#Elections2015: OBJ warns against ‘handing over power to the military’

by Ranti Joseph

Olusegun-Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo warned against handing over to the military government in Nigeria by the Presidency if it loses, saying such move will undermine the integrity of the country in the comity of nations.

Obasanjo gave the warning when the wife of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Aisha Buhari, led South west women of the party to his home in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

He said he was happy Nigeria has gone beyond the rumour of Interim National Government. “I do hope we will get things more right. A lot of rumours are flying around; I think we have gone away from the rumour of Interim Government because that is not in our constitution. I hope we will soon go away from the rumour of handing over to the military because the military is not meant to run affairs of a nation in terms of running government,” he said.

Obasanjo said the international community, especially the African Union will not accommodate or recognise any government that emerges outside Nigeria’s constitution.

“The intentional community will not condone it, particularly African Union. We have said and it is part and parcel of the constituting act of the African Union. Any government that is not brought about on the basis of the constitution will not be accepted, will not be tolerated and will not be a member of the AU until that government is dismantled,” he added.

‪He said Nigeria has all it takes to dictate the pace for other countries in Africa, adding that Nigerians should blame themselves for where it is today. “We are the largest country in Africa, we should be a model, setting examples, and we shouldn’t be drawing Africa backward. I hope we will not. I hope at the end of this exercise, we would be where we should be, leading Africa and showing examples for the rest of Africa and indeed the rest of the world. We have the goodwill of many people. I watched, last night, President Obama talking about our constitution, I watched our brother from Ghana, the current Chairman of ECOWAS talk about our constitution, they are all interested, they all wish us well, should we wish ourselves anything less?” Obasanjo asked.

He said political parties should focus more on what unites the country and avoid hate campaigns. ‪He said anyone who is interested in the future of Nigeria should focus on issues of insecurity, economy, and employment.

“How are we going to get them, what are we going to do, not trivial issues of certificate, no certificate, not trivial issues of when somebody are talking about someone is a Nigerian and not a Nigerian,” he stressed.

Aisha Buhari, who had earlier embarked on a rally in company of all wives of APC Governors in the country at Moshood Abiola Stadium in the town, thanked Obasanjo for being what she described as a true nationalist, saying that he acted beyond party level while solving issues affecting the country.

“Baba exercises his prowess as a father, as a former head of state of Nigeria twice. Very few Nigerians have the opportunity to rule the country twice; we are here today to show our appreciation the way you handle things as a statesman and also a nationalist. We thank you so much for acting beyond party in getting things right, thank you for that, may you live long to continue solving out problems,” she said.

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