The Man OBJ
“Because I challenged OBASANJO on some of his policies, all of a sudden, he rushed down to my house unannounced, requested for pounded yam.
He came with all the fully armed security agents you can think of. My family was in serious panicking mood.
After the meal, he washed his hands and brought out a letter asking me to read and sign.
As I was reading, I saw it was my Resignation Letter as the PDP Chairman written by Obasanjo himself, a drop of water fell from my eyes, as I looked up, the security guards moved closer, I requested to go inside and get a pen, Obasanjo instantly brought out a pen from his pocket, ‘this is pen sign it immediately”.
I signed and he told me ‘Chairman, you know that for what you said today, you shouldn’t be my Chairman again…”
I remained dumb until he left.
Thirty minutes after, he came again, I thought they wanted to kill me, I went to meet him outside, he brought out the letter and said ‘you didn’t put date there, oya write today’s date below your signature’. I did and he left.
It was a traumatic night for me and my family.”
- Audu Ogbe
THE narrative above by Audu Ogbe, PDP former Chairman, came quite late after Olusegun Obasanjo, OBJ, first Head of State and later President of Nigeria, made his experiences with Audu Ogbe public early, as part of his witch-hunt against Atiku Abubakar, who was his VP, as well as his avowed nemesis.
OBJ’ s narrative on Ogbe, is contained in a Chapter of my book “Treatises in Politics Economics and Good Governance Vol. II”. From OBJ’s perspective, Audu Ogbeh joined several others, a lot un-named, Oji Uzo Kalu, James Onanefe Ibori, Deipreye Alameiyesiegha etc, who determined that Atiku Abubakar deserved being President of Nigeria in 2003, not OBJ.
Obasanjo fought all of them, including Atiku Abubakar himself, like he did Audu Ogbeh, and they were not aware he was very heavily going after them. Politics is deep, and the variant in Nigeria is made worse due to different ethnicities and religions, especially Islam.
Audu Ogbeh is a very lucky man, whose stars shone very early while he was a very young person, from about 1979, in the National Party of Nigeria, the NPN, about 1979, the year OBJ retired early from the Nigerian Military. After 23 years, since being a junior NPN Minister, Audu Ogbeh returned to national limelight as PDP Chairman, after OBJ’ returned as President.
Still very humble but working in the midst of WOLVES, I met Audu Ogbeh, twice in his Office, as a Senatorial Aspirant, and was apprehensive that at some point the wolves in his political environment would feed on him. When they did, the lot who followed Atiku Abubakar suffered the same fate.
Alameiyesiegha paid the highest price, and in my view Audu Ogbeh, paid the least. It is not certain that the war OBJ started would ever end, unless Nigeria is no longer a single entity. Those who played high politics in the early millennial of the 2000s, must work harder than OBJ and write their own BIOGRAPHIES, experiences and HISTORY.
No one will write it for you, but only you can defend yourself ( at worst employ a ghost writer, to write down and publish your words and your voice): Alameiyesiegha lost that chance very early. How can the younger ones learn if no records are laid out for them. Audu Ogbeh appears now to speak words OBJ could not find in his narrative of how he was betrayed by Atiku Abubakar and the cohorts who served his interests: fortune always favors only those who persevere. The man OBJ……….. Audu Ogbeh the saint.
Nnamdi Onochie.
November 24, 2024.