Former spokesperson to ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Laolu Akande, has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of militarizing Nigeria’s political landscape and attempting to secure a third term in office.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Inside Sources on Friday, Akande reacted to Obasanjo’s recent claims denying any interest in a third-term presidency.
He criticized the former president for allegedly trying to revise the historical record.
“Now, having said that, it’s important that we say that President Obasanjo is also that singular Nigerian president who militarized Nigeria’s politics,” Akande stated.
“For instance, it was he during the 2003 and 2007 elections that called the elections a battle. And it was under his watch in 2007 that we had an election that produced a president who himself said that we have to bring electoral reforms.
“So, we must understand the strategy of President Obasanjo. He knows that he has the bully pulpit and he uses his bully pulpit to raise a loud voice, knowing that the people who will counter him don’t have an equally loud voice. That is why we must continue to argue that people like Obasanjo should stop their attempt to revise Nigeria’s history. We know what happened, for instance, during the third-term bid in 2005.”
Akande also took issue with Obasanjo’s assertion that he could have secured a third term had he wanted it.
“Now, President Obasanjo has said that he actually did not want to do third term. That’s not the worst part. The worst part is that he said that if he wanted to have a third term, he could have gotten it.”
He reminded the public of multiple testimonies and eyewitness accounts that allegedly confirm Obasanjo’s pursuit of a third term in office.
“So much for his democratic pretensions. Now, the truth of the matter is that there are witnesses who have told the nation and the nation itself witnessed what happened during the third term.
“So, President Obasanjo, you cannot tell us today that what happened did not happen. Your Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has told us how much you were invested in the third-term bid. People like Senator Adolphus Wabara have also made it clear that he was offered a N250 million bribe to support the third-term bid.
“Also, Professor Shola Adeyeye, a fearless federal legislator, has also recounted efforts to bribe people from his own state. And he said some people actually took the bribe, I think about 50 million.”
Akande noted that others, including Dr. Usman Bugaje, have also spoken publicly in response to Obasanjo’s claims, affirming that there was indeed a third-term agenda.
“What we have to do as a people is to continue to push back when he uses his loud microphone to attempt to rewrite our history.
“So, let us tell Baba Olusegun Obasanjo, we know that you wanted a third term, we know that you stood for it, and we know that Nigerian people said no.”
