Osoba, Adebanjo Attack Obasanjo, Calls Him A Compulsive Liar

Former governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba and NADECO chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, yesterday said the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo threw the truth to the dustbin while chronicling the nation’s history in his controversial book.

The duo who spoke at the launch of a book entitled, “Watch The Watcher, A Book of Remembrance of the Obasanjo Years”, written by Yinka Odumakin in Lagos, said the claims in Obasanjo’s controversial book entitled “My Watch” were false.

The visibly disturbed Osoba said he would write his own account to debunk the lies Obasanjo wrote in “My Watch” on how the Alliance for Democracy (AD) lost Ogun State in 2003. According to Osoba who was the chairman of the oc­casion, Obasanjo had dur­ing the convocation of the University of Lagos in 2002, asked him and other AD governors who were pres­ent to meet him at Dodan Barracks.

“When we got there, he begged us to support him in 2003 to retain his seat as President in the 2003 elec­tion. But we told him it was not a decision we could take without the involvement of the elders of the party such as Abraham Adesanya.

“So, another meeting was fixed for Ogun Government Lodge in Abeokuta. At the meeting, Obasanjo begged for our support again.

“However, two weeks be­fore the 2003 presidential election, Abraham Adesan­ya accused Obasanjo of try­ing to use military tactics to outwit us. He failed to keep to the terms of the agree­ment we had with him.

“I am surprised that Obasanjo in his book de­nied knowing nothing about the arrangement between AD and his party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. I will give a full ac­count of what happened in my book,” Osoba said.

Also speaking at the event, Chief Ayo Adebanjo described Obasanjo as a man with no conscience and a self-centred man who believes no other person matters except himself.

Obasanjo’s book, My Watch, has continued to generate reactions since it was launched, with Nigeri­ans such as Pro. Wole Soy­inka and Brig-Gen Alabi-Isama, who were maligned in the book, describing Obasanjo as a compulsive liar.

Osoba, who was the chairman at the launch, also accused Obasanjo of rigging out the AD gover­nors in the 2003 governor­ship elections.

The former governor also disagreed with some aspects of Obasanjo’s ‘My Watch’.

He said: “The Watcher (Obasanjo) wrote a book on which Wole Soyinka has given his verdict. I am also going to give my verdict when I write my book.

“That he (Obasanjo) does not know about the pact with the AD governors is far from the fact. To cor­rect him, it was July 2002, he (Obasanjo) came to the graduation (ceremony) at the University of Lagos where we met at the office of the old Head of State.

“It was there that he al­most went on his knees that we, the AD governors, should support his second term ambition.

“We (AD governors) told him that we were not the founding fathers of AD. We told the late Afenifere Lead­er, Abraham Adesanya, but Adesanya said he would never go to Abuja.

“Adesanya later agreed that he would meet us at the presidential lodge. Abraham Adesanya never met him at Abuja but at the slightest notice Obasanjo came to Abuja.

“Adesanya told him (Obasanjo) that he heard he was going to ambush us (AD governors). Present that day was Bishop Gbo­nigi, the Awujale and Cor­nelius (Adebayo),” he said.

Osoba, who is now a member of the newly reg­istered Social Democratic Party (SDP) explained that he was shocked and sur­prised that Obasanjo wrote in his book that he knew nothing about the Third Term Agenda which he claimed God would have given him if he had asked God.

Commenting on Odu­makin’s “Watch the Watch­er”, the former governor said : “It is an event to put the records straight. Many aspects of the book writ­ten by President Olusegun Obasanjo need correction.

“He was at the centre of all the negotiations to bro­ker a political agreement between Alliance for De­mocracy and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2003.

“For him to say he knew nothing about it, I totally disagree with him

“The final meeting with him was attended by highly-placed Nigerians, a highly-placed royal father, the Awujale, Pa Adesanya, Bishop Gbonigi, Bishop Ladigbolu, Chief Ayo Ade­banjo, all the (AD) gover­nors and a host of others.”