“A dog that is about to get lost, does not listen to the hunter’s whistle”. This is a Yoruba adage I have translated into English. In one of Chinua Achebe‘s novels, he used a proverb: “Those whom the gods want to purnish, he first makes mad”.
No one has ever mirrored my thoughts about Obasanjo’s third term bid like David Blair.
His articled titled: “Change that could upset Nigeria’s balancing act” summarized my thought about this whole matter.
The first paragraph is even more to the point:
“When an African president rewrites the constitution in order to stay in power, you know he is going off the rails. Sadly, it seems that President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria is heading along this path.”
Sadly, some Nigerian honorables have approved the third term bid. In all fairness to the President, he has not publicly declared his intention to go for a third term but the Obasanjo I know would have since come out to tongue-lash the people push him to it, if he didn’t support it.
All those doing this should know that the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not an exclusive preserve of one individual, or a particular tribe or political party.
I rest my case.
In my honest opinion, I think Obasanjo shoul leave whilst the ovation is loudest. Others who have gone the way of extention have lost aall their credibilities. The respect Obasanjo enjoys all over the world is simply due to his past actions whilst a military head. It is not everyone that has that opportunity to make history twice. You can make history either positively or negatively. I would wish he made it positivley twice.
Those screaming for extention would be the first to put him down if things failed.
It is my humble suggestion that he steps down. Let others take up the mantle so that we Nigerians will then able to compare who ever comes next with Obasanjo’s achievements or lack of.