Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo has broken his pledge to stay mute concerning the forthcoming general elections, openly declaring his support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, February 9, 2015 in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, where he had gone to launch his 1,500-page autobiography – “My Watch.”
London-based Financial Times on Tuesday, February 10, 2015 reports that Obasanjo, who’s book – which has been banned in Nigeria following a libel hearing filed by Buruji Kashamu – was highly critical of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration said he hoped the incumbent president was not planning on holding on to power with the postponement on the elections.
Obasanjo said: “The signs are not auspicious. I don’t know whether a script is being played.”
“I sincerely hope that the president is not going for broke and saying ‘look dammit, it’s either I have it or nobody has it’. I hope that we will not have a coup… I hope we can avoid it.”
The relationship between Obasanjo and President Jonathan has become somewhat sour in recent past with the endorsement of General Buhari the most recent episode in their estranged relationship.
Obasanjo said: “The circumstances (Buhari) will be working under if he wins the election are different from the one he worked under before, where he was both the executive and the legislature — he knows that. He’s smart enough. He’s educated enough. He’s experienced enough. Why shouldn’t I support him?”
Obasanjo further posited that General Buhari had the prerequisite experience to tackle Nigeria’s insecurity and corruption issues. He also spoke on the rumoured crisis facing the Nigerian army saying: “It’s a question of leadership — political and military.
“I think you need to ask (President Jonathan) how has he let (the army) go to this extent… Many things went wrong: recruitment went wrong; training went wrong; morale went down; motivation not there; corruption was deeply ingrained; welfare was bad.”
