Still a Fragile Friendship…

Last week, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his estranged political godson, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, met three times in a space of three days in Bayelsa, Jonathan’s home state, in what has been variously interpreted to mean a reconciliation of their differences. Emmanuel Addeh writes

Politics, like the weather, remains largely unpredictable. Many a time, its direction, texture and culmination are usually in the realm of conjecture, even by the most seasoned pundits.

Penultimate Friday, Saturday and last Sunday, two former Nigerian leaders and former friends, former Presidents Olusegun Obanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, who fell out in the build-up to the 2015 presidential election, met on three different occasions. The first was meant to be private, but was leaked to the press; the second was a dinner organised by the Bayelsa State Government and the third? At a church in Jonathan’s village!
To those, who watched the proceedings, both men were clearly still not at ease with each other, though they would flash a muted smile for the camera once in a while. It wasn’t always that way. Jonathan’s short and eventful sojourn in Nigeria’s political space cannot be complete without mentioning the role the ‘Ota Farmer’ played, sometimes consciously, at other times, obliviously.

Obliviously, because if Obasanjo had as Nigerian President not fought tooth and nail to remove now late Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, then Governor of Bayelsa State, Jonathan who was his deputy at the time would probably have ended his political career at that juncture.

Obasanjo’s primary intention of fighting Alaimeyeseigha, allegedly because he was corrupt notwithstanding, (though many people in the region believe it was because of the late governor’s view on total resource control for the Niger Delta), the major beneficiary was Jonathan, who was immediately sworn in after the impeachment of Alaimeyeseigha.

From then, Jonathan’s meteoric rise in Nigeria’s political space began. From being a Governor of Bayelsa to emerging Vice President to the late Umar Yar’Adua, and later Acting and substantive President after his principal’s demise, it was always with the support of the Ebora Owu, as many fondly call Obasanjo.

Till today, no one has been able to give a candid and first-hand account of why Obasanjo moved against his erstwhile beloved godson, but the entire relationship between the two broke down irretrievably when Chief Obasanjo wrote Jonathan a stinker with the title: Before It Is Too Late, accusing him among others of corruption, ineptitude and abdication of his role as a President.

In the December 2013 letter, which took the country by storm, Jonathan’s erstwhile godfather, literally took him to the cleaners, alleging that the former president had put the names of about 1,000 persons on a ‘political watch list’ and was training snipers to take them out.

He also publicly accused Jonathan of mishandling the Boko Haram crisis, double dealing with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), refusing to rein in Buruji Kashamu, who was at the time accused of illegal drug peddling and wanting to go for another term after allegedly agreeing to quit after his tenure in 2015.

However, in an equally long response, Jonathan decided not to take the President Muhammadu Buhari route (of ignoring or toning down his reply to the initial letter). He cited 10 reasons why it was necessary for him to respond to Obasanjo’s massive missive.

Jonathan accused Obasanjo of subversion and breaching national security by the tone of the open letter. He insinuated that Obasanjo was not working alone, since the letter coincided with a comment by Aminu Tambuwal, then Speaker of the House of Representatives, that by his body language, Jonathan was aiding and abetting corruption.
Added to that, Jonathan noted, was a leaked letter from the then Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, alleging that under his watch, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) did not remit $49.8 billion to the national coffers.

Describing Obasanjo as a hypocrite, Jonathan said most of the things he was being accused of started under the administration of the Ebora Owu, whose penchant for writing letters predated his administration.

In all, Jonathan practically told Obasanjo to go to hell! That was the beginning of the end of the relationship which seemed unbreakable at first, at least in the eye of the public, between the two politicians.

Jonathan eventually lost the presidential election and returned to his village in Otuoke, somewhere in Ogbia council, Bayelsa State. A triumphant Obasanjo, whose Abeokuta Hill Top mansion has become a Mecca of sorts to politicians, teamed up with current President Buhari, until his latest letter, indicating that things have also gone awry between the both of them.

In January 2017, Jonathan visited Obasanjo’s Ibogun-Olaogun country home and birthplace at Coker/Ibogun Local Council Development Area, Ogun State. It was a closed-door meeting. But like a prodigal son, who had retraced his steps, the former president took his erstwhile godson by the hand and showed him round his village, introducing him to village elders at intervals.

In the same vein, he was reported to have told Jonathan (rather condescendingly) that he Obasanjo had noticed that he (Jonathan) had become wiser since he left office. Obasanjo, according to Jonathan, at the event, promised to also visit him.

It took a year and one month, precisely last week, before that promise by Obasanjo came to fruition, facilitated by Governor Seriake Dickson, who had invited him to Bayelsa to inaugurate some of his projects.
Jonathan declined to meet Obasanjo in the field, across the state where he was flagging off projects, choosing rather to have a private dinner with him in his (Jonathan’s) house. The meeting leaked, but not much was gathered by the public.

