Chief Ebenezer Babatope, former minister of Transport and a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Board of Trustees (BoT), has dismissed attacks by former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on President Goodluck Jonathan, as being too weak to inflict any damage on the second term ambition of the incumbent in next month’s presidential election.

Source: http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/features/policy-a-politics/193471-babatope-obasanjo-s-attacks-will-only-strengthen-jonathan

How worried are you over Obasanjo’s unrelenting attacks on President Jonathan?

IT may sound funny to you that I am not worried at all. In fact, the former president’s various condemnation of Mr. President is nothing to think about because it will not change anything. Mark my words and by February, when the presidential election will be declared, Jonathan will triumph. Then you will recall that I, Ebenezer Babatope said that his (Obasanjo) attacks on President Jonathan would amount to nothing.

However, one would wonder why someone like Chief Obasanjo, by virtue of his position, age and influence in this country would deliberately resolve to be attacking a gentleman who has done so much, to develop this country, despite the challenges he encountered from all angles. Does this not surprise you? The question is why and what does someone like Obasanjo want?

For instance, Obasanjo alleged that Jonathan has squandered Nigeria’s Foreign Reserves; for goodness sake this is far from the truth
The truth is that Mr. President has been managing the Foreign Reserves and the resources of the country prudently. Prove of what he is using our resources to achieve are there for everybody, every Nigerian and foreigners to see. There is nothing bad in Obasanjo expressing his personal opinion, but when such opinion is aimed at bringing another person down by all means, or that such opinion is
tainted with ulterior motives to deliberately damage the good doings of another man, then it is no longer a constructive opinion but a destructive one.

I stand by my words; President Jonathan is an innocent person; it is therefore not good for anybody to deliberately want to bring him down. We won’t condone that anymore. Has anybody come out to indict President Jonathan of any wrongdoing or abuse of Executive powers since he assumed office? The answer is no.

If you know of any you are free to tell me now. I put it to you and to all who feel that they have answer, they should educate me on how many people Jonathan has intimidated with his position? Which of the international body has indicted Jonathan of corruption? Obasanjo’s regime itself has been adjudged to be corrupt, but does that mean that he himself is corrupt?

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SAY NO TO ELECTION VIOLENCE!!!!
God bless nigeria

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Are you comfortable with Obasanjo’s manner of intervention?

I will only urge the former president not to express opinions that can lead to crisis in this nation but I will advise him. He is an old man, a former president and an elder statesman, well respected in and outside the country. Such a person should not be seen with the kind of things he is doing, most especially at this critical period.

It is very unfortunate the way he (Obasanjo) is going. We have been tolerating him in the past but now we are ready to reply him.

Obasanjo has got to a stage where he should be respected like late Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa. What has Jonathan done to him? I want him to tell the whole Nigerians. What is the real issue between the two of them that would have warranted him to wanting to run a younger person down this manner? I can’t place it at all because it is baffling and unbelievable.

Anyway, it is not new. After all he did the same to Chief Obafemi Awolowo and several other honourable Nigerians. He wrote a lot of things on personalities in this country, but he needed to know that one person does not have monopoly of knowledge or writing. No. He does not have exclusive reserve to pull others down and if he thinks otherwise others too have ability to write and they can use it against him.

I will take you back to the last book he published, ‘My Watch’ and the kind of response he got from people through another book, ‘Watch the Watcher’ (by Yinka Odumakin). He is an elderly person; I don’t want to say anything nasty.


The two leaders are in your party. Are there no better ways for them to engage?

Let me start this way, President Jonathan is a listening person. He is very humble and he accords everyone the right to share his or her opinion. At my own level, if there is anything I feel that the government should have done differently from the way it is being done, I give my advice. Now imagine the kind of access Obasanjo, who is a former Head of State, a retired General in the Military and a two term president in this same country has to Mr. President, to contribute to whatever is going on in government? But he chooses a different method, an offensive method.

It is only God who can explain why he made Obasanjo what he (Obasanjo) is in this country because no Nigerian, or in the history of the World has matched his record. Only God knows why he made Obasanjo a military Head of State and 20 years after, God made him a two-term president in the same country. Notwithstanding, that same God that stood by Obasanjo will stand by Jonathan and nobody can fall him.

