President Bola Tinubu was on Thursday captured bowing to greet former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the fundraising ceremony for the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) Presidential Library and the presentation of IBB’s autobiography titled “A Journey in Service”......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
This came a few months after Obasanjo attacked Tinubu, describing Nigeria as a “failing state” under him and accusing the current administration of widespread corruption and leadership failure.
Obasanjo, during a lecture at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University in November 2024, attributed Nigeria’s woes to weak leadership and corruption and referred to Tinubu’s leadership as uninspiring.
The former president used terms like “Baba-go-slow” and “Emilokan,” in his criticism of Tinubu’s administration.
“What is happening in Nigeria – right before our eyes – is state capture, where public institutions are subject to undue influence from vested interests,” Obasanjo had said in his keynote lecture titled “Leadership failure and the state of corruption in Nigeria” delivered at the Chinua Achebe leadership forum at Yale University.
In response to Obasanjo’s remarks, the presidency dismissed the former leader’s criticisms.
Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said Obasanjo had a history of publicly criticising subsequent administrations pointing despite his alleged failure to address Nigeria’s challenges during his time in office.
The presidency described Obasanjo as a hypocrite, citing various scandals and governance failures during his tenure, including corruption allegations and poor management of national infrastructure.
Meanwhile, President Tinubu, at the IBB book launch, praised Babangida’s political contributions.
Tinubu, who was the special guest of honour at the event, reflected on his confrontation with Babangida in 1993, when, as a Senator, he boldly challenged the then-military president for nullifying MKO Abiola’s June 12 election.
Tinubu also recounted his fears of imprisonment at the time but noted that the confrontation ended with Babangida acknowledging him.
“One thing I will never forget: you were in office, and you acknowledged that we were elected, yet you kept postponing our inauguration.
“Then you summoned us to Abuja. When we became restless, you called us to the International Conference Centre. I sat there, listening in my radical manner, convinced that you wouldn’t inaugurate us yet again.
“Before we even returned to the hotel, it was locked—and no key. Later, when Dele Cole invited me to make a remark, I confronted you. I told you that you had the opportunity to make history that day, but you failed to seize it. I asked, ‘Why not inaugurate us? Why are you calling us back and postponing it again?’
“They thought I would end up in jail. But at the end of my remarks, you came forward, shook my hand, and I will never forget that moment.”
President Tinubu added, “General Ibrahim Babangida, without you, people like me wouldn’t be in politics. You inspired some of us.”