The second meeting was at a gala night organised by Dickson, incidentally at the Alaimeyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall, so-named by the state government to thank all his visitors, some of whom had been with him throughout the week. The third meeting, of course, which both leaders admitted was facilitated by Dickson, was at a church service in Otuoke, Jonathan’s village.

In all, a close observer would easily notice that the body language between them was still largely ‘mechanical’. No flow, no small talks. In fact, both former Presidents refrained from saying things, whether good or bad for or against each other. Their comments bordered more on generics rather than specifics.
Obasanjo was to be treated to a luncheon in Jonathan’s country home in Ogbia. He attended quite alright, but didn’t even wait to eat or for the programme of events printed for the luncheon to get to critical stage. He rushed out with his retinue of friends and aides just after a few items on the programme without waiting for his host to speak.

At an earlier church service, both leaders agreed that without reconciliation, peace and unity would continue to elude the nation. At the Anglican Church, Ogbia Diocese, also attended by Jonathan’s wife and mother, Eunice and Patience; Dickson; his Deputy, John Jonah; Dr Azibapu Eruani, and King Alfred Diette-Spiff, they both urged Nigerians to draw a lesson of tolerance from the homily by the Vicar, Bishop Aye Oruwori, and the dance performance by a group of youngsters bordering on unity in diversity.

“God who knows the end from the beginning knew that this day will come to pass. What touches me most in this service are the children dressed in the attire of different cultures, tribes, tongues in Nigeria. That underpins the homily he (the Bishop) gave to us: reconciliation.

“And in a country like Nigeria, unless we teach, preach and practice reconciliation, we will not have peace and unless we have peace, we will not have development and if we do not have development, we cannot have growth.
“And if we do not have growth, we will not come out of poverty. Some of us are exceptionally lucky to have been able to get out of poverty. Majority of us will still be poor (without peace and reconciliation). All what we pray is that this country should be a country of milk and honey, a land of prosperity”, Obasanjo said.
Obasanjo added that God who has brought Nigerians together within the same geographical space had a reason for doing so and urged Nigerians to unite and build a strong nation.

“Wherever God has made us to be, what is important is the goodness of Nigeria and whatever we can do as individuals and collectively, let us do it. They say history repeats itself, but history doesn’t repeat itself, but it’s human beings that keep making the same mistake and then say history has repeated itself. The bible says we shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

“Many of us here do not know the value of freedom because you have never lost it. I had lost mine. There’s nothing better than freedom, except life and if you have life without freedom, it means you don’t have life”, he added.
On his part, Jonathan said Obasanjo’s visit was in fulfillment of his promise to see him in his village after he visited Obasanjo earlier. He noted that just like Obasanjo, he was of the view that reconciliation, peace and unity were important in life, adding that what is today in the media gave the impression that Nigeria was sitting on a keg of gunpowder.

“President Obasanjo promised to visit me here but I didn’t know it would come so soon. He has visited my village two times within a three-day programme. To me, I have to thank everyone, who has made this possible.
“Like President Obasanjo said, the crowning was the young people, when they came out to perform in different cultures and different languages, different dance steps. I pray that as we progress in this country, that is how the country should be. I pray that someday all the churches and mosques will bring children together like this to pass on the message of unity.

“Because if you listen to the radio, watch television and you go on social media, it looks as if the country is just hanging (sitting) on a keg of gunpowder that can explode at any moment. I think the children have taught us a lesson, a message of unity”, Jonathan said.

Dickson had earlier praised Obasanjo for visiting the state, commending him where necessary and pointing out areas that could be improved upon.

“It’s not everyday that you see two former Presidents attending functions together for three days. This is a special community, which is also my community. My leader and elder brother (Jonathan) said I must greet my people. So, I do so on instructions, which I cannot disobey.

“This is the second time on this trip we are in Otuoke. He (Obasanjo) has been going round encouraging us and telling us how we can get things better. In the course of his visit, we have showcased Bayelsa to the rest of the world. Today, we have a Bayelsa at peace with itself and the rest of the world. A state that represents all things good”, the governor boasted.

But it was the king of Ogbia Kingdom, His Majesty Charles Dumaro Owaba the III, at the luncheon, who thanked Obasanjo for helping a son from the small community become Vice President and later President of Nigeria, adding that Jonathan’s story cannot be written without reference to Obasanjo’s role.

It is unlikely some believe that the two former presidents would work together politically in the future, with the not-so-cordial interaction between the two even in their body language.

But was this just for the cameras or was it deeper than that? Have the two genuinely reconciled? Is there a future, politically speaking, for the new found ‘relationship’ between the two? For now, these posers remain in the realm of conjecture.