A former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Wednesday said his recent observations in the well publicised letter to President Muhammadu Buhari are already coming to pass barely two weeks after.
Obasanjo also declared that he has totally forgiven his former Vice President and current presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar for all he might have done to him and against him.
He disclosed this at the Quarterly Business lecture organized by the Lagos Island Club which was delivered by Atiku today in Lagos.
He said he has been called several names because of his position on Atiku, adding that he stands by his statements on him.
Obasanjo also said he stands by his comments on President Buhari, saying all he said about him which cannot be refuted are already coming to pass.
He said though Atiku is neither a saint nor the Messiah, he has the qualities to take Nigeria out of the woods.
He said: “I have been called names because of my position on Atiku Abubakar, the Waziri Adamawa. Everything I have said as far as I have knowledge of Atiku, I have not retracted and I stand firmly by them because they are to the best of my knowledge true.
“And neither has what I have said and written about Buhari been controverted; if anything, they have been confirmed and proved beyond any shadow of doubt.
“But Atiku has done three things which are absolutely imperative for a leader to be followed and believed. First, know who you are and present yourself as you are – a human being in blood and flesh and susceptible to human mistakes and human frailties. Don’t cover up with sanctimonious veneer of bogus integrity, incorruptibility, uprightness, goodness and false figures and statistics, all of which are contrived to deceive, to cheat, to plunder and to destroy.”
Obasanjo said he is confident that majority of Nigerians would vote for the PDP candidate whom he said he had forgiven wholeheartedly according to the dictate of his faith as a Christian.
“Secondly, a leader must be honest to himself and to the people he serves or he wants to serve. He must identify and acknowledge his situation, mistakes, shortcomings and inadequacy; show remorse where and when he has erred, seek forgiveness and repent; and not passing the bulk or keep blaming others and fail to accept responsibility.
“Atiku accepts responsibility for his mistakes, shows remorse and seeks forgiveness from his political party and subsequently from Nigerians.
“He asks for forgiveness from me and as a believer, a Christian as such, I forgave him in accordance with the teaching and instruction of my Saviour.
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matt 6:14-15 NIV).
“If anybody blames me for forgiving Atiku, I leave such a person with God Almighty, especially as both Christian and Islamic clerics joined Atiku to visit me to seek forgiveness.
“Anybody who does not forgive when forgiveness is sought with contrite heart cannot be a true believer and should not expect the forgiveness of God,” he said.
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