Pilloried for the views he expressed in an interview with TheNEWS last week, Gbenga, one of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s sons, makes desperate but futile moves to cast a slur on the interview. Last week, hours after his extensive interview was published by this magazine, Gbenga Obasanjo made a visit to his father, President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Otta Farm House, where he (Obasanjo) has been staying for some time now. Gbenga’s mission was to beg his dad for forgiveness over comments he had made in the interview, which his dad found off-putting.
The President’s legendary anger was on display as soon as he set his eyes on his son, who seemed to have embarrassed him, his family and members of his government by the interview, and told him he was not welcome. The elder Obasanjo did not stop at that; he told his security aides that should Gbenga resist the order, he should be physically bundled out of the farm. Stunned beyond words, Gbenga, The Sun newspaper reported, ran to the palace of the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, and pleaded with the respected monarch to prevail on his father to show some understanding on the matter. The monarch did just that and was fortunate to get Obasanjo’s ears. The President directed that his erring son must immediately begin to control the damage he had inflicted by that interview. A little relieved, Gbenga was said to have quickly resolved to get a lawyer whose brief was to deny that he, Gbenga, ever granted the interview to Omoyele Sowore, TheNEWS New York correspondent. He also consented to his father’s directive to stop granting further interviews. Before Gbenga’s ill-fated Otta Farm visit, an angst-ridden Presidency had on Sunday last week dissociated itself from the views made in the interview by him, which many think are products of the President’s mind. “The Presidency wishes to state emphatically that the statement credited to Gbenga are embarrassing, unfortunate and regrettable. It must, therefore, be emphasised that they do not reflect the views of Mr. President and his government”, a statement read by Mrs. Remi Oyo, Senior Special Assistant (media), to President Obasanjo said. Oyo’s refutation of Gbenga’s remarks were followed by fierce anger and indignation by key elements in the Obasanjo administration, who were assailed by Gbenga in the controversial interview. Expectedly, Vice President Atiku Abubakar and FCT Minister, Nasir el-Rufai, who were alleged in the interview to be greedy, laid into him. In a statement, Alhaji Garba Shehu, one of the vice president’s media aides, described Gbenga as a masquerade behind which some of Atiku’s enemies were hiding. “The VP doesn’t belong to a culture in which children trade words with their elders. This boy will not be glorified with a response. Let the mask come off the face of the masquerade and we will face each other. What is the young man’s platform? He is neither a politician nor a public office holder. The Vice President is not Gbenga Obasanjo’s age mate. In fact, the Vice President has a son who may be as old, and perhaps a better achiever than Gbenga. So, that young man’s only qualification to speak and be quoted in the media is that he is one of the President’s sons. If the idea is that he should be replied, the VP’s son is the appropriate person to respond. Young men who attack men old enough to be their fathers are dismissed as rude and uncultured,” Shehu declared. El-Rufai, labelled by Gbenga as one of those who stole over $1 billion from the NITEL/Pentascope deal, was shocked beyond words. He was said to have made straight for President Obasanjo’s farm to confer with him over the accusations. According to aides, the minister could not understand why the younger Obasanjo would pour so much scorn on him. Gbenga Obasanjo’s evident lack of ‘diplomacy’ in the interview has also caused outrage in the camp of disciples of deceased Yoruba leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, especially Gbenga’s depiction of Awolowo as a tribalist. Chief Ayo Adebanjo, an Awoist, posited that Gbenga’s utterances about Awolowo are a reflection of President Obasanjo’s deep-seated hatred for the late sage. According to Adebanjo, Obasanjo, then a military ruler, in the grip of jealousy, had teamed up with others to frustrate Awolowo’s political ambition. The United States of America also reacted to the interview in which Gbenga accused the US government of pressurising his father to go for a third term. Mrs. Claudia Anyaso, the spokesperson of the US Embassy in Abuja, told The Sun that the American government has not contemplated supporting amendment of the constitution that would pave way for the third term of Nigeria’s elected public office holders. “We support the constitution and we support time limit. We support a free and fair election process,” Anyaso said. While stressing that the US would not interfere in the internal politics of Nigeria, the spokesperson said any attempt