Kashamu: Obasanjo’s motive for writing book suspect

Ogun State Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) senatorial candidate
Prince Buruji Kashamu has
challenged former President
Olusegun Obasanjo to tell Nigerians
his motives for writing open letters
and his book My Watch.
In a statement published as an
advertorial in this newspaper, he
accused the former president of
playing to the gallery.
The statement reads: “It is the
season of electioneering. Politicians
of all shades and character are up in
arms against one another as the 2015
general elections inch closer. Some
pseudo leaders and politicians with
doubtful followership are bent on
heating up the polity, just to score
cheap political points, all because of
their selfish interests.
“They are conniving, devising and
building unholy alliance along
ethnic and religious lines. Most of
them have never won elections in
the polling booths since the advent
of democracy in 1999. Yet, they want
to continually call the shots.
“One of them, a former President,
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, despite his
aversion to intellectual
engagements and discourse, has
taken to writing. He started with
some mischievous open letters.
Now, he has hurriedly put together a
book that can best be described in
the words of Williams Shakespeare
as “a tale told by an idiot, full of
sound and fury, signifying nothing”.
“But the questions discerning
Nigerians should ask are: what are
his motives of writing letters and the
book? Why the sustained efforts? Has
he just discovered his flair for
writing or the power of the printed
word? Why now? Being a former
military Head of State and two-term
democratically elected President,
albeit in controversial circumstances,
one would presume that with his
age and experience, Obasanjo would
have explored a more discreet
channel of communication with the
president, if he has anything to say
and if there was no ulterior motive.”
He accused Obasanjo of “open and
mischievous criticisms of the
Jonathan Administration” which, he
said, “is drawing more sympathy for
it, as one that is making a complete
break with the past where impunity
and lawlessness reigned”.
Kashamu added that Obasanjo’s
conduct in and out of office does not
support his claim of being “a law-
abiding citizen.
“It is on record that while in office as
a democratically elected President,
he disobeyed court judgments, even
those of the Supreme Court, with
reckless abandon. Apart from his
disregard for many of the apex
court’s decisions in respect of his
deputy, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, he
stubbornly withheld the allocations
due to local governments in Lagos
State until he left office in spite of a
Supreme Court judgment to release
the funds. Then, there was his
interpretation of the apex court’s
verdict on Onshore/offshore Dichotomy suit, among others, "he said.