Dr. Usman Bugaje, a political activist and civil society leader, vehemently disagrees with former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s claim that he did not campaign for a third term in office. Bugaje says that the ex-president “did everything within his power” to extend his time in office.
Obasanjo, who was addressing at a democracy debate held by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Ghana last week, said that the long-running third-term issue was not important to him. I know how to get a third term if I desire one. And no Nigerian, dead or living, would allege that I called him and told him I wanted a third term.
Bugaje, who was a member of the National Assembly during Obasanjo’s presidency, said on Arise Television today that lawmakers at the time knew about the former president’s purported desire firsthand.
“I can tell you that Obasanjo wanted a third term.” Bugaje said, “He did everything he could to get a third term, but he failed.”
“Now, the fact that he didn’t use a phone to call someone is not enough proof that he didn’t look for a third term. It’s only a matter of style, but everyone in the National Assembly at the time knew for sure that he worked day and night, and many of us were threatened by his own agents.
Bugaje said that some members were supposedly threatened, and he pointed to Senator Victor Lar, who was then the leader of the Northern faction of the House of Representatives. He said that Lar had to hide in numerous places until a decisive meeting was convened to stop the third-term effort.
“Those folks who really gave us the money and intimidated us are still alive. People who got the money are still alive. People who didn’t want the money are still alive. There is enough proof… Bugaje said, “This is something that is clear; he can’t deny it.”
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