Obasanjo: Burden of life after power

Olusegun Obasanjo Ag. Group Politics Editor, Idowu Samuel, wrties on former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s life after power.

The phrase “Old soldier never dies” means so much when periscoping the life of former President Olusegun Obasanjo after bowing out of power. Obasanjo attained power at an age close to 70, although his exact age is still in doubt. Yet, all through his eight-year reign, Obasanjo carried himself with the vigour of a youth. Those who worked closely with him had wondered at the source of his strength.

So much had been written about Obasanjo being a sleepless president in his days in office. His sleeplessness not withstanding, he did not miss his early morning chores. He could sleep as late as 4.00am and yet would not miss waking up as early as 5.30 am to have his early morning devotion, play squash game and then attend to his usual early callers at the breakfast table.

Interestingly too, Obasanjo retained the reputation of having knack for displaying high libido in the way he attended to women who loved to carouse in the corridors of power in wee hours on daily basis. Yet, he would keep alive and active all day in office. He was not known to be taking hard drugs; he was not known to be sickly too. While in power, the former president proved himself to be restless. He seemed to love his job, most especially the aspect that conferred on him the absolute power to do and undo. It was a reason he ruled like a maximum leader.

Obasanjo had opportunities to display his restless nature while in power. The most memorable was during the presidential campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2007. He toured every nook and cranny of Nigeria, climbed high podiums with ease, gave long speeches in his characteristic guttural voice and in most cases, he would force other co-campaigners into frenzy dancing while on the podium. He was occurring each time like a good comic relief at the PDP campaign grounds.

The former president left power almost ten months ago, yet there is nothing about him that reminds anyone that he had purged himself of aura of power. Somehow, Obasanjo is missing the power house in Abuja and he is not making pretences about that. The first indication to this effect is the manner he has been standing sentinel in defence of his office as the Chairman Board of Trustees (BOT) of the PDP.

A few months before he left office, Obasanjo in league with some PDP leaders had caused a major amendment in the constitution of the ruling party. With the amendment, he planted himself in the party as the BOT chairman, shoving aside Chief Tony Anenih, the man who had hitherto firmly established himself as a power bloc within the party. Months after he left the office, Obasanjo has been functioning as a top party man and in the process, opening a chapter of heated controversy among members on his motive for emerging as the BOT chairman.

If many Nigerians had wondered what the former president still desired by wanting to loom large on the PDP, what to examine is still his restless nature. A man like Obasanjo who had been active in all his days and had undergone eight grueling years as president would not just sit back in Ota only to concern himself with the boring life of a retiree.

If he had been an avowed reader, he would have found a good companion in the Nigerian newspapers which on daily basis, must confront him with sensational headlines about his own life. As a farmer, Obasanjo cannot till grounds and be physically tending the chickens in his farms. He had a retinue of aides to do that. He, therefore, must find an alternative means of putting the threat of instant death at bay by finding solace in engaging himself in frenzy political activities which his current office has pre-disposed him to.
Since he left power, Obasanjo has never missed any National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the PDP. He has also been a regular caller at the presidency and has through that been keeping tongues wagging.

The attempt to remove Obasanjo as chairman of PDP BOT blew into open a couple of weeks ago when former Senate President, Senator Ken Nmamani, led other members of G-21 to compel his removal from office by canvassing the amendment of the PDP constitution. Although the PDP authorities had shot down the move by Nnamani and others, there is no indication that the G-21 is relenting on its desire to push Obasanjo out of the mainstream of the party.

Recently in Edo State, he had boasted before newsmen that no one could remove him as the PDP BOT chairman, and not when the constitution of the party had made him so. The ruling party in the following week corroborated him when the outgoing National Chairman, Chief Ahmadu Ali, disclosed that Obasanjo would remain the BOT chairman of the party till 2010. According to Ali, Obasanjo could only be removed as the BOT chairman on the strength of recommendation by the G-21 during the next national convention of the PDP.

He said the proposal for constitutional amendment forwarded to the national office of the party could only be treated about 2010 when the party would be having its next national convention.

Interestingly, Obasanjo has been carrying on in total damnation of the hues and cries against him as a key official of the PDP. He took his seriousness with the job to a higher realm last week when he came out of his cocoon to campaign for one of the chairmanship aspirants, Dr. Sam Omiyi Egwu. Before now, the issue of Obasanjo’s support for Egwu was a subject of snippets meant to deride Egwu. The truth remains however that Obasanjo has been doing what no other top officials of the PDP has done on the issue of election of the next chairman of the party.

By implication, members of the party who have been sniggering at the combination of Obasanjo with Egwu may be surprised to know how much grounds Obasanjo had covered for the former governor during the PDP national convention.

There are reasons to believe that Egwu may end up being a surprised candidate for the chairmanship position of the PDP during the convention. The first reason is the link between Obasanjo and Yar’Adua on one hand and the link between him and the party on the other hand. The other strong factor in the PDP chairmanship race is Anyim Pius Anyim. The former Senate President who seems to be tending the radical wing of the party depends on the radical members of the party to push him through.

The unspoken fact is that Obasanjo has devoted his retirement days to fix the next PDP chairman. The idea then is that the force that would defeat Obasanjo at the PDP convention would work extra hard and may have to rely on an unseen power to spin a surprise.