Monday, December 16, 2013

You Diverted 20billion From Federation Account, Sold Transcorp To Self, Falana Replies Obasanjo's Letter

In an 18-page letter dated December 2, 2013 Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
accused President Goodluck Jonathan Administration of incompetence,
abuse of office, corruption and gross mismanagement of the resources
of the nation. Apart from accusing the regime of celebrating
criminality including drug trafficking Chief Obasanjo has blamed the
regime for the rising wave of impunity, terrorism and ethno-religious
strife in the country. No doubt, the allegations which lacerated the
controversial letter are weighty. Instead of dismissing the contents
of the letter the Presidency should respond to the allegations raised
therein seriatim. In particular, the allegation that the Federal
Government is setting up a Presidential Strike Force to carry out
terrorist attacks on political opponents should not be swept under the
carpet.
However, it is pertinent to point out that President Jonathan is a
faithful student of the Olusegun Obasanjo School of Politics. While
President Jonathan has been accused by General Obasanjo of diverting
$7 billion from the Federation Account he (President Obasanjo) is yet
to account for the over $20 billion which he diverted from the same
account. The 36 state governments sued the Federal Government over the
illegal diversion of such huge public fund by President Obasanjo and
the case is currently pending at the Supreme Court.
The Senate recently indicted Presidents Obasanjo, Yaradua and Jonathan
for mismanaging the federation Account to the tune of N1.5 trillion.
The senate has recommended the revocation of the fraudulent
privatisation of public assets carried out by President Obasanjo. The
transcorp hotel was bought by a sitting President through "blind
trust" while the House of Representatives indicted the Obasanjo regime
for spending $16 billion to generate darkness. Does President Obasanjo
know any President who used public funds to establish a private
university and a presidential library through extortion of funds from
government agencies and contractors?
On disloyaly to the ruling party President Obasanjo defied the Supreme
Court when it pronounced Senator Ararume as the gubernatorial
candidate of PDP for Imo State during the "do or die" general election
of 2007. The imperial presidency directed PDP members to vote for the
candidate of the PPA who "won" the election. In his book
titled,"Accidental Public Servant" Mr. Nasir El Rufai gave a vivid
account of how President wanted General Buhari of ANPP to nominate Dr.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as his Vice-Presidential candidate as a
precondition for ditching the Presidential candidate of the PDP, dr
Goodluck Jonathan during the 2011 General Election.
With respect to reliance on ethnic jingoists President Obasanjo
deployed the likes of late Lamidi Adedibu to terrorise and intimidate
innocent people in Oyo State. President Obasanjo equally entered into
an alliance with the Afenifere group to facilitate the capture of the
south west region during 2003 General Election. When there was a
threat to impeach President Obasanjo by the House of Representatives
the Presidency mobilised a faction of the Oodua Peoples Congress to
threaten a break up the country. Was Anambra state not made
ungovernable by Chris Uba with presidential support? Did Obasanjo not
know of governors who had killer squads? Why were the members of the
Abacha Strike Force never demobilised and disarmed by President
Obasanjo?
On the presidential involvement in the case of the fellow who was
recently acquitted in the charge of murder on technical grounds by the
Court of Appeal in Lagos it is on record that President Obasanjo also
wanted him freed for political reasons while he was in power. Indeed,
he pressured the Lagos State Government, in vain, to file nolle
prosequi with a view to terminating the case on the eve of the 2003
General Elections. Did General Obasanjo not take part in another
celebration of criminality in Lagos the other day when a PDP chieftain
completed his jail term. Did the General to turn round to say that he
was misled into believing that it was a "family reunion"?
Does President Obasanjo have the moral right to advise President
Jonathan on how to convey a national conference? It is public
knowledge that President Obasanjo too was vehemently opposed to the
convocation of a national conference until he needed it for dubious
political objectives. The Political Reform Conference which he
eventually convened collapsed due to the refusal of the delegates to
endorse the satanic Third term agenda of the President. Like the
report of the Chukwudifu Oputa Commission of Enquiry on human rights
abuse the report of the Political Reform Conference never saw the
light of day.
In the aforesaid 18-page letter President Obasanjo did not challenge
the neo-colonial economic agenda of the Jonathan Administration which
has continued to pauperise the masses of our people. Hence the letter
is silent on the crises of unemployment, illiteracy, ignorance,
hunger, infrastructural decay etc. It is an intra-class feud which
cannot enhance democracy in the country. President Obasanjo has a
penchant for writing letters and granting interviews on regimes which
he and other power mongers had installed. He dismissed the regimes of
President Shehu Shagari, Generals Buhari, Abacha and Babangida and
President Yaradua once they fell out with him. After the election of
the late Bashorun MKO Abiola as President did Genaral Obasanjo not say
that he was not a messiah? For goodness sake when did General Obasanjo
discover that President Jonathan is incompetent?
Finally, instead of celebrating the hypocrisy of frustrated power
mongers the Nigerian people should take advantage of the intra class
war going on in the ruling party to get organised and take their
political destiny in their own hands. The time has come to put an end
to the opportunism of discredited rulers who are in the habit of
exploiting the frustrations and disenchantment of the people to become
emergency heroes. Enough is enough!
Femi Falana SAN

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