President Umaru Yar’adua should consider “taking the path of honour and the path of morality” by resigning from his office in view of his serious health challenges, former president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo said in Abuja yesterday. Obasanjo, who was chairman at the 7th Trust Annual Dialogue, was responding to a question by a young man from the audience, who asked him whether he chose Yar’adua as his successor in 2006-07 “out of wickedness.”

The question caused a stir in the jam-packed Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, venue of the dialogue, but Obasanjo retrieved the microphone and began to answer. He said, “When in the year 2006 the idea came up as to succession, I was convinced in my mind that a Southerner succeeding me will not augur well for Nigeria. [Murmurs in the audience]. You may not agree with that, you may agree. I was convinced in my mind [about] that.

“Now, I was looking for somebody who will succeed me who has three important qualities. One, he has enough intellectual capacity to run the affairs of Nigeria. Two, he has sufficient personal integrity to run the affairs of Nigeria. Three, he is sufficiently broad minded in knowledge, politically, religiously, socially, whatever to manage the affairs of Nigeria.

“These three were important and very paramount in my mind. [From the audience, someone shouted, “What about health?” There was a brief commotion as many people said, “Let him [i.e. Obasanjo] finish!”]. Wait, wait, wait! You may hear what you have never heard...Then Umaru Yar’adua who is now the President, I know he had kidney problem and was under dialysis. Some time earlier, he had gone abroad when he was governor of Katsina. When the idea was for him to contest, I asked him and he gave me a medical report and the medical report showed that he had come off dialysis.

“I asked experts, who then told me that if you were under dialysis or you are on dialysis and you are no longer on dialysis, it means you have had a successful kidney transplant and that you can live for as long as God may wish you to live.

“Now, who am I and who are you not to accept that? [Applause]. Wait, wait, wait! That was the situation and I...now that you want to hear...He went to campaign and we were campaigning together. And you will remember that at one stage of the campaign, he was run down. Chairman of our party then, Ahmadu Ali, was also run down. Ahmadu Ali didn’t go abroad but he [Yar’adua] went abroad for check up. And then there was rumour that he was dead and I called him and put the telephone on speaker. And I said, ‘Umoru, are you dead or not?’ [Applause and laughter]. And you heard his voice live and kicking! He came back and continued the campaign. That was the true situation, and to the best of my knowledge he wasn’t on dialysis after that. When the issue of dialysis came, he was well into his first term, which must mean one thing; that the kidney transplant is failing, if it hasn’t failed. That you cannot blame on anybody! You cannot even blame it on him (Yar’adua)!

“So for people to say that I, Olusegun Obasanjo, deliberately picked somebody who is an invalid, I think it is the height of insult. How can I put so much into this country both in peace and in war and then think of giving this country to somebody who will run it down” [Applause]. How can I? Even if you don’t have the fear of God you will not think that way...And you said [referring to the man who asked the question] there is constitutional crisis, I will not comment on that. What I needed to say on that, I had said it as the chairman of my Board of Trustees last week and I won’t say anything more. The one that I need to say is the fact that nobody picked Yar’adua so that he will not perform. If I did that God will punish me. Yes because I love this country so much that there is no reason why I should do that.

But wait, if you take up an appointment, a job, elected, appointed, whatever it is and then your health starts saying, ‘I will not be able to deliver’, to satisfy yourself and the people that you are supposed to serve, then there is the path of honour and the path of morality. And if you don’t know that, then you don’t know anything.”*

Resign on health grounds, Obasanjo tells Yar’Adua-The PUNCH
By Fidelis Soriwei, Abuja, Published: Friday, 22 Jan 2010


Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday finally broke his silence on the health condition and the prolonged absence of his successor, President Umaru Yar’Adua, and advised the latter to “toe the path of honour” and do what was right in the circumstance.

Apparently convinced that the President may be unable to continue to rule on health grounds, Obasanjo said that if any public officer, whether elected or appointed, was unable to perform his functions, the logical thing left for him or her to do was to toe the path of honour and morality.

Today marks the 60th day since Yar’Adua left the country for Saudi Arabia to treat acute pericarditis without officially informing the National Assembly in writing, in accordance with the provision of Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.

Obasanjo, who played the most prominent role in installing Yar’Adua as President in 2007, stated his position in Abuja at the 7th Annual Daily Trust Dialogue.

