I may write another letter, says Obasanjo

Two months after he came down hard on President Muhammadu Buhari, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has disclosed that he is considering writing another letter.

The elder statesman said this while speaking at the 14th annual lecture of Women in Management, Business and Public Service in Lagos on Thursday.

In the letter he wrote in January, Obasanjo asked Buhari to retire from active public service. He told the president to forget about contesting in 2019, saying doing so would amount to overstretching the tolerance of Nigerians.

But on Thursday, the ex-president said the new letter might not be as tough as that of January.

He also said the Coalition for Nigeria Movement which he introduced in the strongly-worded letter now has three million registered voters.

He said if Nigerians register for the elections in good time, they would benefit from the ideals of CNM and similar movements.

Obasanjo said at the “right time”, he would withdraw from CNM as long as the movement plans to groom capable hands for political positions.

The former president charged women on the need to be more visible in the political landscape and they have to “do enough for themselves”.

“If only womanhood was enough, Mrs Clinton would have made it to the White House but she had a man (Donald Trump) who did what he could do to get to power,” he said.

“I don’t want or expect women to climb palm trees to harvest bunch of palm fruits. If anybody says he wants to see my mother climb palm trees, I will take a second look at that person.

“But women must do what it takes to succeed in Nigerian political space.

“To you women, do not allow any body to build your world for you. Build your world for yourself. Yes, women need encouragement but they must do enough for themselves.”