*Former President Olusegun Obasanjo (left) and Atiku Abubakar, his former Vice in a handshake…
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the dogged businessman and politician who challenged President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election in Nigeria has described former President Olusegun Obasanjo as a preeminent political colossus in Nigeria. He further posited that Nigeria owes him a debt it cannot repay for his service to the nation over the years.
Atiku, who himself was former Vice President (between 1999 to 2003) to Obasanjo during his years as president in a tribute to mark Obasanjo’s 83rd birthday, which comes up on March 5, added that no individual living or dead, has bestrode the Nigerian political space as positively and purposefully, as Obasanjo has done in his committed service to Nigeria both in and out of office.
The relationship between Atiku, a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the political party under which Obasanjo contested and won as president suffered as setback at some point, which led to Obasanjo opposing the presidential candidacy of Atiku. Atiku’s major sin at the time was not to have supported Obasanjo’s proposed third term in office.
However, in the build up to the 2019 presidential election, Atiku who later emerged presidential candidate of the PDP, led some religious leaders to seek forgiveness and the blessing of Obasanjo to contest the election against President Muhammadu Buhari. In a statement personally signed by Atiku, who paid glowing tribute to his former boss, said Obasanjo’s love for Nigeria and commitment to her unity, good governance and stability has prevented him from retiring.
Except from the letter reads: “As you turn 83 today (March 5), my family and I felicitate with you and thank God for your life. No individual living or dead, has bestrode the Nigerian political space as positively and purposefully, as you have done, for good and better, in peace time and war, in times of austerity, and times of prosperity.
“It is not an exaggeration to describe you as the preeminent political colossus in Nigeria, a nation that owes so much to you. Indeed, many Nigerians would read about your birthday on their GSM devices, which are one of your legacies to the Nigerian people. Your love for Nigeria and commitment to her unity, good governance and stability has prevented you from retiring, a sacrifice that my family and I deeply appreciate.
“From the Congo, to South Africa, to Angola, to Liberia and São Tomé and Príncipe, your democratic fingerprints on the African continent is indelible. You have served and still serve as a beacon of democracy and a guardian of constitutionality. Nigeria owes you a debt that we cannot pay, because you led us to pay the foreign debts that we could not imagine paying. By that singular action, you planted trees for generations yet unborn.
“You hold the enviable and esteemed record of being the first African military ruler to have voluntarily, and without internal and external pressure, restored power to the government democratically elected by the Nigerian people. It was Not Your Will to be in office, but it was your will to bequeath democracy to Nigeria. And after 21 years of the Fourth Republic, Nigeria has cause to celebrate your democratic credentials. Happy birthday President Obasanjo. You are beloved now and forever.”
