DID OLUSEGUN OBASANJO AT 76 LEAVE ANY LEGACIES FOR NIGERIANS?

The true account of history, time and posterity are the true judges of all human leaders. Olusegun Obasanjo had a rare lifetime opportunity twice to stir the national affairs of Nigeria as a nation, first as a military dictator from 1976 to 1979 and later as a democratic leader from 1999 to 2007. Olusegun Obasanjo had ruled Nigeria for about 12 years out of her 52 years as an independent nation.

How will this man who is now in his sunset years on earth be remembered by Nigerians of today and the future generations of Nigerians unborn? Will history and Nigerian historians be fair to him at the end of the day? Did he make Nigeria better in all ramifications than the way Nigeria was handed over to him in 1976 and 1999 respectively? Where are the legacies of this man today in Nigeria?

This was a man that did not believe in the democratic principles, institutions and the rule of law. This was a man who institutionalized electoral frauds, political exclusion and political persecution of his perceived political opponents. This was a man who started the politics of "Do or Die in Nigeria".

This was a man who violated the various court orders. This was a man who corrupted the NASS with his "Ghana must go bags". This was a guy who used the EFCC for the selective official corruption trials. This was a man that attempted to change the Nigeria's constitution to enable him to have a shot for the 3rd term at the presidency of Nigeria. This was a man that put the entire oil industry in Nigeria under his direct control from 1999 to 2006.

This was a man who entered the Aso Rock villa financially broke in 1999 and then left in 2007 owing a mansion, a presidential library, a private high school, millions of shares in the major corporations in Nigeria. Africa is truly in a big trouble with this type of shady individual as a role model of what an elder stateman should be in all reality. Olusegun Obasanjo is never in the same class as the former South Africa President Nelson Mandela or the former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan of Ghana.