‘You’ve outlived your usefulness’ — ex-senate president writes Obasanjo

Former Senate President Ameh Ebute has written a letter to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying the former number one citizen has outlived his usefulness on the national scene.

Ebute presided over the senate during the end of the third republic.

In the letter titled, ‘Re: The Way Out: A Clarion Call For Coalition for Nigeria Movement’, Ebute lampooned Obasanjo for resorting to letter writing to his predecessors rather than seeking audience with them.

He said such action smack of mischief.

The former senator, who briefed journalists in Abuja on the content of his letter on Tuesday, said he had cautioned Obasanjo when he wrote former President Goodluck Jonathan.

“In the current instance too, you have reeled out a torrent of subsisting problems and perceived deficiencies of the Buhari presidency very hypocritically and in utmost contempt for the office and personality of President Buhari. It is all in veiled pursuit of your secret agenda for the absolute ruination and destruction of Nigeria, a foundation faultily laid by you between 1999 and 2007, when you served as President of the country” he said.

“The issues of poverty, insecurity, poor economic management as trumpeted in your letter have existed with Nigeria and aggravated under your reign as president. Precisely, poverty, hunger and disease are cardinal components of the Millennium Development Goals, (MDGs), which you claim to be spearheading efforts in the guise of ‘Zero Hunger’ initiative; but gave no attention to it when you wielded power at Aso Rock.

“This is the pretense and deception that have become your trademark and uprooted or alienated you from Nigerians.

“No one is surprised that you disparaged President Buhari’s efforts in curbing the monster of corruption and insurgency, which flourished under your administration and could not be tamed, with the reserved commendation by declaring that

“it is not yet uhuru!” You display the lack of capacity to wholeheartedly appreciate the efforts of other leaders. Rather you preferred to flaunt the African spread of your Presidential Library, which Nigerians have severally and collectively accused you of corruptly funding it.

“It is quite funny the failure to acknowledge that the EFCC under Buhari has unprecedentedly recovered looted public funds in assets and cash, trillions of naira never before known to the history of Nigeria’s anti-graft war. Today, you frequently accuse your former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as very corrupt, but could recover and publish any kobo you recovered from him back to national treasury. The foundation for the dubious sale of national public assets like NITEL, PHCN etc was laid by you.”

“The seeds of Boko Haram insurgency was sown under your administration in Borno and exploded, soon after you were forced to relinquish power after the failure of the infamous third term bid.  The subsequent leaders you imposed on Nigeria could not handle the problem, until President Buhari came on board. As clever and astute as you claim in leadership, you had no solution to the puzzle of militancy in the Niger Delta or the communal clashes that plagued most communities in Nigeria.”