to extend the tenure of President Obasanjo would negate the principles of popular democracy. On the possibility that the US may be privately endorsing President Obasanjo’s speculated third term bid so that he can complete his economic reforms, Anyaso argued that the US government would not sacrifice the principles of democracy on the altar of reforms. Before Anyaso’s denial, Dr. Jendayi Frazier, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa at the US State Department, and his predecessor in office, Herman Cohen, had on different occasions, condemned the rumoured third term agenda of the president. While Cohen reasoned that the speculated sit-tight agenda of Obasanjo would “negate the principles upon which the US is founded,” Frazier put the American position in perspective: “If President Obasanjo seeks an extension of his mandate, he will most likely not receive the support of the United States government.” Although Frazier conceded that Obasanjo has not declared his intention to perpetuate himself in office, he, however, said “our view is very clear that term limits should be respected. It is extremely important in Africa to respect term limits because it allows for grooming of new leadership.” Amidst efforts by Gbenga Obasanjo and his lawyers to present the interview as a piece of fiction, the interviewer, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, has affirmed that the president’s son did grant the interview. He insisted, in a note he sent to TheNEWS, that what he had with Gbenga was not a private discussion as his lawyers claimed. “He knew I am not a ‘wannabe’ reporter. I introduced myself to him and he could identify my style from our published reports. For those reasons, we didn’t have any private discussions. It was a conversation that had far-reaching political connotations and ramifications, hence the weight of the output on the entire Nigerian society today. His cousin, his police orderly, driver and my friend who sat at the back of his car would attest to this, if they haven’t been intimidated already. I could understand that Gbenga Obasanjo became lily-livered due to untold pressure brought to bear on him by his father’s office and the decadent Nigerian political establishment since the story broke,” he contended. Sowore said he was quite surprised at Gbenga’s frankness in the course of the interview. The president’s son, he noted, spoke frankly and candidly as he put the questions to him, one after the other. “It was an interview solely undertaken between him and me. There was never a time when anyone else present in the car intervened, except when he turned to his cousin to buttress his point about his impending divorce,” the interviewer recalled. As attested to by Sowore, Gbenga so savagely pilloried some individuals in the interview, but he (Sowore) felt a need to leave out such unprintable stuff, which if published, could have stimulated greater anger against the president’s son. TheNEWS, through its lawyer, Femi Falana, has also reacted to the fuss generated by the interview. In a release dated 10 January, Falana swore that the views and opinions expressed by Gbenga were accurately reported in a most professional manner by the interviewer and challenged Gbenga’s lawyers to prove that some aspects of the discussion were embellished. He noted that there is no justification for demand for a retraction and apology to Gbenga for the interview, and added that the interviewer should, in fact, be praised for reporting the views of Gbenga accurately. Quoting from page 745 of the Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of English Language, Falana defined the word “interview” as a conversation or meeting in which a reporter asks questions of person (s) from whom material is sought for a newspaper story or television broadcast etc. The renowned lawyer affirmed that nothing the interviewer has done contravened the finest journalism ideals. The magazine management has also stoutly defended its integrity in publishing the interview. It expresses regret that some people were out to tarnish its image. It was particularly disturbed by reports in a section of the media which tried to show that the interview was not exclusive to TheNEWS but was originally published by elendureports.com, even when it had been published that Omoyele Sowore, the interviewer, had left the internet-based investigative outfit. It is suspected that such efforts to diminish the value and essence of the interview are deliberate, given on-going efforts by Gbenga Obasanjo at damage control. Yet, Gbenga has been praised in certain quarters for his “courage and patriotism” shown in granting the interview. Mr. Falana, a lawyer and pro-democracy campaigner, told TheNEWS that, at his age? Gbenga Obasanjo is qualified and eminently positioned to speak on the state of the nation. “Gbenga Obasanjo” according to Falana, “should be commended for a very bold stand on the rumoured third term bid of President Olusegun Obasanjo. ‘‘He has clearly spoken