Chairman of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, Chief
Bode George has said he prays
former president Olusegun
Obasanjo won’t end like Saul in
the bible.
In an interview
published by Vanguard, George
was asked about his opinion on
Obasanjo leaving the party and
what h
e thinks about him
tearing his card while he left.
George says it’s unfair because
Obasanjo has benefitted a lot
from PDP. When his businesses
were down, he was called in
and was helped, George
explained. I really don’t want
to insult an elderly man,
because in Yoruba land it is
wrong, George cautioned
himself in the interview as he
tries not to insult the elder
statesman.
How do you see the decision
of former President Olusgun
Obasanjo to dump the PDP?
It is very sad. After he came
out of incarceration, when most
of his businesses were down,
the party invited him and put a
new beginning into baba. He
has benefitted from the party.
I don’t think that I have heard
of this that a man, who has
been to the pinnacle to tear the
party’s card publicly. There are
things you should not expect an
old man to do. It is unfair. Very
unfair. This leaves a sour taste
in the mouth of those who were
part of his rebuilding. It is a
very bad decision.
But Obasanjo says President
Goodluck Jonathan plans to
perpetuate himself in
government like former
Ivorian President Laurent
Gbagbo?
He (Obasanjo) says he is a
Christian and as a Christian, it
is emphasised in the New
Testament of the Bible where
Christ said judge not so that
you will not be judged. But his
judgement is no longer about
the policies of Jonathan. He has
gone down to the extent of
saying Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari will jail you that is why
you are afraid.
Talking to elders with respect
I am holding my breath
because in an African setting,
you talk to elders with respect
and that is why I am trying to
get the right words to describe
my feelings. Baba (Obasanjo) is
not a young man.
He was head of state at 39. So
averagely, he should be about
84 or 85 and I am requesting
that he should graciously fade
away into the midnight.
I want to plead with Baba. God
has been kind to him and he
has served his own time. I don’t
want to conclude that his life
will be like King Saul in the
Bible. I pray it will not be so.
Baba has played his role. No
generation can finish any job.
Nation building is a continuous
exercise.
You come, do your own and go
back into history. The young
will read to know about their
past so that they will not repeat
the same mistakes. That is why
no man can finish the job. It is
becoming unnecessarily
contentious and the attack on
the President who is much
younger calls for caution and I
will plead and beg some of our
obas that there is a need to talk
to baba to remain at that
pinnacle of respectability. It is
becoming too personal.
0 comments:
Post a Comment