OBASANJO IS A PATHOLOGICAL LIAR, SAY OSOBA, ADEBANJO Few days after Nobel Laureate, Professor Oluwole Akinwande Soyinka called former President Olusegun Obasanjo a compulsive and career liar, two other prominent fellow Ogun State indigenes have used similar words to describe on the same person. Former Ogun State governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba, described Obasanjo, as a “terrible liar” and one renowned for “falsifying Nigeria’s history at the slightest opportunity.” Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, described Obasanjo as one who believes his own lies. Osoba stated this in Lagos while responding to some claims in Obasanjo’s recent controversial book “My Watch.” Speaking at the launch of “Watch The Watcher, A Book of Remembrance of the Obasanjo Years,” written by an activist Mr. Yinka Odumakin, at the Sheraton Hotel on Monday in Lagos, Osoba said he would write his own account to debunk “the lies Obasanjo has written” in My Watch on how the Alliance for Democracy, AD, lost Ogun State in 2003. The former governor who was the chairman of the occasion, stated that Obasanjo had during the convocation of the University of Lagos in 2002, asked him and other AD governors who were present to meet him at Dodan Barracks. “When we got there, he begged us to support him in 2003 to retain his seat as President in the 2003 election. But we told him it was not a decision we could take without the involvement of the elders of the party such as Abraham Adesanya. “So, another meeting was fixed for Ogun Government Lodge in Abeokuta. At the meeting, Obasanjo begged for our support again. “However, two weeks before the 2003 presidential election, Abraham Adesanya accused Obasanjo of trying to use military tactics to outwit us. He failed to keep to the terms of the agreement we had with him. “I am surprised that Obasanjo in his book denied knowing nothing about the arrangement between AD and his party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. I will give a full account of what happened in my book,” Osoba said. Also speaking at the event, Chief Ayo Adebanjo described Obasanjo as a man with no conscience and a self-centred man who believes no other person matters except himself. Obasanjo’s book, My Watch, has continued to generate reactions since it was launched, with Nigerians such as Pro. Wole Soyinka and Brig-Gen Alabi-Isama, who were maligned in the book, describing Obasanjo as a compulsive liar. Osoba, who was the chairman at the launch, also accused Obasanjo of rigging out the AD governors in the 2003 governorship elections. The former governor also disagreed with some aspects of Obasanjo’s ‘My Watch’. He said: “The Watcher (Obasanjo) wrote a book on which Wole Soyinka has given his verdict. I am also going to give my verdict when I write my book. “That he (Obasanjo) does not know about the pact with the AD governors is far from the fact. To correct him, it was July 2002, he (Obasanjo) came to the graduation (ceremony) at the University of Lagos where we met at the office of the old Head of State. “It was there that he almost went on his knees that we, the AD governors, should support his second term ambition. “We (AD governors) told him that we were not the founding fathers of AD. We told the late Afenifere Leader, Abraham Adesanya, but Adesanya said he would never go to Abuja. According to him; “Adesanya later agreed that he would meet us at the presidential lodge. Abraham Adesanya never met him at Abuja but at the slightest notice Obasanjo came to Abuja. “Adesanya told him (Obasanjo) that he heard he was going to ambush us (AD governors). Present that day was Bishop Gbonigi, the Awujale and Cornelius (Adebayo),” he said. Osoba, who is now a member of the newly registered Social Democratic Party (SDP) explained that he was shocked and surprised that Obasanjo wrote in his book that he knew nothing about the Third Term Agenda which he claimed God would have given him if he had asked God. Commenting on Odumakin’s “Watch the Watcher”, the former governor said : “It is an event to put the records straight. Many aspects of the book written by President Olusegun Obasanjo need correction. “He was at the centre of all the negotiations to broker a political agreement between Alliance for Democracy and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2003. “For him to say he knew nothing about it, I totally disagree with him “The final meeting with him was attended by highly-placed Nigerians, a highly-placed royal father, the Awujale, Pa Adesanya, Bishop Gbonigi, Bishop Ladigbolu, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, all the (AD) governors and a host of others.” Speaking further, Onabanjo said: “For him (Obasanjo) to say that he knew nothing about the arrangement between AD for which he aborted and rigged the election is totally incorrect. “The book he wrote, is too voluminous, I don’t want to comment on other aspects because it is a very heavy book to read.” he added. Chief Adebanjo said that the South-West did not benefit from the eight-year administration of the former president: “For eight years, I challenge anybody to come and show what we (Yoruba) got when Obasanjo was at the helm of affairs. “For Obasanjo, Nigeria never existed before he came to power. “Obasanjo believes he is not corrupt. But before he left office, he changed the constitution of the party so that he could become the chairman of the party’s Board Trustee (BOT).” Also speaking, Prof G.G. Dara, who reviewed “Watch the Watcher” described it as a provocative book of memories. “It is expected that the book will trigger more debates.” he said. Dara declared: “The author was motivated to write the book to challenge exaggerated claims of heroic grandeur and accomplishments made by the former President in his book ‘My Watch’.” The Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, was represented by Mr Shola Ibiseni. Also present were the Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Jelili Adeshiyan; and FERMA chairman, Engineer Jide Adeniji. Others are the Labour Party National Secretary, Mr Kayode Ajulo; Colonel Tony Nyiam (rtd), Col Bello Fadile, Mr Akin Osuntokun and Lagos PDP chairman, Tunji Shelle and the Publicity Secretary, Taofik Gani, among others.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 12:48:51 +0000
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