Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said those in the present administration will not only go to jail, they will go to hell if their corrupt acts are exposed.
He also explained why he forgave an ex-Vice-President and Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in an interview with the BBC Yoruba monitored by our correspondents.
Comparing Atiku with President Muhammadu Buhari, Obasanjo said his former deputy, though not a messiah, was far better than the incumbent President.
He said, “What I am saying is that where we are today; our present situation, if you look at those who are there today and our boss (Buhari), I insist that Atiku will do better than them.
“This is not a prophecy. Those in government today, if we expose them, all of them will enter hell; they will not only go to jail. They will go to hell. Whoever that God does not expose his sins to the public is the person whose secret is kept.”
Obasanjo, however, said he was not privy to the plans of Atiku if he became Nigeria’s next President.
He said, “I did not say he (Atiku) will behave like Jesus. I did not say he will behave like Prophet Muhammed, but he will do better, in fact twice better than what we have at present.”
Obasanjo said the President’s performance in the area of the economy was worse than his assessment of his (Buhari) knowledge of the economy in 2015.
The ex-President said Atiku was not an angel but he had atoned for his sins when he came to him in Abeokuta and sought forgiveness.
He said, “Those who talked about what I said about Atiku, what about what I said about Buhari? His performance is even worse than what I thought.
“I said Buhari did not know anything about economy. Have you not seen it? I said he did not know about diplomatic relations, have you not seen it?
Ex-President accuses Buhari of nepotism
While accusing Buhari of nepotism, Obasanjo said the President gave priorities to his ethnic group when appointing people into sensitive positions.
Obasanjo added, “Look at what is happening, the person that is leading us says he cannot appoint any other tribes into the posts he considers sensitive because he does not trust them. If he cannot trust my tribe and your tribe what is the benefit? And he still wants my tribe and your tribe to vote for him. So, he can ask us to vote for him but he cannot trust us to be appointed into sensitive positions. What is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander.
“If you don’t trust us, how do you want me to trust you? If you trust me and I misbehave replace me with another person. But if only your maternal and paternal relatives are the only people you can appoint because they are the only people you can trust…
“In Nigeria, where we have tribes numbering about 500, you now said you could not trust some people . That is what we are saying.”
Obasanjo also berated Buhari’s economic policies, saying “Look at our economy, is it the way it should be? Our economy can never develop if foreign investors do not come to invest in the economy . But, as it is , they are not coming into the country and they will never come.”
On the activities of Boko Haram , Obasanjo lamented that the insurgents were deadlier than they were before the present administration .
YPM knocks Obasanjo for attacking Buhari
Meanwhile, the National Coordinator, Yoruba Patriots’ Movement, Chief Oladosu Oladipo, said the anti-Buhari’s comment of Obasanjo was unbecoming of a statesman.
The group was of the view that the unsubstantiated allegations against the President had “reduced his (Obasanjo’s) value both politically and intellectually.”
Wondering about the inconsistency of the ex-President, Oladipo who spoke in Ibadan, said the aspersions being cast on Buhari had further impacted negatively on Obasanjo’s integrity.
Oladipo said, “Two things I see, making a U-turn or somersaulting in the broad daylight has reduced his value both politically and intellectually. It has reduced his integrity; reduced all his virtues and has put him as somebody whose words cannot be relied upon and who cannot mentor the up-and-coming generations. In fact, he is double-mouthed.”
In a statement issued by the group, the YPM said, “Those of us with genuine intentions, shall support these great leaders to take Nigeria to the next level. The national looters of yesterday should please go to sleep and give development a chance. We call on smaller parties to merge with the APC which is now a mega party. I want to advise Nigerians not to take Chief Obasanjo seriously.”
Oladipo described the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, as a great man following the footsteps of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
