Eventually, it had to come to your attention, especially if you are connected to Nigerians either in real life or social media. I am talking about the gathering of the cream of the Nigerian elites at General Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Obasanjo’s farm, the only man living who shared the honour of ruling Nigeria twice (of course with General Buhari, our incumbent president).
Here is a brief introduction of these men. Unsurprisingly, not a single woman was in attendance!
| Name | Introduction |
|---|---|
| Atiku Abubakar | Presidential Candidate for the PDP, rumours persist that he is wanted by the United States of America. One of those spreading the rumours was General Obasanjo himself. Hard evidence exists that there may be something to the rumours. Read more in my blog of two weeks ago here |
| Olabode George | A PDP stalwart from the South West. He served his term in prison for corruption, but President Goodluck Jonathan pardoned him. |
| Olagunsoye Oyinlola | Former Governor of my own state, Osun, (South West Nigeria). A lover of golf, rumours abounded during his time in office that he spent most of his time at MicCom Golf Resort. |
| Gbenga Daniels | Former governor of Ogun State, also in South West Nigeria. He served two terms, after which he spent time defending himself against the allegation of corruption (initially it was allegation of embezzling or misappropriating 58 billion naira, but subsequently reduced to 200 million naira). |
| Pa Ayo Adebanjo | An old statesman, ninety years old. He is one of the leaders of a Yoruba group called “Afenifere”. Afenifere is probably a relic organisation as the Yorubas have moved on from a situation where a single organisation can articulate the interest of the whole people group. |
| Ben Murray Bruce | An Ijaw from oil rich Niger Delta, the source of Nigeria’s wealth. He had a very successful time in show business. He throws his weight around, but he is just a newbie in Nigerian politics. |
| Uche Secondus | Also from Niger Delta. He has been in politics for a while. He is chairman of the PDP Working Committee. |
| Bishop Matthew Kukah | Current Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto. |
| Bishop David Oyedepo | Probably the second most influential Pentecostal pastor in Nigeria. He is reputed to be worth 150 million dollars (according to Forbes). He started his ministry in Ilorin, moved to Kaduna, but he is now based in Lagos.
Bishop Oyedepo was one of the few people allowed to see President Yaradua at Aso Rock towards the end of his life. |
| Sheikh Ahmed Gumi | Sheikh Gumi is an Islamic Scholar from Northern Nigeria. There are stories in the press that he was once detained in Saudi Arabia for allegedly relating with terror suspect Farouk abdumutallab but was released unconditionally |
| Gen Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Obasanjo | The self appointed king-maker, who played host to these famous and infamous Nigerian leaders. Allegations of corruption abound but it has not been possible to pin something concrete on him. Is he clean or smart? |
Just look at the crowd! By the way, Buhari can assemble a similar crowd if he needs to (and I won’t be surprised if we see such a show of strength from him very soon).
Nigerians should always remember this: when it is time to seek power and share money, Nigerian leaders forget their differences be it religious or cultural. They only deploy and accentuate these differences if it helps them to grab power.
I will let one of the attendees , Sheikh Gumi, frame my last comment. In an interview years ago during which he lambasted Buhari, he had the following to say:
Truly, corruption is crippling our progress and we are underdeveloped because of it. But I am very sorry to say that that corruption is the secret of the unity of Nigeria.
“When you see a Hausa Muslim, a Yoruba man, whether Muslim or Christian, and an Igbo Christian together in a room joking and laughing in peace, (you must) know that they are getting money.
“If they are not getting money, then OPC will come, Biafra will come; all kinds of insurgencies will start coming out. But once they are getting money, they will be quiet because they have something in common.
The full article from which I extracted the quote can be found here.
A very sad day when leading Christian leaders from the North and South, join hands with leading Islamic Scholar from the North, in the presence of political leaders from various corners of Nigeria to anoint a leader like Atiku, with such serious allegations of corruption from a very credible source: the United States of America.
Is it possible that all those that gathered at Pa Obasanjo’s farm all agree with Gumi that only corruption can keep Nigeria united?
If you have not read the allegations against Atiku, please go to this location.
Yes Buhari has tons of issues. Yet, Nigerians have no choice but to choose between him and Atiku. This is what the politics of the least awful looks like.
oyebode.com 