Obasanjo and his Trojan Horse, By Gboyega Amoboye  

Baba Obasanjo hates but enjoys publicity. A paradox? He took a dry day for the media to release his endorsement of Peter Obi as preferred Presidential candidate. In a busy day this might not enjoy so much a press coverage because he has said it on several occasions. For this reason, some editors lead with reactions to the endorsement while some combined action and reaction in the headline.

No doubt, Obi has taken the political race by storm outshining it’s plartform, the Labour Party. Peter Obis endorsement by Youths has confirmed my belief that the country needs no provision for an independent Candidate in the Constitution. A serious candidate like Obi could just contest on the platform of any sick political party and still be relevant.

Unfortunately, Obis image may not reflect on any others contesting elections into other political offices on the platform of Labour Party because the party has no I’m age of its own. I hope Labour Party would not be a mere mirage, that would lead them to a blind alley.
For this reason too, critics have seen Peter Obi as not going too far at the end of the day because he has no structure unlike the APC’ Tinubu and PDP’s Atiku. But Obi’s supporters have disputed this assertion.
That President Obasanjos endorsement of Obis candidature has attracted positive and negative reactions is a demonstration of the two persons in one Obasanjo.

Baba Awo onced described Ovie Whiskey 1983 FEDECO Chairman as a man with double face. Could same be said of Obasanjo? He is a man who grabs every opportunity to crush his enemies like Atiku. Tinubu’s denied him the power to grab Lagos State in 2003 could not be said to be in his good record. Therefore a moment of revenge for him and grab the opportunity he has found in Obi who is already a no push over Obasanjo’s endorsement or not.

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While Obasanjo’s endorsement according is based on credibility and competence, critics have asked why the Obasanjo stood on the way of Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1979 and said the best candidate may not win and pronounced in 1993 that MKO Abiola was not the expected Messiah? Would he say that the qualities he now found in Obi were absent from Awo and Abiola. Recently Obasanjo said if he had left the 2003 PDP Primaries open, Peter Odili would have won the Presidential Candidate. But he imposed the sickly Umaru Yardua on the Party.Not only that, the late President being an honest man said he was rigged to power obviously by the outgoing President, Obasanjo instead of allowing the best man to win the primaries in Peter Odili. Unfortunately, Yardua died unfulfilled and denied by the same Obasanjo who installed him. Critics have recall how he supported President Good luck Jonathan and the incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari only to drag them in the mud the moment he could not get them to dance to his music.

The banana peel Obasanjo put under the table of the late Senate President Chubs Okadigbo when Chuba failed to dance to his music is kept safe in Ottawa. The PDP was formem in 1998 when Obasanjo was in Prison with Chief Sunday Awoniyi as protem Chairman. But on joining the Party, the first person he frustrated out of the party was Awoniyi. To further purnshed the founders of the party, he brought prince Vincent from ANPP and imposed him as PDP National Chairman after pulling the seat from Barnabas Gemade. When he was done with Ogbulafor, he went to drag Audu Ogbe from his sick bed in Gboko, Benue State to occupy the seat only to humiliate him from office after a pounded yam competition in the State House. This is why critics are said to be seeing Obasanjo as st his best game of hire and fire once again with his endorsement Obi. While some critics are seeing advantages in the endorsement, many others are seeing disadvantages as those who are tired of riding in Obasanjo’s Trojan horse may say enough is enough.