Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, declared that only an unpatriotic and bad Nigerian will vote for a candidate with bad character in the February 25 election.
Obasanjo spoke in Abeokuta, Ogun State, while featuring on an interactive session of the Experiential Leadership in Africa (TEL-Africa).
The TEL-AFRICA global interactive session had as its theme: “Executive Decisions, Indecisions, and Leadership Development in Africa.”
The former president had, in his New Year message to Nigerians, entitled: “My appeal to all Nigerians particularly young Nigerians,” threw his weight behind Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
The development, however, drew reactions from both the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and that of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Obasanjo, while reacting to a statement that, he endorsed Obi, explained that he did not use the word ‘endorsed’, but only gave his opinion on the candidates.
Obasanjo said: “Whether the letter is open or not open, what I believe is that I will be punished by God if I know what is right and I did not put it where it should be.
“The word I used is that one particular candidate has an edge, taking everything together and I take character, I take track record, I take vision and I take what you see in this man as a child of God.
“I said they all claimed to be my mentees and, of course, I won’t deny that, but if they are my mentees, they must also admit I know them a little bit and if I then know them a little bit, I must be right to say what I said.
“I have done this in the past before for President Muhammadu Buhari. I said President Buhari does not really understand the economy and that is true and you have seen it. I wasn’t running him down, that is what he is and he himself will admit that.
“I said his (Buhari) understanding of foreign affairs is also very little because when he was military head of state, he said his frontline does not go beyond the borders of Nigeria, that is a pity.
“Why should you as a Nigerian vote for somebody that the character, the reputation, the life of which you do not want your own children to be? It is either you are wicked, you are unpatriotic or you are really, really a bad citizen of this country and then if this is who you are, what do you want God to do with you and that is the way I see it.
“For the last three days, I have about 35 youths who I have been talking to and they all told me that education, security and corruption are what they are concerned about, the question is who then can do it?”
Responding to a question on whether multi-party have been the bane of development in Nigeria, Obasanjo blamed leadership system for under development in the country.
(SUN)
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