Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, a former Minister of Works has said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s mistake of a successor in 2007 is largely responsible for the woes bedeviling Nigeria today.
Obsasanjo who was president from 1999 to 2007 was succeeded by Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Following the death of Yar’Adua in May 2010, his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as President.
Speaking in an interview with DAILY INDEPENDENT on whether President Muhammadu Buhari should be interested in who succeeds him in 2023, Ogunlewe said rather than made up his mind on who will take over from him, Obasanjo was experimenting and was not focused on the issue of a successor.
He said “Successor is as important as yourself. We have seen and witnessed all over the world where people make mistake about who is going to succeed them. It landed some of them in jail. So, you must be persuaded that the person succeeding you will continue with your programmes and will like you as a person. The issue of succession is always a big problem”.
“It happened to Obasanjo. That mistake Obasanjo made is the brunt we are bearing in Nigeria today. Obasanjo couldn’t make up his mind about who will succeed him. If he had made up his mind then, we will not be where we are today. He was experimenting instead of being focused. I’m sure in his inner mind today, he doesn’t like himself on the issue of that successor”.
“How can anyone write about the history of Nigeria today without writing about Obasanjo’s successor that brought us to where we are today. It was a succession mistake. If you make a mistake as a leader on who succeeds you, believe it or not, you will regret it for life because people are not predictable”.
“Also, politics is not mathematics. You can’t say if I put this person there as my successor, my future is guaranteed. No, it doesn’t work that way. A new king will rule in Egypt who does not know Joseph”.
“For every successor, there will be new friends, new caucuses and new ideas will be suggested to derail whatever he meets on ground. Everybody wants to occupy the space which was occupied by some people in the past”.
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