In view of the ongoing drama surrounding last the Presidential election process widely acknowledged as marred by INEC’s inability to be an impartial umpire, we cannot but agree that Obasanjo, though without an angel status, is doing an elderly statesman’s job of salvaging Nigeria.

For an election that agents of unfree and unfair elections were visibly determined to scuttle to the detriment of the people’s choice, all well-meaning Nigerians can only agree with and cooperate with Obasanjo on this one.

In all honesty, only Nigerians with dark hearts and charred consciences will condemn Obasanjo’s roles in salvaging what remains of a once beautiful Nigerian nation that has been hijacked and constantly raped by criminal-minded fellows since the late 80s.

This is a country that ought to have her average citizens walking every street of this world with their heads held high, beaming with grace and confidence, judging by the nation’s abundance of human and natural resources, but for the 
fool-hardiness, selfishness, greed, and sheer heartlessness of a few members of a faceless evil cabal. 

No sane and well-meaning Nigerian will take sides with INEC, corrupt and corrupting politicians, and morally-deficient thugs for what is playing out currently. 

Viral videos of a certain presidential candidate dishing out instructions and orders to his minions and sycophants to go all out and grab ballot boxes and disappear are completely appalling and abhorrent, to say the least. 

To think that some men and women of supposed integrity can come out openly and boldly to condemn Obasanjo in support of this charade paints a clear picture of to what extent some Nigerians are debased.

Three days after the Presidential and National Assembly elections, tension is rising in the land over the long wait for the outcome of the presidential election.

After failing to resolve the slowdown of the electronic transmission of results into the result viewing portal (IReV). A mild drama ensued at the National Collation Centre, Abuja, when opposition parties’ agents staged a walkout.

Numbering about 10, agents of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Dino Melaye and former Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha; Labour Party (LP)’s National Secretary, Umar Faruq, among others, accused INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, of allegedly rigging the entire process in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Trouble started when PDP agents, led by Melaye rejected the presidential election result declared for Ekiti State , alleging over-voting.

Melaye also faulted the ongoing method of collation of the presidential election. His observations were supported by agents of LP and Action Alliance (AA).

But the INEC chairman said the Commission stood by the result declared by the collation officer for Ekiti, Prof. Akeem Olawale Lasisi, who is the Vice Chancellor, of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila Orangun, Osun State.

“I still insist that the figure presented by the state collation officer of accredited voters is 315,058.

“This is what is on the spreadsheet that we screened. And this is also what is on the actual result manual recorded and signed by the PDP agent and agents of other political parties back in Ekiti.

“But having said that, I’ve taken note of your observations, let us make progress.

“Any other figure that is at variance with this one cannot supersede the official result presented. Let’s make progress,” he stated.

Obasanjo’s Timely Intervention

Following what is becoming clearer as INEC’s confusion and messy affair, a former President of Nigeria, General Olusegun Obasanjo (retd.), in his capacity as an elder statesman, arose swiftly to play a much-expected mediatory role. 

He penned a now widely circulated letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, urging him to step in and preempt an upsurge of anarchy. 

Thus, with the country already on tenterhooks, the former president called on Buhari and the INEC chairman to immediately cancel elections that lack credibility to save Nigeria from looming danger and disaster.

Obasanjo alleged that some INEC officials sabotaged the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the Server for transmission of results from polling units.

The former president made the allegations, in a letter to President Buhari and Yakubu. 

Obasanjo, in the letter made available to journalists in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, through his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, also accused officials of the Commission of manipulating the election process to favour a particular candidate.

“I am constrained to speak at this point. I crave the indulgence of the President to make this statement because I have had the opportunity to keep him aware of what I know is happening and the danger looming ahead”, he said.

Conclusion

Nigeria is a beautiful nation. All efforts must be channelled toward salvaging this nation this last time.

There is a lot Nigeria can accomplish for herself, Africa, and the whole world, given a stable, dynamic, and progressive polity.

For such a gifted nation, it is such a disappointing experience how Nigerians are treated abroad because of their desperation to make it in life. 

Given Nigeria’s oil and gas wealth spanning several years, if the right leaders had been in place to make the nation work, things would be different.

Nigerians must be tired of a reign of oligarchy, kleptocracy, plutocracy, and gerontocracy that has left the nation economically, politically, socially, financially, and materially paralyzed. 

This is why all hands must be on deck to applaud Obasanjo and not deride him. 

If Nigeria misses it this time, then let’s ‘forgerrit’!