Names of Obasanjo's kinsmen with presidential ambition that former president never supported and why

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a two-term civilian president and 1-term military head of state, has again written an open letter to market his endorsed presidential candidate in the 2023 election.

Obasanjo, in what could be described as his new year gift to Nigerians, officially endorsed Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party.

In his open letter, Obasanjo did not only endorsed Peter Obi, but also condemned Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate for using the Yoruba phrase, “Emi Lokan”.

Average Nigerians would have expected Obasanjo to endorse Tinubu being his kinsman but the former president did not have a record of supporting presidential candidates from the southwest region.

The reason Obasanjo has never seen any presidential candidate of Yoruba extraction is known to him but can be speculated to be the fact that he loves to be at the centre of attention. Note that Obasanjo is still the only Nigerian president the southwest region had produced, others, despite their popularity had failed.
Names of Yoruba presidential candidates Obasanjo never supported

Chief Obafemi Awolowo

Despite the wide song of praise that the foremost political warlord, Awolowo, enjoyed from the southwest region, Obasanjo has never praised the late political idol. In his book, “My Participation”, Chief Bisi Akande, a former governor of Ogun state and pioneer national chairman of APC alleged that Obasanjo’s ambition to be at the centre of attention made him have constant hatred for Awolowo.

Chief M.K.O Abiola

Despite being his classmate at Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta, Obasanjo never supported the presidential ambition of Abiola and for 8 years of his presidency, he never honour the man that was said to have died fighting for a democratic mandate.
Even Abiola’s son, Jamiu, during a testimony programme, alleged that Obasanjo benefitted from the democracy that his father and mother, Kudirat, struggled for but Obasanjo failed to recognise Abiola.

Bola Ige

The assassinated former governor of old Oyo state was reported to have promised Obasanjo to meet him on the field. Bola Ige was assassinated in December 2001, barely 2 years that Obasanjo became the president. Neither Obasanjo nor succeeding presidents after him ever prosecute anyone responsible for the death of the ex-attorney general of the federation.

However, Osoba in his book alleged that: “When Obasanjo made up his mind to contest for the presidency, he rushed to Ige’s residence in Ibadan to seek his support. Ige declined, promising him however that they would meet on the field of electoral combat on opposing sides.

“Ige knew Obasanjo’s deep-seated hatred for our leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, a public confession to which he devoted his book, ‘Not My Will’. What Ige did not reckon with was the unrelenting hostility of some members of Afenifere leadership to his aspiration to become the presidential flagbearer of our party, the AD, and its alliance partner, the APP.”