Barely three days to the presidential election, former President Olusegun Obasanjo is worried over rumours of a likely handing over of power to the military.
Obasanjo said Nigeria is awash with rumours of an Interim National Government(ING) being installed which, he said has been blown away, but wondered whether the rumour of the military take over would also go away.
The former President who quit partisan politics recently with the shredding of his Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) membership card by proxy, spoke at his Presidential Hilltop Estate, Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, when the wife of the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hajia Aisha Buhari, and the Southwest women leaders and spouses of APC governors, visited him.
Obasanjo said besides military rule not being fashionable any longer, it is unconstitutional and the Intentional community would not condone it.
According to him, a military coup anywhere on the African soil would neither be accepted nor tolerated by the African Union (AU) member countries until such government is “dismantled.”
He warned that the world was watching Nigeria, saying as the largest country in Africa, Nigeria should be a model to others.
The former President urged Nigeria not to draw the rest of Africa backward and lamented the campaign of hate and division engaged in by those seeking elective.
He charged women to take active part in the redemptive mission for Nigeria, warning that should things go worse, they would be the hardest hit.
Obasanjo said: “I am happy to hear directly from you, Mrs Buhari that the campaign so far, from the assessment has gone very well.
“Unfortunately, issues that should have been the main items of our campaign have been relegated. We have serious issues of security, we have serious issues of our economy, we have issue of unemployment particularly, youth unemployment, we have serious issues of infrastructure, these are issues among others that I believe the campaign of those who are interested in the present and the future of this country should be directed at.
“How are we going to get them? What are we going to do? not trivial issues of certificate or no certificate. Not trivial issues of when somebody is talking about someone is a Nigerian and not a Nigerian.
“I said it, this is what they had in Cote d’Ivore and that led them into almost a very serious problem, not issue of religion, not issue of tribe, not issue of sections but issues of unity. I hope this will be the last time in the history of this country that we will have this type of campaign of hatred or division.
“I think the emphasis should be on what unites us, not what divides us and when I look at the faces of you ladies here, it is very difficult for me to know. I think we should empathise on things that unite us, we should talk more on what will make this country not a just country but a great country.
“And that is the challenge before Nigerians today and particularly before those who are aspiring either at the state or at the national level, how can this country be made to be a great country. God has given us all that we need, that we are not what we should be, we can not blame God, we should blame ourselves.
“I do hope we will get things more right. A lot of rumours are flying around, I think we have gone away from the rumour of Interim National Government (ING) because that is not in our constitution. I hope we will soon go away from the rumour of handing over to the military because the military is not meant to run affairs of a nation in terms of running government.
“And the intentional community will not condone it particularly African Union (AU). We have said and it is part and parcel of the Acts of the AU, any government that is brought about not on the basis of the constitution will not be accepted, will not be tolerated and will not be a member of the AU until that government is dismantled.
“It shouldn’t be, we are the largest country in Africa, we should be a model, setting examples, we shouldn’t be drawing Africa backward, I hope we will not. I hope at the end of this exercise, we would be where we should be, leading Africa and showing examples for the rest of Africa and indeed the rest of the world.
“We have the goodwill of many people, I watched, last night, President Obama talking about our constitution, I watched out brother from Ghana, the current Chairman of ECOWAS talked about our constitution, they are all interested, they all wish us well, should we wish ourselves anything less?”
Mrs Buhari lauded the former President for being a true nationalist, adding that Obasanjo often traversed party lines and primodial sentiments while addressing issues affecting the country.
She said: “Baba exercises his prowess as a father, as a former Head of State of Nigeria twice, we are here today to show our appreciation the way you handle things as a stateman and also a nationalist.”
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