Don’t Write Obasanjo off, Says Ex-editor

By Segun James

 

Veteran journalist and former editor in the Daily Times stable, Mr. Uthman Sodipe-Dosunmu, has warned Nigerians not to write off former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the scheme of things in Nigeria, saying he remains the symbol of Nigerian idealism and a national icon.

Sodipe-Dosunmu, who expressed dissatisfaction with the view of Chief Duro Onabule condemning the historical significance and the leadership relevance of the former Nigerian president in the scheme of things in the Nigerian polity, said that the former president means well, always for Nigeria, and that should be remembered by his critics.

In a press release issued Friday, Shodipe-Dosunmu, who is also the Special Adviser on Political Matters to Chief Olabode George, said Obasanjo is not a dead horse yet and underestimating him is dangerous.

“Obasanjo is not a dead horse as Onabule viciously implied. He is absolutely relevant, important, and symbolical of the Nigerian presence and the sanctified emblem of our tomorrow.

“Chief Obasanjo is a treasured son of Yorubaland. He is the foremost rallying point of the Nigerian union. He represents the best of the Nigerian ideal. He is resolved upon the Nigerian unifying salvage. He is not detained by tribe or tongue. He looms most majestically as a primal arbiter of our collective fortunes.

“He will never withdraw into any tribal cordon in favour of anyone from his own tribe. He is expressed in national largeness.
“Surely, his present intervention in the Nigerian polity is not about personal gains or selfish propulsion, it is about our collective salvage from the festering wounds. It is about the general enhancement of the Nigerian possibilities.
“Chief Onabule’s arbitration is apparently biased, localised, untrue, and unreflective of reality. Obasanjo may not be perfect. But who is? But this much is true: He is a Nigerian hero, our common icon of national salvaging truth.

“He means well for this nation. He is indifferent to tribe and tongue. He is woven in our collective redemption. He looms large just like Sadauna, Awolowo, Azikiwe in their leadership totem because of his sweeping democratic vision and his instinctive courage daring and defying the oppressor’s intrusion. He is a national gift we cannot afford to belittle,” Shodipe-Uthman said.
He said Obasanjo remains a singular emblem of courage and selflessness that nothing can conquer.

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