#2015: It Does Not Matter Where I Put My Gear - OBJ# Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has declared that his interest in the unity and peace of Nigeria as a country transcends the boundaries of any political party. Obasanjo made this statement while speaking at the 50th anniversary of Aare Afe Babalola’s call to the Nigerian bar. Obasanjo, who was reacting to banter from Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi asking him to be a neutral player in Nigerian politics said “It does not matter where I put my gear, what matters to me is the interest of Nigeria and nothing can take that away from me.” It all started at the commissioning of Afe Babalola & Co Head Office extension, opposite Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan. The commissioning train including Obasanjo which had gone on an inspection tour of the newly commissioned chamber had just returned from the trip when Governor Ajimobi and his Ekiti State counterpart, Dr Kayode Fayemi arrived. Their late entry denied them seats and when it seemed there was no seat to occupy, the former president jokingly asked if the two governors could seat on his laps. Both promptly sat on Obasanjo’s laps while the former president retorted: “APC is watching you.” When the team got to the NBA hall, venue of the lecture, Governor Ajimobi in his characteristic manner described Obasanjo as a father to all, stating that the former president has committed another blunder by allowing him and Fayemi to sit on his laps, confirming that Obasanjo will join them at APC. In his remarks, Dr Fayemi restated that the incident confirmed his advise in a discussion with Obasanjo to be a father of all and be non-partisan so that all politicians can come to him should they run into trouble, with the hope of getting fair judgment. Chief Obasanjo who was chairman on the occasion literarily christened himself ‘a bundle of blunders’ whom many people will want to emulate. “Some people call me general of blunders; if I commit blunder and successfully ended the civil war, that is good; if I blundered and I monitored transition from military to civilian; if I blundered and after 20 years and spending three years in prison I was persuaded to come and contest the election, great blunder; spending eight years as Nigeria’s president is another great blunder,” he said. Obasanjo also admitted to some ‘mistakes’ which he considered as success stories today. Topping the list was his choice of the celebrant, Aare Afe Babalola as the Pro Chancellor University of Lagos. He said “I was looking for somebody to fill the position of the UNILAG pro-chancellor, and I picked Afe Babalola and some people said it was a mistake. “I made a great mistake in appointing him, but today I have the opportunity to say it was a successful mistake. It was unfortunate that people go through life without making any impact, but when Afe took over as the pro-chancellor, what happened was mistake upon mistakes.” He said the first mistake was that the institution became number one in the country, and the Vice- Chancellor became the best in Nigeria. The former president added that Babalola also became the best Pro-Chancellor, and the mother of all the mistakes was as a result of Afe’s exposure and involvement as pro-chancellor, he established Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUA).
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 07:19:14 +0000
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