Obasanjo launches his autobiography, says late Yar'Adua lied to him about his health

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo launched
his controversial autobiography 'My Watch' at
the Lagos Country club Ikeja, Lagos today Dec.
9th. Guest at the event included former VC of
the University of Lagos, Prof. Ibidapo Obe and
former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili.

According to reports, one of the chapters of the

book titled "To be or not to be, Jonathan"

Obasanjo said he was deceived by late

President Umaru Yar'Adua about his health

status before facilitating his emergence as the

PDP flag bearer in 2007.

In the book, Obasanjo was quoted to have said;

" As can be expected, I was heavily

involved in the transition and exit process

that saw me leaving office for my

successor, Umaru Yar’Adua, as recounted

in Chapter Thirty-seven, the ninth chapter

of the second volume of this book. The

unprepared and unplanned transition from

Yar’Adua to Jonathan was a more difficult

exercise in some respects. One reason

was the ‘cloak and dagger’ manner in

which Yar’Adua’s illness was handled. The

illness of a President cannot be regarded

as private. His health has implications for

the security and wellbeing of the nation.

For the president and those around him to

have attempted strenuously to keep the

fact of the severity of his illness from

public smacks of ignorance of the

enormity of what the job entails and the

level of provinciality of their understanding,

attitude, and approach. I remember that in

1978 or 1979 Chief Awolowo visited me

while I was military head of state and

shared with me how he would always stay

at home to attend to the work at hand and

only make a private visit to the UK once a

year for health reasons if he became

president of Nigeria. I made it clear to the

chief that once he became president of

Nigeria, he could have no private visit to

anywhere as such. Wherever he would be,

he would be on duty, and the totality of his

life would be public. I jokingly added that

the only privacy he might lay claim to

would be when he was at home with Mama

Chief H.I.D., and that even then his

security staff would be on twenty-four-hour

duty. "

The launch of the three volume book was

stopped by a court injunction secured by a

former friend of Obasanjo, Prince Buruji

Kashamuon on Friday December 5th but lawyers

to Chief Obasanjo advised him to go ahead with

the launch.

Credit: The Cable/Sahara Reporters

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