for the family. Nobody in Obasanjo’s large family can disown Gbenga’s frank comments. Both the denial and the statement credited to the President were a political decision,” Falana posited. He said further: “Gbenga is a chip off the old block... Those who accused him of being too wicked or insensitive to the memory of the late Stella Obasanjo should go and read Not My Will by his father. In the book, President Obasanjo shows disrespect to the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and a number of our leaders, Murtala Mohammed, Aminu Kano... What did Gbenga say about the Nigerian media that his father had not said? What did Gbenga say about Vice President Atiku Abubakar that his father had not said?” The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, also welcomed the interview, especially the President’s son’s comments on the third term agenda. Gbenga, in the interview, described his father as too old and tired to pursue a third term agenda, noting that contrary to the feeling among Nigerians that he is under 70 years of age, the president is well in his 70s and itching for retirement life. Not a few Nigerians see Gbenga Obasanjo’s desire to cast a slur on an interview he freely granted as a waste of time. This attitude is bolstered by an understanding of his style. For example, he is known to have expressed some of those views published by TheNEWS in previous interviews. For example, he had earlier expressed his views on the NITEL/Pentascope deal in The Sun, a Nigerian tabloid. In the 12 January 2006 edition of The Daily Independent, a group of Dr. Gbenga Obasanjo’s friends, in a statement, hit at his critics, saying rather than castigating the president’s eldest son, the focus should be on the veracity or otherwise of the issues he raised in that interview. “Maybe he does not know the art of disguising his feelings. This grown man is in his 30s and has a right of opinion. Most of the issues he commented on have been proven and some are under investigation, even as he speaks,” his friends noted. They explained that being the president’s son does not forbid Gbenga from holding an opinion or making an observation on happenings in his own country. Indeed, before that publication, TheNEWS had received calls from highly dependable sources saying Gbenga (in private) stood by the comments he made in the interview and that his lawyer’s comments amounted to an after thought. That his comments have huge political implications is apparent for his father and the likes of Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Nasir el-Rufai whom he undisguisedly attacked. The comments also have implications for the touted third term project. President Obasanjo is said to be worried about the possibility of his son’s published comments causing deep cracks within his government, while also sending the “wrong signals” to third term agitators that the president does not desire it. This is because, contrary to Gbenga’s remarks, the Nigerian leader’s body language and actions hint at a desire to perpetuate himself in power beyond 2007. Loyalists of el-Rufai think Gbenga’s comments about the minister were politically motivated, and meant to diminish his stature as a potential candidate for the north in the 2007 presidential elections. “We know why he did it. He is a supporter of Mohammed Buba Marwa, so he did it to rubbish the potential rival of his favoured candidate,” said a source who claimed that when Marwa flagged off his campaign in his home state of Adamawa, Gbenga was there to provide moral support. But el-Rufai’s aides who spoke with the magazine believed that the president’s eldest son is not too happy with the rising profile of members of the so-called Economic Group, namely Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Finance Minister; Professor Charles Soludo, the Central Bank Governor; and Malam Nasir el-Rufai, the FCT Minister, each of whom is seen as capable of supplanting his father, and all of who continue to get rave reviews in newspapers and magazines these days. It is envisaged that in the coming days, a lot of efforts will be made to set right what damage Gbenga has inflicted by his famous interview, at a time efforts were being made to reconcile President Olusegun Obasanjo and his deputy, Atiku Abubakar. But it is doubtful if the aching pain of those savaged by Gbenga in the interview, both in the Obasanjo administration and his family, can be soothed in good time, however hard Gbenga and his legal representatives try. Reported by Ademola Adegbamigbe, Ernest Omoarelojie, Chimdi Ibekwe and Francis Ottah-Agbo. Gbenga Obasanjo Is A Liar Omoyele Sowore, TheNEWS New York Correspondent reacts to attempts by Gbenga Obasanjo to rubbish an interview he granted him, saying Gbenga is only responding to pressure. These are really interesting times in Nigeria. The entire nation is already inundated with reactions to a published conversation between Gbenga Obasanjo and I. This reaction would not dwell on individual reactions to