Top 7 Controversies Involving Former President Obasanjo

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has
been embroiled in a lot of controversies.
Many continue to wonder what makes Obasanjo
thick and how he manages to get away with things
other people would not even dare to try.
Like a cat with nine lives, Obasanjo came out of
prison and assumed the number position in
Nigerian in 1999. Though he did not have the
support of his people in the Southwest, other parts
of the country voted for him.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is not an
ordinary Nigerian citizen as he has become some
sort of political Mecca where countless politicians
and political parties pay homage and source for
advice concerning their ambition.
One thing about the former President is that he is
never afraid of courting controversies, an action
which has fetched him a lot of enemies and
criticisms. But Obasanjo seems not to be bothered
with his critiques as he keeps saying his mind,
irrespective of who gets hurt.
Let’s take a look at some of the controversies that
former President has been involved in.
1. Obasanjo dumps PDP in a very dramatic
manner:
This is the most recent act of Obasanjo that has
everybody talking. On Monday, February 16,
Obasanjo officially left the ruling Peoples’
Democratic Party (PDP). The fact that he left the
party was not the issue but the manner he did it.
He tore his party membership card in public, an
action which the party described as an insult.
2. He wrote a controversial autobiography:
The former President’s autobiography, ‘My Watch’
which was unveiled at the at the Lagos Country
club Ikeja, Lagos, on December 9, 2014, caused
quite a stir in the country. The book strongly
criticized a lot of top Nigerian politicians like
president Goodluck Jonathan, Bola Tinubu, Gbenga
Daniel and others. Despite being stopped by a
court injunction, Obasanjo had gone ahead to
launch the three-volume book.
Though the book was banned from being sold in
Nigeria, the former President refused to be
deterred and took it to other countries where it will
not be banned.
3. Attempted a third term:
Obasanjo was the only president who attempted a
third term but was confronted. Obasanjo was
embroiled in controversy regarding his “Third
Term Agenda,” a plan to modify the constitution
so he could serve a third term as President. This
led to a political media uproar in Nigeria. Obasanjo
later denied his involvement in the third term
agenda.
Speaking at the launch of his autobiography, he
denied seeking a third term but admitted he knew
about it. He had said: “Third term was not my
agenda or intention although I would not say I
didn’t know about it. I didn’t mastermind third
term. Those who were telling me to go on were
the governors that were going to benefit from it.”
4. Obasanjo’s letter to Jonathan:
In 2013, the former president stirred up a storm
with an explosive 18-page letter entitled “Before it
is too late” to President Goodluck Jonathan
detailing what he perceived to be the president’s
shortcomings. This had sparked a lot of reactions
in the country at the time.
5[b]. Iyabo’s letter to her father:[/b]
Following Obasanjo’s 18-page letter, his daughter,
Senator Iyabo Obasanjo had allegedly written a
letter to her father. She had denounced Obasanjo
as a self-seeking man lacking in all key
expectations of a father and a leader, but often
appearing quick to accuse others of the same ills.
The letter was surrounded in controversy as the
spokespersons and family members of Obasanjo
alleged that the letter was forged. Meanwhile,
Iyabo refused to denounce or deny her authorship
of a blistering letter. Obasanjo had alleged that
Iyabo was coerced by President Goodluck
Jonathan’s administration to write the letter to him
in a bid to embarrass him
6. His son Gbenga accused him of sleeping with
his wife:
In 2008, Gbenga, the first son of the former
president dropped a bombshell on his father’s
alleged sexual intimacy with his estranged wife,
Moji. Gbenga, in a sworn affidavit, submitted to a
divorce court accused his father of sleeping with
his wife. The former president was summoned in
court in what appeared to be a messy divorce
between Gbenga and his wife.
7[b]. The Odi massacre:[/b]
This was an attack carried out on November 20,
1999, by the Nigerian military during Obasanjo’s
reign as president. Nearly 2500 civilians were
reportedly killed in the predominantly Ijaw town of
Odi in Bayelsa state, while every building in the
town except the bank, the Anglican church and the
health center were burned to the ground. Report
has it that massacre was ordered by Obasanjo. On
his command the world witnessed one of the most
tragic abuse of human right and genocide in Odi.