Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has asked Ekiti State governor,
Ayo Fayose, to stop his verbal attacks on him and seek God’s forgiveness
for abusing him barely two years after he begged him in a letter over
previous insults.
Governor Fayose had last week in Ile Ife, Osun
State, lambasted Obasanjo for what he called Obasanjo’s unnecessary
outbursts on President Goodluck Jonathan.
But Obasanjo, through
one of his associates, disclosed that Fayose wrote him a letter, begging
him two years ago to facilitate his (Fayose) return to the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP).
The Obasanjo’s associate asked Nigerians
not to take Fayose serious as he would soon write another letter of
apology to the former president.
Fayose’s letter, dated 26th
June, 2012, obtained by Saturday Tribune, detailed how he begged
Obasanjo for forgiveness, for what he called his actions that had caused
embarrassment to the former president. The tone of the letter also
asked the former president to help him facilitate his return to the PDP.
The former president, in his reply to Fayose’s letter, dated July
18,2012, accepted to forgive the Ekiti State governor but told him that
the aspect of facilitating his return to the party needed to be handled
at the local, state and the national levels of the party.
Below is the unedited content of the letter Fayose wrote to Obasanjo and the former president’s reply to Fayose’s letter.
Fayose’s Letter:
“Dear Baba,
“There is no denying the fact that my relationship with you has gone
sour as a result of my action and inaction which have definitely caused
you embarrassment in public and this has marred our very good father-son
relationship in the past.
“I take responsibility for my over reaction and disrespect to your person which is most regretted, I am indeed sorry.
“I pray that God will give you the grace to let go of the past knowing
fully well that I am human and therefore not infallible especially
considering the circumstances surrounding my removal from office.
“To further buttress my willingness to seek peace with you, I could
recall that I had made several efforts to this effect by consulting your
close allies in the persons of Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), Chief Omilani
and Pastor Oyedepo amongst others.
“Lastly, kindly disregard all
insinuations or political blackmailing suggestive of my doing or saying
anything contradicting my present disposition as contained in this
letter.
“My reconciliation with your goodself may not go down
well with some of my political opponents, but you remain the father of
all.
“My wife sends her love and greetings.
“With high regards.
Signed
Ayo Fayose.
Obasanjo’s reply dated July 18, 2012
“Dear Ayo,
“I write to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated June 26, 2012
pleading with me to forgive you, as you put it, for your action and
inaction which have caused me embarrassment in the public.
“As
for the embarrassment and personal insult to me, forgiveness is divine
and I will not withhold forgiveness since I believe that God will not
withhold forgiveness for my inadequacies.
“However, for me, the
personal aspect can be handled by me but the party aspect has to be
handled at the local, state and national levels of the Party.
“I wish you all the best and God’s blessing.”
Signed
Olusegun Obasanjo.
Obasanjo’s associate told the newspaper that “One wonders why the same
Fayose who wrote that letter is now against the president settling his
differences with Obasanjo given the background that he (Fayose) wrote
that letter of apology barely two years ago.”
Fayose had on
Friday condemned Thursday’s visit of five Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
governors to former President Obasanjo, saying the visit would further
encourage disrespect for the office of the president of Nigeria.
Fayose said in a statement made available to newsmen in Ado Ekiti on
Friday that “visiting Obasanjo to plead with him to rescind his decision
not to participate in the party’s activities was capable of encouraging
other members of the party to openly disrespect the office of President
and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria as being done by
Obasanjo.”
Governor Fayose also called for “immediate suspension
of the former president from the PDP for anti-party activities,” and
contended that “a man who has refused to respect the office of the
President of Nigeria that he once occupied does not also deserve respect
from anyone.”
He also called on the leadership of the PDP to set a panel to probe Obasanjo’s anti-party activities.
“The PDP as a party must stop condoning indiscipline. Nobody should be treated as being bigger than the party.”
He said: “Obasanjo, who does not appreciate others, deserve no
respect,” adding that “no amount of mud-slinging from him will stop
President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election.”
According to him,
Obasanjo was “one of the major problems of Nigeria,” and added that “the
former president’s open castigation of President Goodluck Jonathan is
unbecoming of someone who led the country for 11 years and wasted
billions of naira in his attempt to perpetuate himself in office beyond
the constitutionally recognised two-terms.”
He said: “Have you
ever heard a former president of the United States of America openly
abusing a sitting president of the country?
“Does it mean that
former US president, Bill Clinton, agreed with all the policies of
George W. Bush and the incumbent president, Barack Obama?”
He said: “Obasanjo’s behaviour is unpresidential and he must be told to respect himself.
“General Yakubu Gowon, General Ibrahim Babangida and Alhaji Shehu
Shagari have not been doing the same. They don’t openly disparage the
office of the president or his person and this is not because they agree
with all his policies, but because they know that there is a channel
through which they can convey their feelings to the president.”
On why he is the only governor out of the about 18 other PDP governors
that did not go to see Chief Obasanjo, Fayose said: “Chief Obasanjo is
our own and we are the ones who should correct our own as Yoruba.”
Speaking further, Fayose said Obasanjo was already a member of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) and that he was pushing for one of his
loyalists to be the party’s vice presidential candidate.
He said;
“Obasanjo is a man who can never be pleased. His principle of life is-
if it is not his way, it must not be another person’s way.
“Even
if President Jonathan gives Obasanjo his blood today, he (Obasanjo)
cannot change because he is already neck-deep in the APC agenda, with
his eyes on the vice presidential ticket of the party.
“Therefore, no amount of visits by PDP governors can make him change his
mind about President Jonathan, whom he hates not because he has not
performed, but because he (Jonathan) did not hand over his presidency to
him”.
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