Posted by By ERIC OSAGIE, Abuja on
Amidst titillating media reports that one of President Olusegun Obasanjo's sons has acquired a N78million mansion in Brooklyn, New York, Gbenga Obasanjo says he knows nothing about the New York house deal.
Amidst titillating media reports that one of President Olusegun Obasanjo's sons has acquired a N78million mansion in Brooklyn, New York, Gbenga Obasanjo says he knows nothing about the New York house deal.
The New York mansion, said to be eye-popping, was bought March this year at a princely $537,126.28 (about N78million).
In an exclusive chat with Daily Sun, Gbenga, widely believed to be the president's son involved in the sensational deal, said he isn't the ‘Obasanjo's son' mentioned in the saga.
"I know nothing about the house. It's not my house. I am not the Olu mentioned in the story. I am Olugbenga and the person mentioned is Olumuyiwa (Stella's son.)," Gbenga said in a telephone chat.
Fighting hard to absolve himself of complicity in the burgeoning scandal, Gbenga said: "This is the point I keep making about our press in Nigeria. They don't go the extra mile to investigate their stories, unlike their foreign counterparts. They rely on beer parlour and pepper soup gossips most of the time to make up their stories… Look at what was done in the report on the New York house issue.
They got the name of who bought the house, when, where, how much was paid etc. But, here you don't take the pains to do that. That is why most times you are precise but not accurate. They keep saying I own this and that property or company all over the place, but all you need to do is to go to CAC and find out who owns what. But nobody bothers to find out anything. That's bad.
"Any way, I still have faith in this country, despite what the press is doing. The press is not totally bad. But I believe they need to go the extra mile to investigate stories and not rely on hearsay most of the time. See, for example, what the foreign press have done in the New York house issue. They gave details and tried to provide evidence. But in Nigeria, it is usually wild allegations."
The president's son wouldn't be drawn into detailed discussion on the allegation against the said ‘Olu Obasanjo' or any discussion on the impropriety of the president's son who graduated barely a year ago from university owning a mansion worth over N78million, in
a country where per capital income is a paltry 65 cents a day for majority of the over 120million impoverished citizenry.
Gbenga himself had, in the past, been accused of cutting high-profile deals, cashing in on his advantage as the president's son. But he has consistently denied over-reaching himself or soiling his garment in corrupt practices.
"I keep telling you, that if I were not living in Nigeria, if I were abroad, I would still be living comfortably. I won't be a poor man. I am a professional. I am a vet. doctor and I was doing well abroad. I don't have to be the president's son to live the way I am living."