Oba of Lagos bashes Obasanjo, says Atiku will not succeed

The Oba of Lagos Rilwan Akiolu on Wednesday took a jibe at Nigeria former president Olusegun Obasanjo who he described as a problem creator for the country for opposing the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Akiolu said this when the participants of the Senior Executive Course 41 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, visited his palace.

“The number one person creating problems in this country is former president Obasanjo,” Akiolu said.

Prior to the 2019 presidential election, Obasanjo, who supported Buhari against then President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, withdrew his support and campaigned for his former vice Atiku Abubakar to unseat Buhari after the election.

Obasanjo claimed that Buhari was unfit, nepotic and incapable of leading Nigeria.

But after the presidential election in March 2019, Buhari was declared the winner of the election. He polled 15, 191, 847 votes while Atiku, a former Nigerian vice president between 1999 and 2007, got 11, 262, 978 votes.

Atiku, who alleged the election was rigged, is challenging the presidential election result at the election petition tribunal. The Oba of Lagos, Akiolu said Atiku will not succeed at the tribunal.

“If anyone of you here is close to Atiku, tell him he can never succeed in what he is doing now,” Akiolu said.

“Buhari will complete his term in office, but Buhari too has to listen to the people, pray to God and be honest in what he is doing,” Akiolu said.

He advised Atiku to drop his case against Buhari’s re-election, saying he strongly believed the president had the mandate of Nigerians and would finish his second term in office.

Akiolu said Obasanjo “arrogated to himself the powers of the Almighty Allah by saying it was the support he gave to Buhari that made him win the first term.”

“Obasanjo said Buhari would not win the second term but did Buhari not win? Did I not say Obasanjo will be disappointed by the time the results were announced?

“The president’s victory clearly shows power belongs to God only and no man can decide who leads the country,” Akiolu said.