OBJ: Talks of military takeover have to be false

Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, has expressed concerns over the rumour that the present government is planning to hand over power to the military if it loses election.

Shehu Garba, director of media and publicity, APC presidential campaign organisation, had drawn attention to the issue in January, alleging that an official in the presidency had posted a message on social media, indicating that the government would rather hand over power to the military than to Muhammadu Buhari, the APC presidential candidate.

However, speaking on Tuesday when Aishat Buhari, wife of APC’s candidate in Saturday’s election, visited his hilltop mansion in Abeokuta, Obasanjo said the international community would not accept the incursion of the military in the nation’s democracy.

“We have gone away from the rumour of interim government and I hope we will soon go away from the rumour of handing over to the military,” he said.

“Any government that is brought about, not on the basis of the constitution, will not be accepted and tolerated and will never be a member of the African Union until it is dismantled.

“The intentional community will not even condone it.”

Obasanjo lamented that trivialities have dominated the campaign so far, saying that rather than focus on issues of germane interest, politicians have decided to dwell on issues capable of causing disunity in the country.

“Issues of security, youth unemployment, economy that can shape the present and the future of this country were not discussed,” he said.

“And I hope that this will be the last time that we will have this type of campaign of hatred. Talking about trivial issues of certificate and whether one is a Nigerian or not.

“This kind of issue almost led to a very serious problem in Cote d’Ivore. We are supposed to emphasise more on things that unite us, that will make this country great not ordinary issues.