Obasanjo part of Nigeria’s problems — Soyinka, Falana
The Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, and a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, yesterday attacked former President Olusegun Obasanjo, describing him as part of Nigeria’s problems and not a saviour that he often projected himself to be.
Soyinka and Falana spoke at a panel discussion alongside the editorial chairman of The Nation, Sam Omatseye, at a book launch in Lagos.
The book, titled: “Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes? Gani’s Unfinished Business” was written by the Nobel laureate in memory of late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, the Lagos based human rights lawyer.
Soyinka said he was forced to write the book which he dubbed: “Interventions VIII” because of what he called “tissues of lies” found in Obasanjo’s three-volume autobiography: “My watch”.
He said certain claims in the book by the former president were far from the truth as they were more of conjectures.
“This is a man who will never take responsibility for anything. And what I even found most unacceptable is for the same person when such a critic of successive governments now offers himself as a sort of saviour. The letter he wrote that was meant to be a letter bomb ended up being a suicide bomb,” he said.
Soyinka described Obasanjo as someone who usually studies events, looks at the directions things are going and jumps in to take credit for what others laboured for.
The Nobel laureate said Nigeria must learn how to do away with Obasanjo as the ship of the country should rather be directed by new and young people.
Similarly, Falana said Obasanjo was known for disobedience of the Supreme Court orders.
“Since the amalgamation of northern and southern protectorates in 1914, no administration has ever treated with brazenness, the way the administration of Obasanjo treated judgement of the Supreme Court. In the case between the Federal Government and the Lagos State government, the Supreme Court said it was illegal that the Local Government allocations to the state were withheld. It ordered the payment. But Obasanjo refused to comply. That was why the payment was the first act of the Yar’Adua administration when it came in,” Falana said.
Omatseye described Obasanjo as “a charmed brute” who had only been opportune to claim other people’s glory at different times in the country’s history.