The political atmosphere in Nigeria has certainly taken a new dimension and it appears nobody can predict the events that would follow in the coming months.
But one thing that
is certain is that the 2015 General Elections is a make or mar for the country,
and the security threat that arose from the activities of the members of the
dreaded Boko Haram sect, who are insisting that President Goodluck Jonathan
should bow out of office, probably for somebody from the north, has caused many
Nigerians to believe that the nation would be better off with a new leader.
Obasanjo was said
to have told President Goodluck Jonathan to bow out in 2015 on several
occasions and allow another person take over the mantle of leadership of the
country.
This request even
became obvious with a letter, which OBJ wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan
sometime ago, the controversial letter later got into public domain.
A reliable
informant told us last week that President Jonathan was advised by President
Jacob Zuma of South Africa, when he went for his inauguration after his
re-election as South African President recently, to seek the advice of Chief Obasanjo
on how to end the menace of the Boko Haram sect.
President Jonathan
reportedly contacted Obasanjo from South Africa afterwards, and it was gathered
that a meeting was slated for somewhere in Lagos.
“President Jonathan
went straight to meet with Obasanjo at a location in Lagos, when he was coming
from South Africa. He then sought the support and advice of the former
president on how to tackle the menace of the Boko Haram members. Obasanjo told
him point blank that he shouldn’t have invited the Americans on the issue. He
then told him to consider stepping down in 2015 rather than contesting for
second term of office, while promising to help out on the security issue. He
was the one that facilitated the involvement of a Dubai-based Nigerian
journalist, Ahmad Salkida, in negotiating with Boko Haram members on the
release of the students of Government Girls College, Chibok, Borno State, who
were kidnapped by the sect members. Jonathan then told OBJ that he would
consider the option of not contesting for a second term and that he would feed
him back later,” said our source.
It was gathered
that President Goodluck Jonathan did not reply Obasanjo eventually and that he changed
his mind about re-contesting in 2015, when he got to Abuja after meeting with
some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some members of his
kitchen cabinet.
Sources said that he
subsequently gave $20 Million to the Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Muazu to
organize the party’s convention, where he (Jonathan) would be adopted as the
party’s candidate.
Our reliable
sources said further that former president Obasanjo was surprised by the
President’s action, adding that he decided to seek alternative means of fielding
his godson, Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State as a Presidential candidate in
2015 and get Jonathan out of office.
OBJ reportedly
spoke with his friend with whom he once had disagreement for many years, Otunba
Oyewole Fasawe and Bode Mustapha. They were said to have all agreed that it was
better to fund and support the All Progressives Party (APC) and ensure that a
strong candidate from the north is presented as the party’s presidential
candidate.
“One of the game
plans is to empower Chief Isiaka Adeleke and some others and convince them to
join the APC as they would be useful in the South West, which is why Adeleke
has systematically declared for the APC. The Obasanjos are even banking on the
fact that PDP has not really won elections in the North Eastern states of Yobe,
Adamawa, Borno and Gombe apart from the South South and the South West, which
they are banking on to win elections in 2015. They have started working to
ensure that a credible candidate is presented by the APC in 2015 to ease the
incumbent President out of office through the 2015 elections,” the source
stated.
Sources however, insisted
that the leaders of the PDP and supporters of President Jonathan are also not
leaving any stone unturned and that with the way things are going, nobody can
tell how the whole scenario would be resolved, as according to a source, “President
Jonathan would bank on his power as the incumbent president to ensure victory
for the PDP in 2015.”
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