Olusegun Obasanjo, the former president, once stated that only an “unpatriotic and bad Nigerian” would support a dishonest candidate.
Obasanjo participated in an interactive session of the Experiential Leadership in Africa conference on Thursday in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, on the topic of “Executive Decisions, Indecisions, and Leadership Development in Africa.”
The former president stated that Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, was his preferred choice while defending his decision.
According to the PUNCH, the former president expressed his support for Obi in a New Year’s message to Nigerians titled “My appeal to all Nigerians, particularly young Nigerians.”
Obasanjo insisted that he did not use the word “endorse” when responding to a statement that he was supporting Obi. Instead, he was expressing his opinion about the candidates.
Obasanjo stated, “Whether the letter is open or not, what I believe is that I will be punished by God if I know what is right and I do not put it where it should be.” This statement was made in response to the letter.
“I used the phrase that one candidate has an advantage. I consider this man to be a child of God based on his character, record, and vision taken together.
“I said they all claimed to be my mentees, and of course, I won’t deny that. However, if you are my mentee, they must also admit that I know them a little bit. If I then know them a little bit, I must be right to say… “I have done this before.” You have witnessed the fact that I was correct when I stated that President Buhari does not comprehend the economy. He wasn’t being run down by me; He is that, and he is willing to admit it.
“I said that his (Buhari’s) understanding of foreign affairs is also very limited because, when he was the head of the military, he said that his frontline does not extend beyond Nigeria’s borders; that’s a shame.
But what do you have now? “Why should you, as a Nigerian, vote for someone whose character, reputation, and life you would not want for your children?'” I wrote a letter that was almost six and a half pages long.
He continued, “If this is who you are, what do you want God to do with you? You are either wicked, unpatriotic, or a truly awful citizen of this country.”
“For the past three days, I have talked to about 35 young people, and they have all told me that they are worried about education, security, and corruption; The question then becomes, “Who can do it?”
In response to the question of whether or not multiparty systems have hindered development in Nigeria, Obasanjo attributed the country’s underdevelopment to leadership rather than the multiparty system.