OBASANJOR WOULDN’T HAVE DEFEATED ALEX EKWUEME AND EMERGED AS PDP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IN 1999 BUT FOR ATIKU ABUBAKAR
There is NO WAY Obasanjo would have defeated Alex Ekwueme and emerged as PDP presidential candidate in 1999 if not for Atiku Abubakar.
Ekwueme was the Leader of G34 and oversaw the process by which G34 became PDP. G34 had 36 original members, one drawn from each state (but Sule Lamido and Abubakar Rimi were jailed by Abacha ahead of the inaugural meeting in Lagos, so only 34 members signed their original press release).
In becoming PDP, G34 dissolved into political groups and met in the home of Prof. Jerry Gana on Mambilla Street in Abuja. Five political associations, each with 7 representatives. They were:
All Nigerian Congress with Chief Sunday Awoniyi, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Alhaji (Dr.) Bamanga Tukur, Alhaji Aminu Wali, Chief Alani Bankole, Alhaji Bello Kirfi and Alhaji Iro Dan-Musa.
Social Progressives Party with Chief Solomon D. Lar, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Rimi, Chief Jim Nwobodo, Prof. Jerry Gana, Baba Sule Lamido, Ambassador Wilberforce Juta and Dr. Iyorchia Ayu.
Peoples Consultative Forum with Uncle Bola Ige, Chief Olu Falae, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Lanihun Ajayi, Senator Francis Okpozo, Chief Olusegun Osoba and Chief Ayo Opadokun.
Peoples National Forum with Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Senator Onyeabo Obi, Dr. Sylvester U. Ugoh, Senator Francis Ellah,
Senator Emeka Echeruo, Chief Sonny Odogwu and Prof. ABC Nwosu.
Peoples Democratic Movement with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, Chief Tony Anenih, Chief Sunday Afolabi, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, Professor Ango Abdullahi and Chief (Mrs.) Titi Ajanaku.
These 5 groups with 7 representatives each met semi-formally on Tuesday the 18th of August, 1998 at Jerry Gana’s home to discuss the ideology and tactics of the new party to be formed. They discussed all night and then met formally the following day at Sheraton Hotel in Abuja with a larger audience.
Politically, everyone agreed that power should shift to the South but there were two conflicting political ideals in those meetings.
The majority group felt that the transition programme should continue from the Second Republic where Alex Ekwueme had been Vice-President to Shehu Shagari – power to the SE. Ekwueme carried the room.
The minority group felt that the transition programme should continue from the Third Republic where MKO Abiola was elected President – power to the SW.
As the Chairman of G34 and protem Chairman of the newly proposed PDP, Ekwueme had the upper hand and as this became clear to the SW delegation under the political group Peoples Consultative Forum, they pulled out of PDP and began discussions with those trying to form All Peoples Party (APP).
Despite the big names of these leaders, most of them were not grassroots solid or active. Because all these leaders had last played politics in the Third Republic (1992/93) days of SDP/NRC. Abacha had formed five political parties (CNC, UNCP, NCPN, DPN and GDM) which by now held sway at the grassroots in the late 90s. From a practical politick perspective, most of these leaders decided to accommodate strong and young politician who had participated in the Abacha transition under five parties.
This was then the public reason for the pull out of PCF from PDP: their refusal to work with anyone who had participated in the Abacha transition via the five parties while Abiola was in jail (although they later pragmatically embraced them in AD).
PDM on its part actively embraced those politicians at the ward and LGA and immediately became the strongest of all those groups.
Obasanjo had only just been released from prison in June 1998, his Otta Farm and other businesses had taken a major hit and only survived by the efforts of his friend, Otunba Reuben Oyewole Fasawe, whose story I shall also come to shortly.
Obasanjo did not feature in the formation of PDP or in the initial conversations of who was to be President from 1999.
Baba was simply just grateful to be out from prison while Atiku was politically active in organising PDM within the PDP.
The PDM group within PDP comprised of associates of the late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. The Tafida was imprisoned by Abacha alongside Obasanjo and he had passed on in prison in 1997. Because he had handpicked Atiku Abubakar to run for President in his stead in 1993, Atiku was considered the active leader of the group, although Lawal Kaita who was older but less active in the field, was somewhat the background leader.
