By Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye
“Obasanjo may try to rewrite history, but for those of us who lived through it, the truth will always remain clear. His administration was not a beacon of democracy but a reminder of how power intoxicates and can destroy the very foundations of a nation’s progress”
-Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye.
I THANK Maxwell for this timely piece. It is an absolute necessity before the former President deceives us all by running away with his hagiography.
I guess it is only Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who does not know how exactly Nigerians rate his rulership over us and is, therefore, gallivanting between Northern & Southern Nigeria, posing as a moral lodestar.
“Listening to former president, Olusegun Obasanjo on nation-building boils the skin.
“He should be reminded that he is not this saviour Nigeria needs.
“Rather, he is a major contributor to our current situation.
“An Obasanjo whose administration was marked by corruption, blatant abuse of power and the manipulation of electoral processes giving advice on nation-building; such irony.
During his tenure, federal roads were death traps, and basic amenities were a luxury for the common man. There was no major infrastructural project to point to, not even in the region he hailed from.
The disrepair of roads was a symbol of a government that had forsaken its duty to its people.
Despite the country enjoying massive oil revenues during his tenure, there was literally nothing much to show for it other than looted funds.
Nigeria became deep rooted in the claws of corruption during his tenure.
I recall how governors were coerced into donating N10 million each to fund his personal library project.
How could a president, entrusted with the public good, extort such a huge sum from state coffers for a private venture?
It was not only a betrayal of public trust but also an outright abuse of presidential power.
Remember the 2003 and 2007 elections? Where violence and intimidation dictated the result of voters; stories of guns at polling units were commonplace.
It wasn’t just something we heard about on the news—it was happening right here, in our communities.
Parties were robbed of their wins, daylight election robbery where people were denied their legitimate right.
This happened right under the government of the man who brought democracy back to Nigeria.
Rauf Aregbesola won the Osun State governorship, but the people’s will was denied. In Ondo, Olusegun Mimiko faced the same fate.
These were not isolated incidents; across Oyo, Bayelsa, and Sokoto, rigging was the norm, not the exception.
Obasanjo now positions himself as a moral authority, often criticizing the current administration and lecturing young people on good governance.
But where was his moral compass when governors were being kidnapped and impeached on wrong grounds?
Where was his respect for democratic institutions when he packed the National Assembly with loyalists and minions who bent to his every whim?
These issues Nigerians face today, which Obasanjo claims to speak against were born and bred under his leadership.
It is difficult to take his words on transparency, anti-corruption, or electoral integrity seriously, knowing the deep scars his administration left on our political landscape.
He had the chance to shape Nigeria’s democracy for the better, but instead, exploited it for personal gain and political dominance.
So, when Obasanjo takes the stage today to lecture us on how to conduct elections or build a progressive government, I can’t help but see the hypocrisy.
He may have helped us return us to civilian rule, but he also corrupted the very fabric of our democracy.
The guns, the rigged elections, the bribery, the abuse of power, these are all part of his legacy.
And as Nigerians who lived through his reign, we must remember how he failed us and our generation. Some sins can be forgiven but never forgotten.
This is the same reaction Nigerians should have with former president, Olusegun Obasanjo.
Obasanjo may try to rewrite history, but for those of us who lived through it, the truth will always remain clear.
“His administration was not a beacon of democracy but a reminder of how power intoxicates and can destroy the very foundations of a nation’s progress.
“Nigeria could have been better, if only he had practiced the morals he now preaches”.
• Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye,United Kingdom
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