Abiola’s Aide Blasts Obasanjo, Babangida

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo

Ripples of the faceoff between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and General Ibrahim Babangida continued at the weekend as former personal assistant to Chief M.K.O. Abiola, Lisa Olu Akerele, described the confrontation between the former leaders as a well deserved poetic justice.

Akerele said what happened  between Obasanjo and Babangida was nothing but nemesis catching up with the duo, the result of which is the current washing of their dirty linens in public.

Also speaking on the faceoff between the two retired generals, constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, described the exchange of words between them as uncalled for.

Sagay told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) weekend   in a telephone interview that the conduct of the leaders had portrayed them in bad light to Nigerians.

He said: “It is a shame that the leaders could not conduct themselves in a manner that is befitting of their status as former heads of state. It is uncalled for because neither of them can claim to have been a successful leader. That is left for ordinary Nigerians to judge. It is not proper for them to be comparing their performances in the public.”

Meanwhile, Akerele  in a statement made available to THISDAY said  that rather than throwing brickbats  at each other, the two former leaders deserved to be taken to a tribunal and caged, as was the case with Hussein Mubarak in Egypt, and subjected to public trial for crimes against Nigeria.

He accused both Obasanjo and Babangida of inflicting half-baked leadership on the country, which has kept Nigeria in the backwoods of development despite the country’s enormous wealth.

He recalled that the two generals were united in greed and personal aggrandisement to scuttle the peoples aspirations when they connived to annul the popular June 12, 1993 general election which Abiola was poised to win.

Noting that while Babangida annulled the election, Obasanjo gave credence to the annulment with his pronouncement that the late Abiola was not the messiah Nigerians were expecting.

He pointed out that both leaders were living in opulence in the face of abject poverty of their people because they stole the nation’s wealth without shame.

Citing instances of countries like Singapore and Malaysia which started almost at the same pace with Nigeria in terms of economic and political growth, Akerele said these countries have been propelled several steps ahead by their leaders who had the interest of their nations in mind.

On the contrary, he noted that while Obasanjo was hampered by greed and acquisitive tendencies which resulted in his ceding the nation’s paternity to himself and friends, Babangida was overwhelmed by infantile mind laced with corruptive mien based on using public funds to sort out his acolytes.