Posted by Vanguard on
How would you react to the allegation that you bring businessmen, who are your partners, to buy up Nigerian companies at ridiculously low rates?
Excerpts:
What was your relationship with the late Mrs Stella Obasanjo?
She was my father's wife; she was the man's wife. That's it.
How would you react to the allegation that you bring businessmen, who are your partners, to buy up Nigerian companies at ridiculously low rates?
That's not true.
What about Virgin Nigeria, Ajaokuta Steel Company and others?
I have never met those people. I must say though, that I am proud to associate with the success of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex. They have started producing steel and prices of steel have come down in Nigeria. For Virgin Nigeria, I have never met Richard Branson. But I am proud of the Virgin Nigeria deal. The only person I have known was the Vice President of the South African Airlines, when he came to Nigeria to negotiate the South African Airlines deal that collapsed. Even then, I didn't try to influence the negotiations. He was my friend. I knew him and I could not shun him.
Do businessmen seek your intervention?
Of course, they do.
Do you just turn them down?
What is wrong with you, Sowore? I have been talking to you for the past two hours, don't I sound like I am intelligent enough to know what to do?
The time is not enough to assess your intelligence and I may not be intelligent enough to tell if you are intelligent...
That's why I think you guys have become really emotional with your stories. You just write what you like. It's the same with the Nigerian press. Because I don't give them money, they write all kinds of things about me; they hate me. But I won't give bribes. One day, I was at Abeokuta with the Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel. These press guys came in and started asking hard questions. The moment they were served food they left their scrap papers and rushed the food. Of course, the next day, their reports were very shiny. That's the way it goes here. The press boys are a hungry bunch, but I have refused to bribe them. I don't have money to bribe them; I am just a struggling man. Look at the whole story about Stella Obasanjo being the only one standing with my father in jail. That was all press work. As a doctor, I was the first person allowed to see my father before she started visiting, but the Nigerian press have their favourites. And they can be mean. Recently, one magazine even wrote that since Stella has died, Baba too would soon follow. Haba!
Why does your father want a third term?
I am not aware of this third term thing you are talking about. My father is a man of integrity; he doesn't have any intention to remain in office beyond 2007. He is already building a retirement home and a library in Abeokuta. He is an old man. He may look young to the outside world, but he is an old man. I personally think he is older than 70 years. He just said he is about 70 years because nobody recorded his age when he was born. And his military service, perhaps, made him look fit as a person, but he is not a young person. I have been with him when he looked at obituaries in the newspaper and said: ‘That person who died was the son of my classmate." He is not as young as people think.
In I979, when it was fashionable to stay in power and he was just about 42 years of age, he didn't stay in power. Why would he stay in power now? What for? Let me tell you, it is the Vice President, Abubakar Atiku, and the Nigerian press that are campaigning for the third term. They are using it as blackmail. Atiku thinks the presidency is his birthright and as such, it should be delivered to him pronto! Otherwise, who among my father's close friends is campaigning openly for his third term in office?
Given your father's denial of Presidential ambition in 1993, this would be hard to believe. Again, Nigerians are already comparing your father's style to Abacha's style.
I hate it when people compare me and Baba with the Abacha family. What is the basis? That's so insulting. It is the worst insult anyone can heap on us. I even read one journalist comparing me with Mohammed Abacha! That is so unacceptable. I reject that. All I can tell you is that Baba has no third term agenda. Quote me anywhere, Baba has no plans to stay beyond 2007. He is old and tired and wants to go into retirement.
But top players in the private sector are urging him on. Can't he shut them up?
That's true. The only reason why they are asking Baba to stay is because they are afraid of Atiku. They know he will come and take over everything they have built with his unquenchable greed. Look, quite a lot of people are putting pressure on Baba to stay. Even the Americans are passing messages through me. Forget about all those scripted public statements. They want him to stay. The amount, efforts and resources required to change the constitution are just not worth it. Come 2007, Baba will leave the scene. He is not responding to these campaigns and counter-campaigns because he is busy doing so many things. You can see that planes are falling off the skies left and right. Baba has no time to get involved in these claims.
Are you not afraid of reprisals when Baba leaves office?
No. We are not afraid at all. God will continue to protect the righteous.
Who do you think your father will pick as successor?
I think all the candidates will have to come out and work hard to sell their programmes to Nigerians. Baba will support the best candidate.
Who will that be?
I don't know.
I asked because he allegedly worked against the best candidate in 1979...
Baba actually respected and preferred Chief Awolowo in 1979. He was his choice in terms of policy and clarity, but he thinks Awo was too tribalistic. That was the problem.
Was it not due to your father's hatred for Awo?
I know that Shagari won the election because that was what Nigerians wanted.
What caused the friction between your father and Atiku?
I don't really know. But I don't want anyone to think Baba will impose a candidate on Nigeria. No, he won't. Like I said earlier, if he had wanted to impose anyone on Nigeria, it would certainly have been Chief Awolowo in 1979. But he didn't do that. On Atiku, I think people get it wrong thinking that Baba is working against him. Atiku just thinks that the presidency is his birthright. Look at AP and the privatisation process. They just sold the entire country to themselves. Look at the Pentascope deal; they stole over one billion dollars from Nigeria without fixing a single telephone line. Go to the Corporate Affairs Commission and see those who own Pentascope. You will see the fraud perpetrated against Nigeria. But the press will never report these things.
Are you going to run for office someday?
Not at all. I am not interested in politics.
We reported that your little brother bought a house in New York and paid cash for it. Why didn't your dad do something about that? Isn't that corruption?
You were right on that report. You did your research very well. In fact, you bailed me out. Prior to that report, some newspapers had alleged that I was the one who bought the house. But your thorough research made them to apologise to me later. The house was bought for him by his mom. It is between Muyiwa and his mom.
Let's look at the corruption trial of Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha...
He should have known that there is no way he could get away. He was careless. But let me tell you that those people caught are the careless ones. There is so much corruption in Nigeria, and there are a lot of intelligent and smart corrupt people. And then of course, the stupid ones. Those are the ones who get caught. There are places in the world especially in the Commonwealth of the former Soviet Republic where you can get a passport with a white name and a black face and no one will ever ask questions from you!
That's why I thought the reporters who wrote that I have 22 bank accounts in the US are the most senseless people. One of them even went to my school at John Hopkins to check my academic background and found out that I had straight As and still thinks I will be opening accounts all over the US. Why would I be daft to do that?
Don't you have accounts in the US and is corruption not influenced by greed rather than intelligence?
I have two accounts in the US and one of them is in the red. In the second, I have maybe a few hundred dollars. I am not stupid, I should know better! As per my brother, I don't know why he did such thing, but I think his mom pushed him and I don't know who told you that he is intelligent! As per the state governors, I think a few of them know how to handle the press very well and some are intelligent too. Folks like Ibori, Gbenga Daniel, Bukola Saraki, Nnamani and a few.
What's your father's relationship with Andrew Young and Carl Masters?
I don't really know what they are doing in Nigeria. I just don't know what they do for Baba. I know they are around a lot. I know Andrew Young was doing some HIV/AIDS work and I share some of his interesting views, but nothing more than that, really.
Let's look at the celebrated Debt Relief. Is it wise for the government to give away $12 billion as payment for a debt Nigeria never owed?
I think my father belongs to a generation that doesn't believe in debts. He is of the old school and they hate debts of any type.
*Culled from The News Magazine.