Obasanjo made no mistakes - Daily Sun

.He intentionally did everything he did
•Says Yar’Adua’s reversal of OBJ legacies could be in bad faith
By TAIWO AMODU
Saturday, December 1, 2007

National Chairman of the Action Congress (AC) Chief Bisi Akande, has taken exception to the plea that Nigerians should forgive the mistakes of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying Obasanjo made no mistakes.

Reacting to the plea by the PDP national chairman, Senator Ahmadu Ali, at the last Yoruba submit, Akande said forgiveness would have been possible if indeed Obasanjo made mistakes. The problem, he says, is that Obasanjo did every evil that he did with full intention of punishing Nigerians, adding that the former president did not err and, therefore deserves no forgiveness.

Ironically, however, Akande, a former AD governor of Osun State, picked holes in the current demolition of Obasanjo legacies by his successor in office, President Umar Yar’Adua, saying the reversals are not only suspicious and dangerous, but do not seen to be in good faith.

Speaking with Saturday Sun in an exclusive interview, Akande cautioned Nigerians to stop applauding the reversal of the legacies of the Obasanjo administration.
‘If Yar’Adua is reversing Obasanjo and people are applauding him , that shows to what extent Obasanjo is unpopular with Nigerians , but that doesn’t mean everything Obasanjo did wasn’t good. There should be some merit in some of the things he did’.
Excerpts.

We learn’t there ‘re pressures on Atiku , from the North to let Yar’Adua be. You ‘re an insider, what exactly is the true position?
Honestly, I don’t know anything going on in the North, because I don’t attend any meetings at the level of the Northener, but I know a lot is going on in the Action Congress. It has been a decision of the party, to go to court over the national election of last April and we ‘re in the court.
It’s only good that Atiku joined himself with the party in the court. If there is pressure on Atiku, it’s one thing for Atiku to withdraw, it’s another thing for the party to withdraw.

If Atiku withdraws, the party remains in the court and it’s like no withdrawal. And at this stage of the case, even if Atiku withdraws and AC withdraws, Buhari had closed his own case and they can say because Atiku and AC withdraw from the case, they will not review and pronounce on the requests of Buhari.

So, it’s like tossing a coin-tail you lose, head you lose. So, it doesn’t matter if Atiku is pressurised to withdraw Yar’Adua is going. It doesn’t matter, if AC joins Atiku to withdraw Yar’Adua is going, because Buhari will continue to prosecute his case and the judiciary will look at the matter and since elections were not credible, definitely Yar’Adua is going to lose the case in court.

But has Atiku confided in you that there are pressures on him?
Atiku has been away from the country, since June this year. I saw him once in Maryland in August I have not seen him. Since I came, I only talked to him on phone. Such a matter, isn’t one to discuss on phone. I’m going to see him next week. Until I see him, I can’t answer that question. He hasn’t confided in me and never said to me, he was going to withdraw .

Your party is getting depleted in its ranks; Na’Abba and Rimi have gone back to PDP and there is allegation that Tinubu is non-committal on the tribunal case. Aren’t you worried?
In a matter like this, you have individual opinions, but the party position is what I represent. Even it doesn’t matter if my own personal position isn’t the same as party position. When you come to me like this, I must stand by the party position. Rimi’s position is according to Rimi’s individual position, Na’Abba’s position is according to his own individual position. Tinubu has never told us his position, you ‘re only gesturing. Even if he’s not in support, that’s personal position but my party position, the Action Congress is that we should go to court and we ‘re in court as a poliical party.

Good enough, Atiku came to join us in court. So, the pressures from the North may not affect the AC, because it’s a party of Nigerians, not the North.
Against the backdrop of the experience we had in 1993, Abiola’s mandate was traded off by the leadership of his party…
(Cuts in) You can have it the other way round. Bisi Akande will never betray the Action Congress. It’s not possible, I can’t betray any group to which I belong, even if I’m not the leader of that group. I will not betray the Action Congress. Up till now, my party insists that we shall remain in court.

Yar’Adua, at the conference of judges made an admonition that judges shouldn’t base their judgement on public sentiments, but rather on points of law. What do you make of that?
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