what is obviously a revealing interview. The interested public should note, however, that negative and threatening reactions to published stories that are not patronising to the power elite has become the hallmark of the Nigerian leadership. Whenever it suits them, they make journalists the scapegoat, sometimes going to the extent of assassinating them in their line of duty, when other means of intimidation fail. Precisely, on December 15 2005 as I was engaging on the last leg of my trip to Nigeria. (This was so because of my adopted mode of travel, which requires that I travel a certain route when visiting or leaving Nigeria). As I was leaving my hotel in Cotonou, I noticed there was a fellow dressed in Kaftan (popularly known as “Senegalese”) also leaving the same time as me. This was a bulky fellow, who obviously was Nigerian. I disregarded the person and hired a vehicle to take me to the Nigerian border, along with two of my friends who came down from Lagos to help with my travel. Shortly after we left the car park at the NOVOTEL Hotel in Cotonou, I saw there was a car behind us, also apparently headed in the same direction. Though I was a bit curious, it didn’t bother me too much. As we made to cross the border to the Nigerian side, a tout who pointed to an empty desk in front of us halted us. There, I saw a person in mufti with his legs conveniently crossed on the wooden table. He beckoned on us to come over. Since it is a regular occurrence with Nigerian officials to harass travelers for money at the border, I decided I was going to confront him and try to report my encounter with the Seme border customs officials. I went over to the desk and the officer asked where we were coming from. He started ranting about how he was upset that we didn’t pay attention to his “man”- the tout. He said this problem would have been solved if we had talked to his ‘guy’. I protested to him that I did not know how to relate to touts at the border. And since he too wasn’t in uniform, I could not tell the difference. He got upset and said I should surrender my passport. I complied and he looked at it, saying I should ‘talk’ with him, otherwise he was going to delay me for a while. Just as I continued protesting his attitude, the bulky fellow who was in the car that followed me from NOVOTEL Hotel showed up and began castigating my colleagues and I. I was upset because he did not care to listen to us. He looked at the officer and told him to let us go. The officers were all standing and paying him serious attention. He then signed an exercise book at the border and handed his passport to the customs. They didn’t look at it. They returned his passport, returned ours too and let us go! Curious, I looked at the book he signed and saw his last name: “Obasanjo”. I greeted him as he made to turn away. I introduced myself to him and explained that I would love to speak with him. As soon as he knew who I was, he took me on and complained to me about how he felt about our reports regarding his father’s government and public officials in Nigeria generally. Since I am always interested in reporting the truth, I asked if he would like to speak with me about his views. He declined and walked away, saying he wished me luck and admonished us not to be emotional in our reports. I left the scene and started a journey to Lagos, Nigeria, on foot in search of a vehicle to take us to Lagos. His car drove past us, it was a dark SUV with his driver, a police escort in mufti and another fellow on his left. Suddenly, he stopped and asked if I needed a ride to Lagos. At first, I rejected the offer because I was unhappy with his paternalistic behaviour at the border. Also I was a little concerned about my personal safety. On second thought, and due to his persistence, I accepted the offer simply because it would present an opportunity for me to ask him nagging questions, some of which he already began talking about at the border post. So I asked if we could talk on the way to Lagos and he said ‘sure’. Let me restate here that my involvement in news reporting revolves around the principle of freedom of information, both for the media and humanity. If the interests of Nigerians were at stake, I take the route of siding with the people. I don’t expect that information provided by me will become acceptable to government, but it has become my self-imposed duty to help reveal hidden information that will strengthen and re-awaken public consciousness about the state of Nigeria’s democracy and governance, which all our people have accepted is currently in deep trouble. In all fairness to him and in what appeared to me to be an act of kindness, he personally came down from his car and helped to load my bags into the trunk of his car. But then the car could not take all three of us. I quickly turned to the third fellow, gave him some money and told him to write down the number plate of the car. I gave him a number to call in case he didn’t hear from me in two days! I did not mince words about