Obasanjo lacks honour to ask Yar’Adua to resign – Shehu Sani

Obasanjo lacks honour to ask Yar’Adua to resign – Shehu Sani
From Buhari B. Bello Jos

Human Rights Activist, Mallam Shehu Sani, has joined in the growing number of Nigerians who had castigated the former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s advice to his successor, Alhaji Umar Yar’Adua to take the path of honour and resign.

He said that Obasanjo lacked the moral right to give such and advice to Yar’Adua as it was utterly “mischievous, ridiculous and irresponsible”.


Sani, who spoke to newsmen in Jos recently, said that what Obasanjo and some elements of his past administration wanted to do is to use the Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan to re-launch themselves into power.

He asked Obasanjo to rather apologize to Nigerians for the pains his administration inflicted on Nigerians.

The human rights activist said that if the country’s democracy must move forward, Nigerians should avoid anything that could bring the former president in to relevance again.

He accused Obasanjo of being behind the country’s present woes by presiding over a corrupt and inept leadership.

Recalling Obasanjo’s many failures in the power sector, roads, health care development, he accused the former president of using the instruments of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to hound other political opponents and presidential candidates, except Yar’Adua.

Sani said that people must not confuse Obasanjo’s statement with the constitutional requirements of Yar’Adua handing over to Jonathan.

He said, “And people must not confuse the call for Yar’Adua to hand over to Goodluck Jonathan and make mistake of allowing Obasanjo to re-launch himself into power. And we must be careful about some elements of Obasanjo’s former regime who wants Yar’Adua out of the way in order to have a puppet in the name of Goodluck Jonathan. Obasanjo represent danger to our democracy. Our democracy cannot move forward without an end to Obasanjo’s legacy.


Sani added, “Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s call for President Umar Musa Yar’Adua to toe the path of honour and resign is mischievous, ridiculous and irresponsible.

“Obasanjo lacks the modicum of honour to counsel others on honour. He is a man without honour. He does not have the moral right and honour to counsel Yar’Adua to resign. He is part and parcel of the problems that we are in today. He is in fact the architect of the problems we have in Nigeria.

“If he has honour, he would not have rigged the 2003 and 2007 elections;, if he has honour he would not have spent over $20 million in power sector that has not translated into light; If he has honour, he would not have spent trillions of naira in road maintenance and construction that delivered no road;

“If he has honour, he would not have spent hundreds of billions of naira in a primary health care that ended up in a cesspit of corruption; if he has honour, he could not have used the instruments of EFCC to impeach governors and intimidate political opponents and critics of his administration; If he has honour, he could not have attempted to elongate his stay in power in the name of third term;

“If he has honour, he could not have as the president of the country undermined the judiciary, abuse the fundamental rights of citizens and abuse his own power and privileges as president. If he has honour, he could not have engaged in the scam that is called TRANSCORP. If such a man has honour, he could have shame for himself and shut up and that is why we are saying that Obasanjo should simply shut up and apologize to Nigerians for what he has done, if he has honour, he could not have intimidated other presidential candidates, except Yar’Adua.