When Obasanjo tore his PDP card

In this piece, SAM AWOYINFA re-examines the action of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who tore his Peoples Democratic Party membership card on Monday

It is no longer news that former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party. It is also not news that he tore his membership card publicly, severing his link with the party, on whose platform he rode to become President for two consecutive terms.

Indications that the former President would dump the party emerged on Saturday after he spoke with journalists at his Hilltop residence, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta. There, Obasanjo, who had been outside the country for almost two weeks, recounted how world leaders confronted him over political developments in the country.

At the news conference, the Owu-born former military Head of State criticised the postponement of the general elections from February 14 and 28 to March 28 and April 11. He said President Goodluck Jonathan had a grand plan to scuttle the coming elections for fear that if Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of the All Progressives Congress succeeds him, Buhari would send him (Jonathan) to jail. He also warned Jonathan not to use security agencies to scuttle the current fledgling democracy.

He said, “I believe the President’s fear is particularly motivated by whom he sees as his likely successor, that is, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. I believe people would have been telling him that Buhari is a hard man; he will fight corruption and he (Jonathan) may end up in jail if not in the grave. I think people would have told him that sort of thing and he is not the only one afraid of Buhari.”

From Sunday morning when newspapers went to town with banner headlines of ‘Baba’s’ criticism of the Jonathan administration, a source close to the ‘Ebora Owu,’ as Obasanjo is popularly referred to, said his telephone lines became abuzz with calls from within and outside the country. The source, who chose to speak on condition of anonymity said, “It was as if the former President had committed a crime by expressing himself on the political developments in the country. His telephones lines were bombarded with calls from top leaders, members of the PDP and others, condemning and castigating him for being so harsh to President Jonathan.”

But Obasanjo felt otherwise. He felt that a good number of the people who called him did not appreciate his sense of patriotism and commitment to good governance. He became infuriated when he got wind of a grand plot by the state executive council of the party to expel him. He moved quickly and pre-empted the move.

He and his aides hatched a plan, which culminated in the visit of members of his ward, Ward 11 Abeokuta North to his residence on Monday February 16.

Journalists invited to cover the Monday card-tearing news conference did not know what was in the offing. A text message that served as an invitation read, “There will be a media briefing at Baba’s house on Monday (February 16) morning, you are requested to be there before 9am.”

At exactly 8.30am on that fateful day, different types of buses and cars loaded with people, began to arrive. The people headed straight for the undeveloped plot of land directly opposite the former president’s home, which serves as a temporary vehicle park.

Who are these people and what is their mission? Are they there to seek help? The picture became clearer about an hour later. The journalists and the visitors were later ushered into the meeting room inside the main compound.

At exactly 9.30am, Chief Obasanjo, dressed in brown kaftan with a cap, strolled into the hall, with about three aides in tow. The visitors burst into different songs eulogising the Egba chief. After the exchange of greetings, Obasanjo asked his visitors who they were and why they were visiting.

And the leader of the team, a PDP ward chairman, Alhaji Usman Oladunjoye, later said, “We are all from your ward, Ward 11, Abeokuta-North Local Government. We have the been hearing newspaper reports that you are no more in the PDP. We even heard that there are plans to suspend you from the party. So, we want to hear the true story from you.”

Obasanjo cleared his throat. He said he had been extending kind gestures to the people during festive periods. And he asked them whether or not they got it. Many of them answered in the affirmative. But the women among them raised an eyebrow concerning this. Their leader, Mrs. Oriyomi Abebi, said, “We, women, in the ward deserve more attention than we are getting now.”

Obasanjo thanked them for their concern, and he began to pour out his mind, and along the line, his countenance and tone assumed a tough stance. He said he had heard that they were planning to suspend or expel him. And to this he offered a parable in Yoruba, saying “A ni ka sa fun were, oni ti a ba de oke odo ki a duro de ohun,” which literally means: ‘One is fleeing from a madman, the madman says when one gets to the other side of the river, one should wait for him.”

At this point he asked the visitors if they all had their membership cards with them. But only a handful of them had theirs with them.

He then called on one of his aides, Seun, to go inside the main building to go and fetch his own membership card. About two minutes later, Seun came forward with the card and handed it over to Obasanjo.

He said, “You asked me two questions and I will answer them comprehensively. But before I answer them let me say this. This Nigeria belongs to all of us and it must not be destroyed. This is my PDP membership card. Where I’m standing is that Nigeria belongs to everybody including babies. We must not allow anybody to destroy it. If they destroy it, it becomes our burden, to our children and incoming generation. The question asked is that which party am I? I belong to the group that believes that Nigeria must not be destroyed. Those of you that are traders, you observed that there’s inflation in the market. The bureau de change operators exchanged $1 for N150 then, now it is going to be N250 to a dollar.

“What it means is that, what you’ve been buying for N150 will be bought for N250. This is not the kind of country we dream of. There’s no job, no money.”

After holding the card for some minutes, he paused as if he wanted to tear it by himself, but on a second thought, he handed it over to Oladunjoye.

And then he said, “I want you to tear it and share the pieces to all the members of my ward.” Standing beside the ward chairman, Obasanjo watched Oladunjoye tear the card into shreds, who laughed gleefully as he did a perfect job of it.

The visitors erupted in cheers and raised their hands, to applaud the action, eulogising Obasanjo in various songs like “Ani baba kan, baba ara to moyi omo,” meaning “We have a father who appreciates his children.”

Thereafter, Obasanjo told his visitors to continue to meet regularly in the ward and allow unity to be their watchword. He left amid more applause, heading for the main apartment.

Mixed feelings greeted Obasanjo’s action from the residents of the state. An Abeokuta-based communication technology expert, Olasunkanmi Akinlotan, who is based in Onikolobo, says the former President has the right to relate with any association or denounce any association.

But he does not support the tearing of his membership card.

“In as much as he (Obasanjo) has the right to join or denounce any association, he went too far by tearing the membership card. He should have returned the card to the party and written them formally that he was quitting the party.”

A student, Miss Gbemi Oladele, who lives in Ibara Housing Estate, Abeokuta, sees it from a different angle. She supports Obasanjo’s action, arguing that he was being a step ahead of the state party executive council, which was planning his expulsion.

She says, “Baba has received insults from all sorts of characters from the party. People like Governor Ayodele Fayose, Bode George and a lot of others. And what he (Obasanjo) was fighting for is for the good of the country.”

A beauty therapist based in Pansheke, Abeokuta, Peju Disu, argues that a lot of events led to the former President tearing his membership card. She says the former President had been boxed to a corner by some elements in the party who hated the truth and he had no choice than to show them his anger and disenchantment.

She says, “In recent times, Chief Obasanjo, as a statesman, has been talking about the need for the President Jonathan administration to stop corruption and impunity. But some people in the party – due to reasons best known to them – began to attack him. And the height of it is the expulsion plan by the state executive council of the party. They really pushed him to the limit and he had to do what he did.”

A clerical officer, Alexander Mbakwu, who lives in the Ibara area, also shares Disu’s view, saying that he supports Baba’s action based on the fact that he has come under intense pressure from all sort of political interests in the country and the party.

He says, “I believe he took the right decision to quit the party and even tearing his membership card. They did stretch the former President to the limit of his patience, all because he spoke the truth about political developments in the country.”