my intentions. I immediately started the conversation from where we stopped at the border. To my bewilderment, Gbenga was very frank and candid, and in a way evinced some patriotism, as stated by his lawyer. He spoke fluently and eloquently about sundry issues, as I put questions to him one after the other. I have reported the conversations in the most accurate, mature and professional manner. I could not include so many unprintable things he said because I didn’t find them necessary. It was a conversation solely undertaken between him and I. There was never a time when anyone else present in the car intervened, except when he turned to his cousin to buttress his point about his impending divorce. He knew that I am not a ‘wannabe’ reporter. I introduced my trade to him and he could identify my style from our published reports. For those reasons, we didn’t have any ‘private’ discussion. It was a conversation that had far reaching political connotations and ramifications, hence the weight of the output on the entire Nigerian society today! We all know that the current regime brings their families and baggages into office in ruling Nigeria. The argument about the family’s privacy is a convenient fallacy that is untenable. They should be reminded that they have consistently used the apparatus of government to defend their families whenever it suits them. Anyone who knows Lagos traffic and the condition of Nigerian roads could tell that if you drove from Seme border to the car park of Sheraton Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos, you would have covered quite a distance and a lot of time on your hands. Within this period, we never stopped conversing. His cousin, his police orderly, driver and my friend who sat at the back of his car would attest to this, if they haven’t been intimidated already! I could understand that Gbenga Obasanjo became lily-livered due to untold pressure brought to bear on him by his father’s office and the decadent Nigeria political establishment since this story broke. On my part, since I started news/report writing, I have never missed an opportunity to bring truthful and undiluted information to Nigerians or the rest of the world, even under the most unpleasing circumstances. Also, there are times when one has to choose between being frightened by professional hounds and scarecrows and the interest of a battered and helpless people such as Nigerians of today. I understand too well, that when public service of this proportion is offered one’s nation it is bound to have repercussions. There is always a scapegoat sought by the ruling class as evidenced by the frenzy of denials and pressure that has followed the publication of this interview. I urge Nigerians to look at it from the substance contained in it and ignore the antics of lawyers; spin-doctors and paid public hirelings whose job is to scare the rest of us with their well-known semantics. These reactions reveal to us, once again, that the current regime operates both a dysfunctional presidency as well as a dysfunctional family. For the sake of history, truth, sacrifice and the love for my country, I stand by this story! Omoyele Sowore My Life And Struggles Uche Nworah is a freelance writer, lecturer and brand scholar. He is the founder and project director of T.O.T.A.L. PROJECTS, a Non-Governmental Organisation that promotes e-learning in Africa. In this interview, Omoyele Sowore opens up to Nworah on his life, his mission and what really went wrong at elendureports.com. Q:Tell us a little about yourself. A: I was born in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria in a small village called “Kiribo” in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State. I come from a small Yoruba-speaking tribe known as “Ijaw-Apoi” because the Ijaws claim their territory or nation starts from there! My father was a local teacher and my mum a full-time, never-retiring housewife. I come from a polygamous family, I have lots of brothers and sisters, 16 of us; - don’t ask me if I remember all their names! Q: What was it like growing up? A: I grew up in Nigeria, in the village at Kiribo. There was no electricity, or running water, no television. No post office. Just three missionary primary schools and policemen who constantly came to extort money from women on market days, every nine days! Q: Did you enjoy any special privileges as a child? A: No privileges at all. My dad told us that part of growing up disciplined was to live in certain state of deprivation. He talked about chastity, purity and treating one’s self last. Even when I was grown enough to be on my own in the village, as the first son, he never let me have a room to myself. He loaded me up with a bunch of “snitches” that reported to him every turn I made on the bed at night. When I was 12, he taught me how to ride a motorcycle (Suzuki 100 cc.) so that I could fish at the lake for the entire family before going to school every morning!
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