Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Sunday spoke for the first time on the annulled June 12, 1993 election and blamed non-declaration of late Chief Moshood Abiola as winner of the poll to hatred.
Obasanjo stated this yesterday in Abeokuta, Ogun State during his investiture as a trustee of the Abeokuta Club, a socio-cultural organisation of Egba people of Ogun State.
Abiola was also awarded a posthumous vice patron of the club during its 46th President Party held at the secretariat in Abeokuta.
Although Obasanjo did not disclose where the hatred emanated and who perpetrated it, he lamented that but for the annulment of the poll widely adjudged as the fairest and freest ever conducted in Nigeria three persons of Egba extraction would have been heads of state in Nigeria.
The former president was apparently referring to the former head of interim national government, Chief Ernest Shonekan (August 26, 1993 to November 17, 1993) and himself who ruled Nigeria, first, as a military head of state (1976-1979) and later two-time civilian president from (1999-2007).
Obasanjo described Abiola as his school mate at the Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta, saying the late politician and businessman eminently deserved the award bestowed on him by the Abeokuta Club.
“When Abeokuta Club was in the process of being birthed, things in Abeokuta were not as rosy as they are today. And the sons of Abeokuta who were in Lagos put their heads together in late Chief Sobo Sowemimo’s house to think of what they could do to improve the development of Abeokuta as a city. I pay tributes to all those founding members, those who have departed this world and those who are still here.
“I want to thank the (Abeokuta) club for this honour being bestowed on me and the honour being bestowed on my school mate MKO Abiola which he richly deserved.
“Kabiyesi, the Alake (of Egbaland) alluded to it. Normally when you win a cup three times, you keep that cup. Isn’t it? If not for bad belle (hatred), Abeokuta would have produced President of Nigeria three times, in which case we should have kept it permanently.
“But be that as it may, we have a great heritage and we should be proud of our heritage,” he said.
Obasanjo pledged his commitment to the development of the club, Ogun State, Nigeria and the world.
Earlier, the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo while presenting the plague to Obasanjo, described Obasanjo and MKO Abiola as proud sons of Abeokuta.