President Jonathan has invested so much in human rights and freedom since he became president. If we place the regime of Obasanjo and Jonathan side by side, one appears to be tougher than the other. How many political assignations did we record under Obasanjo’s rule and how many have we seen under Jonathan.

How many people ran out of this country during Obasanjo’s time and how many have we seen under Jonathan? There is no record of a single executive or state murder’ under Jonathan’s rule. We know what we had under the previous regime. This is not the time to delve into the military regime ran by the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (1983 to 1985), when we get to that we will bring out records.

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Do you see Jonathan’s re-election bid suffering serious damage from the attacks?

I put it back to you; can’t you see that his virulent attack is already attracting more sentiment to Jonathan? Obasanjo will assist to build good image of Mr. President in wining this election. His attack will not hurt Jonathan; it will rather build the fortune of the PDP and the president. I can assure that come February, Jonathan will win the presidential election and those who are threatening to form parallel government will hold their peace. Nigeria is not made for one person and nobody can hold the entire nation to ransom.

How do you see Obasanjo; is it true he is angry because he is not allowed to occupy the driver’s seat. In other words, he loves the power game and cherishes being in the centre of it?

I have known Obasanjo for a long time. He took me to Angola before we fell apart. Obasanjo has tremendous native intelligence. I will implore him to use that intelligence to guide the nation right.

If he is angry, he should come out and table what his anger is for discussion. I don’t share the view that he is attacking President Jonathan because he is not allowed to occupy the driver’s seat, except you mean to say whether he is not allowed to rule the country.

If that is what you mean to say, my answer is God has blessed him to rule this country for eight years as civilian president, he has exhausted his constitutional two-terms in office therefore that desire is no longer possible. I keep on saying that President Jonathan is a very humble man. If you meet him, you will be convinced and admire his nature. The man meant well for this country. He is one of the people that have refused to abuse the enormous powers of the Nigerian presidency. He respects everybody that comes his way. If Obasanjo were doing what he is doing now in the normal way, I am sure Mr. President would listen to him.


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With or without OBJ, GEJ till 2019

Strength kwa

After 6 years of failure, he yet to Start "Strengthening" na waa ooo!

OBJ will never forgive this man for not letting him rule Nigeria as he planned

#CHANGEISHERE

Would you say Jonathan has been tactful in managing the old man?

Yes. You are correct. Jonathan never replied him in a way Nigerians will say he is rude to an elder. The President has conducted himself properly in the midst of the attacks from Obasanjo. Or can you make reference to any statement of response Jonathan has made to Obasanjo’s virulent attacks that sounds insulting? I’m sure there is none. Obasanjo wrote a letter in which he made spurious allegation against

the person of Mr. President, yet the man did not fire back. I ask you, can anyone try such a thing with Obasanjo when he was in power? From all these you will get to know that President Jonathan is a cool headed and humble person.

From what you have said, you do not think he could affect the polls in a negative way for Jonathan. Is it because he has no serious electoral constituency and could never win votes at home?

I don’t want to judge him. Whether he win votes in his community or not, whether he was defeated in Ota, his area in Ogun State or not or whether Ogun PDP imploded under his watch or not, that is for him to know. All I know is that Obasanjo does not want Jonathan back in power, but by the special grace of God, who made it possible for Obasanjo himself to return to power in 2003 when his subordinate turned against him and nearly truncated his second term ambition, that same God will help Jonathan win second term.

We are counting on the support of Nigerians and by the grace of God; President Jonathan will retain power next month through the ballot box. Why are we optimistic? We are optimistic of retaining power because of the great works and achievement the present administration has recorded in the last few years. We are hoping that Obasanjo will still change for the better between now and the election.


Elections are few months just few weeks away, how ready are you to stave off further assaults from Obasanjo; or what mechanism do you plan to have in place as a shield?

We are waiting for him. Like I said earlier he didn’t want Jonathan back but he is not in the best position to determine that. We will give it back to him as he brings it as from this moment.

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