Posted by By CHIDI OBINECHE on
Immediate past Nigerian Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Alhaji Bashir Aminu Wali, has attributed the travails of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to the failed tenure elongation, admitting that 'the gambit is wrong."
Immediate past Nigerian Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Alhaji Bashir Aminu Wali, has attributed the travails of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to the failed tenure elongation, admitting that 'the gambit is wrong."
In an exclusive interview with Daily Sun, in his Abuja residence, Ambassador Wali expressed the belief that 'whatever problems Obasanjo is currently having is directly related to the third term issue," regretting, 'but for the third term matter, he would have made a very honourable exit and he would have gone with a lot of respect from every individual in this country."
While putting the blame partly on those who advised Obasanjo on the issue, the former Ambassador said the former president was not stubborn, reasoning, 'those who advised him at the time on the project were either not honest or did not make their points strong enough to halt him."
He said: 'Those who were around him, I mean close people, obviously did not make their points strong enough. If they did, he would have listened. Whatever fault you may say Obasanjo has, he is a good listener. Even if he doesn't agree with you, when he leaves you, he will implement such a thing he did not agree with you.
'From my experience with him, you tell him what is right, even if he does not agree at that time, he will tell you. But when he goes away, when the time for him to act comes, he will act in the same way you told him, because inside him, he knows you are right.
'To be fair to the man, it is not on record that he said he was going for third term. He never made any statement personally to that effect, which means he left an opportunity for those close to him to tell him, ‘please go, these are the implications.'"
He regretted that bad advice or lack of right advise had caused the former president as well as the nation a lot of embarrassment, saying, 'if they (advisers) were very honest with him, they would have saved him a lot of embarrassment and also saved the country (of embarrassment)."
While exonerating Obasanjo further, Wali asserted that no leader on earth will come to power with the intention of destroying the country, just as he did not rule out mistakes along the line as human beings.
Hear him: 'I worked under him for four years as his adviser and another four years as ambassador to the United Nations. I have watched what has been happening and no leader on earth will come to power with the intention of destroying his country.
'No leader on earth will come to power with the intention of depriving his people of the basic necessities of life. Every leader, whether elected or coming through a coup, has the aim of improving the lot of the people of that country.
'No, I am not making any excuse for anybody. We all make mistakes and we are all human."
However, the former Ambassador to the UN disagreed with the notion that the third term agenda led to the hounding out of some founding fathers of the PDP out of the party, explaining that there had been disagreement that preceded the third term gambit.
According to him, a lot of the founding father had left before the third term issue came up, blaming the wrangling on lack of internal democracy within the PDP.
While comparing Obasanjo with President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, Wali believed Obasanjo was a decisive leader and Yar'Adua a calculating one. He said that both had their different ways of handling issues.
'Yar'Adua is a calculating, careful leader. Now people accuse Obasanjo of doing things on impulse. How do they turn round and accuse Yar'Adua of vacillating? Nigerians are a very funny lot, it is very difficult to please them," he stated.