Obasanjo, Buhari, Tambuwal, others shun Jonathan’s event

KEY predecessors of President Goodluck Jonathan in office, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo; and ex-dictators, retired Generals Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida,  and Abdusalami Abubakar (retd.), as well as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, on Wednesday shunned the Democracy Day event of the Federal Government.

While all former heads of government were reportedly invited to the event where Jonathan rendered an account of his mid-term performance, only Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd.) and Chief Ernest Shonekan attended.

Gowon ruled as military head of state between 1966 and 1976; Shagari from 1979 to 1983; while Shonekan spent barely 99 days in office as head of the Interim National Government foisted on the country by Babangida after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election won by the late businessman, MKO Abiola.

Rather than be in Abuja, Obasanjo chose to attend the First Jigawa State Investment Forum in Dutse, where he showered praises on Governor Sule Lamido for being a brilliant performer in whom he (Obasanjo) was well pleased to have helped to office.

“You can help someone to find a job but you can’t help the person to do the job. In this case, we found a job for Sule Lamido and Sule Lamido was ready, willing, able and competent to do the job,” he reportedly said at the event.

Obasanjo is believed to have facilitated the coming of Jonathan to the Presidency in 2007 but the two have reportedly become estranged.

Buhari, now one of the arrowheads of the coalition to unseat the Peoples Democratic Party in 2015 and the Jonathan administration, had in recent past exchanged hot words on the state of the nation.

Babangida contested the PDP Presidential ticket with Jonathan in 2011 and he is generally seen not as a fan of the administration.

Tambuwal was represented at the event by his deputy, Emeka Ihedioha, who gave no reason for the Speaker’s absence.

Analysts on Wednesday believed that attendance and non-attendance at the Democracy Day celebration was “all part of the 2015 politics.”