Facebook
friends of President Goodluck Jonathan are divided over the now famous
18-page letter written by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in which
he (Obasanjo) strongly criticised the present administration.
Obasanjo had in the letter accused the
President, among other things, of not honouring his words, and taking
actions calculated at destroying Nigeria as well as running a killer
squad.
A check on the President’s Facebook page
on Sunday showed that some of his 1.1 million followers who dropped
comments on his page are torn between pledging their support for the
President or castigating him over the content of the 18-page stinker.
While some of the President’s social
media friends accused Obasanjo of pursuing a hidden agenda and publicly
ridiculing him, others charged Jonathan to look inwards and have a
clearer understanding of what the former President was trying to make
him realise.
Those who belong to the second school of
thought are of the opinion that the letter, the content of which has
since been made public, should be a wake-up call to Jonathan as the
picture of the Nigerian polity painted in the letter clearly echoes the
minds of many Nigerians.
A particular Facebook friend of the
President, Treasure Balogun, a student of the Osun State Polytechnic,
Iree, says although Obasanjo may not be a saint, he shares the opinion
of the former President, as contained in the said letter.
He expressed worry over what he describes
as widespread corruption happening under the nose of the President
noting that Jonathan’s action and inactions were encouraging graft.
Balogun says, “Obasanjo is not a saint,
so also is Jonathan and other past rulers! He (Obasanjo) gave the advice
for the betterment of the country. Nigeria is a sinking ship, and thus
she needs experienced captain(s) to rescue it and the passengers on
board.
“Tambuwal (Speaker, House of
Representatives) proved that Goodluck Jonathan administration is
corrupt, yet some castigated him. Sanusi complained that the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation is withholding about $50bn which can
easily solve some of our national problems, yet we didn’t see anything
wrong with that!
“Oduah’s case is fading away gradually.
Ex-corruption warlords are being pardoned. PDP members and governors’
sons are now being accused of economic and financial crimes, yet we are
all watching it like seasonal films. The Nigerian Medical Association
just gave ultimatum to embark on a nationwide strike.
“Can someone tell me what is functioning
well in this country? Aviation sector is almost dead, power sector is
still ailing; petroleum sector has been turned to a means of looting
public treasury; security of lives and property is nothing to write home
about!”
Another Facebook fan of Jonathan, Akeem
Adeyemi, advises the President not to allow self-serving aides to
deceive and mislead him on the contents of the letter.
“Obasanjo’s letter contains the bitter
truth. Don’t allow selfish people around you to mislead you on Obj’s
comments. God may be using him for the Nigerian project. Go to him
personally and listen attentively to his advice and adhere to it please.
May bad history not be recorded during your tenure, your Excellency,”
Adeyemi said.
In the class of some of the President’s
social media friends who faults the letter is Lagos-based Nnamdi Uti. He
argues that the letter was written in bad blood and in consonance with
some detractors.
He says the ex-President may have had
some valid points, but adds that the circumstances surrounding the
letter smacks of a deliberate attempt to win over public sympathy and
attention.
Uti argues, “OBJ is an ex-army general
who knows how to strategise to win in the court of public opinion. I
personally don’t think that OBJ would have written such a letter without
a motivation. He is either being used by himself or some detractors.
“However, Nigerians are not that blind to
see the number of high profile deaths during his (Obasanjo’s) era. We
know that leadership of a country like Nigeria is not easy. Just do your
best and leave the rest. We appreciate his (Obasanjo) good works during
his time we also appreciate his weaknesses.
“His weakness lies in his firm desire to
always have control/ remain in leadership position or play leadership
role. These are characteristics of a General. Nigerians on their own
have ability to vote who their leader should be especially if we have a
transparent voting platform.”
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