BY BLAMMY SAMSON
Contrary to public perception that the then Head of State, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), supported Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo to emerge as president after his release from prison over the 1995 phantom coup, the former military leader, in his autobiography that was launched last Saturday in Abuja, revealed that he advised the Ota Farmer to abandon the idea of contesting the 1999 presidential election.
In Chapter 22 of Abdulsalami’s 264-page, 27-chapter autobiography titled ‘Call of Duty,’ Abdulsalami recalled that he told Obasanjo to go home, thank God he was alive, and forget about becoming President. In a meeting between Obasanjo and the then Head of State, shortly after his release from prison, he dissuaded Obasanjo from filing a lawsuit against the Federal Government over his wrongful imprisonment and warned him that the court process could turn out uncertain.
In his memoir, Abdulsalami described the encounter, recalling that during the meeting, Obasanjo raised two issues after his release from prison: his intention to sue the government and the invitation from the Peoples Democratic Party to contest the presidency.
According to the military leader who brought the transition programme to an end, “I was forthright with him. One, I advised him not to take the government to court because it might not augur well. For one, he would not know how long it would take the court to give judgment. I told him that, as a government, we would try to determine what could be done to compensate him for his business. The court process was uncertain, I told him. I tried to dissuade him from pursuing the litigation option, and he agreed with me,” he wrote.
On the prospects of Obasanjo running on the platform of the PDP, Abdulsalami continued, “On the invitation by the PDP that he should run in the presidential race, I advised him to return home and thank God that he was still alive after all he had gone through in four years. I told him point-blank that he should forget about contesting the presidency. He let out a deep sigh and said he would think about it and revert. He never got back to me. He can confirm this encounter.”
The former head of state argued that Obasanjo ultimately contesting and winning the election should not be taken as evidence that his administration was behind the candidacy.
“I tell people till today that my administration had nothing to do with the presidential ambition of General Obasanjo. It may be hard to believe, but we did not endorse him or work for him. It was a conjecture.
“As I have said several times, as a government, we decided to release all political prisoners. We did not pick and choose. We did not single any individual out for favour. General Obasanjo was among those prisoners who regained their freedom. Some said that because we granted him a pardon that allowed him to run for office, we were working for him.
“But we released and pardoned scores of political prisoners. It was because General Obasanjo ended up as the President that people overlooked the other prisoners that were pardoned as well.”
Though there were reports that retired Generals were working behind the scenes to persuade Obasanjo to run for the 1999 presidency, Abdulsalami said he and his government distanced themselves from those efforts.
“There were reports that some retired Generals worked behind the scenes to persuade General Obasanjo to run because they believed he was the one who could unite Nigerians at that critical time, given his experience, network and knowledge. I read the reports, too. I was also aware of efforts by some people to ensure that someone nationally acceptable was elected President. Those were private initiatives and had nothing to do with our government or me.”Abdulsalami recalled