PDM became the strongest group within the then newly formed PDP set up for two major reasons: 1. It worked with many contemporary and active politicians from the five Abacha parties especially and 2. It had no favoured presidential candidate. Its Leader, Atiku Abubakar, only wanted to be Governor of Adamawa.
In PCF – Bola Ige and Olu Falae wanted to be President and that was mainly why they pulled out of the PDP.
In SPP: Jerry Gana and Abubakar Rimi wanted same but decided to back down for the South and supported Jim Nwobodo.
In ANC – Adamu Ciroma had presidential ambitions but backed down also. Based on old alliances with the South-South, the group members split and supported Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas, Phillip Asiodu or Don Etiebet.
In PNF – Alex Ekwueme clearly had ambitions to be President but Francis Ellah also wanted same.
So all these groups had presidential aspirations, except PDM which focused on capturing delegates at the grassroots and commanding party structure from the bottom. Their sympathies were however with Alex Ekwueme who then stepped down as protem Chairman of PDP, to enable him run for the presidential ticket.
Being the most proactive political faction in the emerging PDP, the group held constant caucus and expanded meetings and at one of those meetings in Bolingo Hotel where key decisions were to be taken, Rtd. Gen. Aliyu Gusau came to the venue and asked to speak with Atiku. Atiku stepped outside and was informed that the group should back Olusegun Obasanjo for the PDP presidential ticket. Because the tendencies that supported Ekwueme were strong in PDM, Atiku had to adjourn the meeting to allow background discussions and conversations go on.
Gusau was not speaking for himself and Atiku knew it. Gusau was the right hand man of Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida whose childhood friend, Abdulsalami Abubakar, was now the Head of States.
Obasanjo had been released from prison by Abubakar on the 15th of June 1998 and on the 27th of the same month, IBB visited him at Otta Farms.
Military insider Ishaya Bamaiyi confirmed that Generals T.Y. Danjuma, IBB and Aliyu Gusau had held meetings and concluded on Obasanjo as the next President, even before Obasanjo was informed. They had gone further to secure the reluctant backing of the sitting Head of States, Abdulsalami Abubakar. IBB’s visit to Otta was only to convey to Obasanjo the decision that had been taken. Abubakar was reluctant because he wanted nothing to do with the politics but IBB understood that a full civilian in power could mean many problems for the former military rulers.
Meanwhile, June 12 winner, MKO Abiola, was still alive – until July 7, 1998 when he died mysteriously (and conveniently) while in detention.
Articles began to fly in the int’l media that Obasanjo was best to lead Nigeria. An example was one by Sam Kiley in The Times of July 9, 1998 titled “Yoruba General is best hope to avert civil war”.
Obasanjo was questioned by the media and he retorted “how many Presidents does Nigeria want to make out of me?”. A visit to Aso Rock soon changed Baba’s mind.
According to Abubakar, Obasanjo visited him in Aso Rock and said he was going to sue the military govt for wrongful imprisonment. Abubakar instead offered him ‘rehabilitation’ to get back on his feet. Abubakar’s NSA, Abdullahi Mohammed, was then asked to serve as the go-between to keep an open line of conversation. (Obasanjo retained him later as CoS.)
Sensing that the road was clear, Obasanjo then entered politics fully and joined the Peoples Democratic Party.
Military backing is one thing but politics is another thing and Alex Ekwueme was a tested political warhorse with very strong political allies from the North.
If Aliyu Gusau pulled the military strings to get Obasanjo elected, Atiku Abubakar pulled the political strings 1,608 votes to 521 votes (other contestants shared another 260 votes.)
I don’t want to go into the intrigue of that historic convention in Jos because it was a very ethnic Yoruba vs Igbo affair but from so many sources, Ekwueme was very formidable until the last minute when Abubakar Rimi stepped down for Obasanjo while Jim Nwobodo refused to step down for Ekwueme.