The theme of the event, chaired by the former President was: “The African Woman and Politics,” held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

Obasanjo’s remarks came after a confrontation by one Buhari Jega of the Progressive Movement for Better Society, who accused him of foisting Yar’Adua on the nation, thereby creating the prevailing constitutional crisis.

Immediately, the former President’s adrenalin apparently shot up and he sprang to his feet even before Jega could finish his question.

He seized the microphone and thundered, “You have raised a vital question and you will get the answer.”

He said, “And there is always a way. If you take up an appointment, a job, elective, appointed, whatever it is, and then your health starts to fail, and you will not be able to deliver, to satisfy yourself and satisfy the people you are going to serve, then there is a part of honour and a path of morality; and if you don’t know that, then you don’t know anything. I stop on that note.”

Prior to Obasanjo’s response, Jega had said, “Whether we agree or not, we have a constitutional crisis; whether we agree or not, our President is sick.

“Whatever happens to this county today, you are (refering to Obasanjo) part and the architect of it.”

Earlier, Obasanjo had explained that his choice of Yar’Adua was borne out of his love for the country and the desire to entrust the leadership of the country only to a man who had three qualities.

According to him, these qualities are high intellectual capacity, high personal integrity and sufficient broadmindedness.

He stressed that Yar’Adua possessed those qualities.

But amidst loud protest from the crowd for him to disclose what he knew about Yar’Adua before his selection, Obasanjo said that he chose the President after being medically certified to have been off dialysis, and confirmed by doctors to be able to live a normal life.

The former President said it was the height of insult and absurdity for anybody to accuse him of selecting an “invalid” for the top leadership position in a country he had devoted his efforts to develop both in peace and in war times.

He said he had demanded a health certificate from Yar’Adua before the election, which was tendered to him to show that he had been off dialysis, which experts interpreted to mean that he had had a successful kidney transplant.

On the prevailing constitututional crisis, Obasanjo declined to make a comment, adding that he had said all he needed to say during a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party last Thursday.

He however expatiated on Yar’Adua’s health problem and his emergence as the PDP flag bearer in the 2007 elections.

He said, “Sometime in 2006, when the issue of succession came, I was convinced in my mind that a Southerner succeeding me would not augur well for Nigeria.

“You may agree with that; and you may not agree, but I was convinced.

“I was looking for somebody who would succeed me, who had three important qualities: One, enough intellectual capacity to run the affairs of Nigeria; two, sufficient personal integrity to run the affairs of the country and three sufficient broad-mindedness.

“Umaru Yar’Adua, who is now the President, I know he had kidney problem and was under dialysis.

“Sometime earlier, he had gone abroad when he was governor of Katsina State. and when he wanted to contest, I asked him and he gave me a medical report, and the medical report showed that he had come off dialysis.

“I asked experts who then told me that if you were under dialysis or on dialysis and you are no longer on it, it means you have had a successful kidney transplant and that you can live for as long as God may wish you to live.

“Now, who am I, or who are you not to accept that?

“That was the situation I had. He went campaigning, and at a particular stage of the campaign, it was intense and he was run down. The chairman of our party then, Ahmadu Ali, was also run down.

“Ali didn’t go abroad for a check-up, but he (Yar’Adua) went abroad for a check-up. And the rumour was that he was dead and I put the telephone on speaker and I said, “Umaru, are you dead or alive? And he came and continued with the campaign.

“So, to say that I, Olusegun Obasanjo, deliberately picked somebody who is an invalid, is the height and height of insult.

“How can I put so much into this country both in peace and in war, and give the running of the country to somebody who will run it down? If you have the fear of God, you will not think that way. Why should you?

“But what I am going to say is the fact that nobody picked Yar’Adua so that he would not perform.

“If I did that, God will punish me. Yes, because I love this country so much, and there is no reason why I should do that.”

Earlier, the Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Babangida Aliyu, had set the stage for discussion on the constitutional crisis when he said that Nigeria did not have such a crisis under Obasanjo even though he was the most widely travelled President in the history of Nigeria.

He said that he (Aliyu) had always made it a habit to write not only the State House of Assembly, but to also copy the President to notify the appropriate quarters that he was outside the country and that the deputy governor was acting on his behalf, any time he was out of the country.

Other key speakers at the event were a former wife of Dr. Neslson Mandela, Mrs. Winnie Mandela; and former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Senator Kofo Bucknor-Akerele.

Also present were the daughter of the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ms. Samia Nkrumah and Hajia Naja’atu Mohammed.