.
“If you failed to follow my line, you must be maligned and set out as an enemy. I have never believed in tribal politics,” the former President said.
Obasanjo added that several late Afenifere leaders, including Chief Adesanya, Chief Gani Daudu and Chief Ayo Adebanjo, later expressed regrets to him before their deaths over the direction the organisation eventually took.
Despite the sharp criticism, Obasanjo praised Osoba for allocating the land on which the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library now stands in Abeokuta.
He described the gesture as one of the former governor’s greatest contributions to Ogun State.
“The greatest service you rendered for me and for Abeokuta is the land allocated for the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library. It has become the most significant landmark in Abeokuta,” he said.
He urged Osoba to embrace humility and gratitude, saying politics should never destroy enduring personal relationships.
“It is not over until it is over and there is no end to humility and thanksgiving.
“In politics, no one should be ignored or disregarded, and politics may end, relationships may live till life’s end,” the former President said.
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