PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said he would have secured tenure extension if he had really wanted it �because I would have prayed to God and He would have answered me�
Speaking in Abuja at the valedictory edition of his radio interactive programme with Nigerians, �The President Explains�, Obasanjo said he had remained �focused and single-minded� in working to give Nigeria a new lease of life in the past eight years, pointing out that he never sought a third term in office to continue the implementation of his administration�s reform agenda.
He also spoke on the police investigation into the murder of Chief Bola Ige, the justice minister and attorney-general of the federation in his first term, saying the killing may have been carried out by a drug baron. On those threatening to protest the outcome of the April elections by calling Nigerians out on strikes and demonstrations, the president stated that his problem with them was that they were not sincere with the people.
�Only a fool will think that he can do all that needs to be done in his lifetime. What is important is to work in the right direction and seek God�s help in choosing the right successor,� Obasanjo said. �If I sought a third term, and I really wanted it, I would have gotten it. I would have worked for it, I would have prayed for it and God would have given it to me,� he declared.
Obasanjo said that he was confident that the new national leaders who have emerged from the last elections will continue to build on the foundations for rapid and sustainable development laid by his administration. “I thank God for helping us thus far, for what he has done with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the leadership that has emerged from the PDP. I am confident that they will continue along the lines we have begun,� the president told his nationwide audience.
Urging all Nigerians, especially the elite, to accept that only one person can be the head of the country�s government at a time, Obasanjo insisted that despite its imperfections, the declared results of the last general elections reflected the true wishes of the electorate. �There is no democracy that has reached its end. It is a journey, not a destination. Democracy has come to stay in Nigeria. It is firm and it is growing strong. It is not weak and it is not dying. I believe we are making progress. The foundation we have laid should continue to be built on. We should all strive to make positive contributions. Where is development done overnight? It takes planning, it takes time, it takes effort. I believe we will get there,� he said.
The president absolved himself of personal responsibility for the shortcomings of the last elections, saying that his administration gave the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) all that it asked for to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
He urged Nigerians to avoid establishing a culture of disputing all election results, noting that some members of the elite currently fanning the embers of trouble in the country over the last elections have �run away with their wives and children� leaving innocent citizens to bear the brunt of their mischief-making. If you want political office and you are not given the opportunity, must you pull down the country, must you call for strikes and protests in which you and your own children will not participate?� he asked rhetorically.
The president affirmed his belief that all members of political parties must adhere to its rules, programmes and policies. �A political party is like a family. Disputes within the party should not be taken outside. The idea of taking your party to court is unacceptable to me.
In this sense, yes, the party must have control of its members in the legislatures to make sure that they follow its programmes and policies and to make sure that the work of the executive is not hindered by the legislature,� he said. Speaking on his plans for life out of office, Obasanjo said that he would remain an active member of the PDP and that the party and the new administration will continue to work together. �With the amendment of its constitution, PDP has placed certain responsibilities on me. I will live up to those responsibilities as of necessity, but I will not take public office again. I will not keep my mouth shut. That you can be sure of. But I will not open my mouth too wide,� the president said.
He said that he would also give more time to managing the affairs of his farms, supervising the completion of his presidential library, completing his studies on theology at the National Open University of Nigeria and on international assignments such as serving on the African Progress Panel with former United Nations Secretary-General, Dr. Kofi Annan and other eminent statesmen.
Obasanjo said that he had no regrets for giving up the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun because it never belonged to Nigeria. He also warned striking university lecturers that they would not be paid as long as they remain on strike. On the murder of Chief Bola Ige in 2001, the president said fresh clue indicated that the assassination of the then justice minster may have been masterminded by a drug baron.
His words: �The police never close any case, particularly when it is a case of very grievous crime like murder. You will not believe that Bola Ige�s case is still being investigated and it will interest you to hear the little bit o where that case has gotten to. We found out that the killer of Bola Ige or the one who masterminded it, might have done it because he is a drug baron; because Bola Ige himself was prosecuting that case, he decided to kill Bola Ige.
�That is the area the police is now looking into. And I believe that sooner than later, if that area goes well, we may hear a lot more. The police never close a case. When they get any lead, we follow it. They are still following whatever they can get. Many cases are not closed until they have done what I will call cul de sac. In Bola Ige�s case, the investigation is still very much alive. Ditto for the murder of Funso Williams which case has not been closed”.