At some point on that Saturday the 13th of February 1999 around 11.30am, a list began to be circulated as “Obasanjo’s Ministerial List”. The names on it were calculated to throw suspicion into the camp of OBJ.
By 1.30pm, an “Ekwueme’s Ministerial List” was also released. And Obasanjo had no idea how it came about.
Many tactics had been deployed against him but in a rare show of political sportsmanship, Ekwueme went over to Obasanjo and raised his hand. It is curious that it was only Ekwueme, among the presidential aspirants, that accepted the results as free and fair. He conceded defeat. He later went ahead and canvassed for votes in the length and breadth of Igboland for Obasanjo. Some Igbos felt he should have negotiated his terms of support instead but Ekwueme was a fine gentleman.
Even, the government of the time that of Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar, was panicky that Ekwueme could to instigate the many Igbos who come to Jos in free luxurious buses, against the political process. They had to reach out to Ekwueme and offer to refund a part of his electoral expenses, just for him to go along with the process.
Having won the party ticket, I struggle to think of many politicians with clout as at 1999 whom Obasanjo could have run with. The only possible option could have been Abubakar Rimi but his personality was quite vivacious and he could be quite outspoken. Having worked with Atiku towards winning the primaries, Obasanjo had studied Atiku closely and seen his calm disposition and quiet effectiveness as an asset very similar to that of Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, who had been his second in command as Military Head of States. Atiku had also cleverly managed the 20 PDP Governors whom Obasanjo would badly need to face Olu Falae/Umaru Shinkafi ticket. The only known condition given to Obasanjo by his military backers was to serve one term and so Obasanjo was free to choose whom to run with and he chose Atiku Abubakar.
I was going to go into the history of why Obasanjo’s bosom friend, Baba Fasawe, remains an unrepentant Atiku supporter anyday anytime but this has become too long an epistle.
I’ll save that for another time but if your bosom friend who supervised your business while you were in detention for three years and handed over full accounts to you when you came out, ensured your children’s fees in Nigeria were paid, ensured your wives were okay…if that bosom friend risks your friendship and insists on supporting your Vice-President in every election, then the public should have an idea of what the truth might be.
At Obasanjo’s fundraising event of February 22, 1999 in fact – Aliko Dangote donated NGN120m as the highest donor, followed by Atiku Abubakar (and friends) who donated NGN80m, and Bukola Saraki who donated NGN2.5m. These were the donations on public record. Men like T.Y. Danjuma also backed the ticket heavily and openly.
The PDP won heavily in five zones of Nigeria while the APP/AD alliance won in the Southwest. So Obasanjo had to function without an effective political base but could rely on Atiku politically, within the party and without.
To not have chosen Atiku Abubakar as his Vice-President may have been a grave political mistake on the part of Obasanjo at that time with the alliance of APP core Northern politicians and AD Southwest politicians. Events since then (especially in 2003 and Atiku’s move against the 3rd term bid) may have changed Baba’s mind but truth is, Atiku (along with the PDM) was the engine of the PDP in 1999.
Aliyu Gusau made it as Obasanjo’s NSA, Abdullahi Mohammed (Abubakar’s NSA) became his Chief of Staff, T.Y. Danjuma was made Minister of Defence, Sambo Dasuki headed Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company – all from the military wing of those who backed Obasanjo to become President.
Many Nigerians today look back and consider the Obasanjo-Atiku years between 1999 and 2007 as foundationally transformational years. While Obasanjo led the international efforts personally and travelled so often that it became one of the proposed points of impeachment raised against him in 2002, Atiku stayed and held the forte so strongly that many laws were written to specifically allocate powers to the Office of the Vice-President, which present VPs enjoy till date. Obasanjo himself testified on Atiku’s effectiveness when they reconciled to unseat Buhari in 2019.
At the end of the day, humans will remain human and humans may have divergent interests and hidden motivations for the positions we take on issues. Baba Obasanjo is human and the future may yet find him take a different position.
So this is just a historical perspective, arrived at from various sources, and I hope in future we can explore what went wrong between them in 2003 and then 2007; and why someone like Otunba Fasawe, Obasanjo’s bosom friend, is always behind Atiku whenever Atiku is a presidential candidates
