Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Bode George has said that former President, Olusegun Obasanjo should “graciously fade away into the midnight”.
George stated this in a recent interview while addressing recent comments made by Obasanjo about President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
Find excerpts of the interview with Punch below:
Punch – Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says President Goodluck Jonathan plans to perpetuate himself in government like the former President of Cote d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo. What do you think of this comment?
Bode George – He (Obasanjo) says he is a Christian and as a Christian, it is emphasised in the New Testament of the Bible where Christ said judge not so that you will not be judged. But his judgment is no longer about the policies of Jonathan.
He has gone down to the extent of saying Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) will jail you (Jonathan), that is why you are afraid. I am holding my breath because in an African setting, you talk to elders with respect and that is why I am trying to get the right words to describe my feelings. Baba (Obasanjo) is not a young man.
He was Head of State at 39. So averagely, he should be about 84 or 85 and I am requesting that he should graciously fade away into the midnight. In the Bible, Romans chapter 13 states clearly that we should pray for those in authority. It says pray for your leaders so that they don’t run aground. So, to me that is my own interpretation.
If baba (Obasanjo) had attended the Council of State meeting in Abuja, where they were very well briefed, and that it was decided that only the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, that could pronounce a postponement and that he should go and come up with a decision and Jega addressed a press conference.
Now to start comparing our President with Gbagbo in Cote d’Ivoire is unjust, unsavoury and unfair because what is the population of Ivory Coast? What are the tribal sentiments of Ivory Coast? Are they the same here? I want to plead with Baba.
God has been kind to him and he has served his own time. I don’t want to conclude that his life will be like King Saul in the Bible. I pray it will not be so. Baba has played his role. No generation can finish any job. Nation building is a continuous exercise. You come, do your own and go back into history.
