- Says ex-president losing political relevance
The Deputy National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Uchenna Okogbuo, has said that former president Olusegun Obasanjo has started losing his political relevance as an elder statesman by his involvement in “unnecessary controversies.”
Okogbuo said this in a chat with our correspondent against the backdrop of some comments credited to the former president, particularly his u-turn on his earlier demand for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2019 during his visit to Umuahia, the Abia State capital.
The APGA chieftain said it was embarrassing that O b a s a n j o , who had occupied the highest office in the country on different occasions, could engage in double-speak and openly criticise both his perceived personal and political enemies.
Okogbuo regretted that the former president had become like most Nigerian politicians, who he said would tell you they were retiring from partisan politics today and the next day, they would defect to another party.
The best this elder statesman should have done is to preserve his dignity
“The best this elder statesman, who is on record as the longest serving leader of this country, should have done is to preserve his dignity by avoiding any comment on controversial is sues, no matter his personal interest.
“By doing so, Obasanjo, who nurtured the country’s present political adventure and sat on its helm of affairs for eight solid eight years, would have become its unchallenged political oracle,” he added.
According to him, it was painful that people like the former president were the ones Nigerians look up to as icons of their development and without whose names the history of the nation would be incomplete.
The APGA deputy chairman expressed surprise that a few weeks ago Obasanjo began to criticise the government in power and talked about Igbo presidency, which he never supported while he was at the helm of affairs in the country.
According to him, the Igbo people must be wary of the antics of the former president, stressing, “We don’t need to be carried away. We know that we are qualified and have all it takes to rule this country.
“It is not Obasanjo that will give us the Presidency of this country. All we need to do is to get our strategies right and tell the people how we can do it and they will support us.”
