Obasanjo: Jonathan’s presidency ‘below average’

Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s former president, has rated the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan below average.

Obasanjo criticised Jonathan for seeking another term in office, saying the country has been battling with the problem of leadership since independence.

Responding to questions at the Ake Arts and Book Festival currently holding in Abeokuta, Ogun state, Obasanjo said he deserved commendation for facilitating the emergence of someone from a minority tribe to become the president of the country.

He identified leadership as Nigeria’s greatest problem and denied that his choice of late president Umaru Yar’ Adua was to pave the way for the emergence of Jonathan.

“There is nobody that gets such a position without being helped,” he said.

“The performance of this administration is below average. I will not accept responsibility for it. Rather than being blamed for bringing Jonathan to power, I should be taking credit.

“I have always believed that our problem as a country is that at independence we did not have a true leader. The biggest problem we have in Nigeria is that we have regional leaders, but no national leader.”

Obasanjo fell out with Jonathan a while after the president came into office but the cold relationship between both leaders reached its height last December, when Obasanjo wrote an open letter to Jonathan.

The 18-page letter titled, ‘Before It is too late’, raised lots controversial issues.

Though the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has tried to woo Obasanjo ahead of the 2015 election, the former president has not shown full support for the party under which he served as president for eight years.

Rather, he has been holding series of meetings with leaders of both the PDP and opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).