Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was once one of the prominent Nigerians who backed Muhammadu Buhari ahead of the 2015 presidential election.
Three years later, he was telling the same president not to seek another term.
In an interview with German broadcaster DW, Obasanjo explained the thinking behind his now-famous January 2018 open letter to Buhari, in which he advised the president to abandon plans for re-election.
The letter was unusually direct. Obasanjo argued that Buhari's administration had failed to adequately address some of Nigeria's most pressing problems, particularly insecurity and economic difficulties, and warned that the country was heading in the wrong direction.
But the obvious question remained: Did Obasanjo regret supporting Buhari in 2015?
That question was particularly significant because Obasanjo's support had come at a decisive moment in Nigerian politics. Buhari went on to defeat Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 election, becoming the first opposition candidate to defeat an incumbent president in Nigeria's democratic history.
One of the biggest promises of President Buhari was to fight corruption. That is his flagship topic. You are now saying that he turns a blind eye on corrupt people in his inner circle. Has Buhari's corruption fight failed already?
I won't quite put it that way. I would say he was probably looking outside, he wasn't looking inside, because if you are fighting corruption [and] corruption is becoming rife then you also have to turn your attention inward.
What would you do differently if you were him in fighting corruption?
I would do what I exactly did before. I set up the two mayor institutions that are being used to fight corruption. I would make sure that the people who are in charge of these two institutions are men or women of integrity and I would look outside and inside because there is no point in fighting corruption beyond you while you have corruption (in front of) your nose.
Would you say is that you were more successful in fighting corruption?
I won't judge myself. I will leave that to other people.
President Buhari is widely regarded as a man of integrity among most Nigerians. Is he lacking seriousness?
I don't know which Nigerians you are talking about. Maybe Nigerians of four years ago. Talk to Nigerians today.
In your letter, you wrote that Buhari has a poor understanding of the dynamics of internal politics. You also said that he is weak in understanding and playing in the foreign affairs sector. Your critics are saying that they have the impression that you [feel you] are a moral authority and that you are the only person who understands how to run this country. What do you say to that?
I won't answer them. I will reserve it as my right as a Nigerian.
You said in the past that you would pull out of politics. How does that go together with the new coalition movement?
A movement is a movement. It's not a political organization. It's a social, economic organization. And I have said that if that movement turns political, I will withdraw from it.
But you write that the two biggest parties in the country are unfit to run Nigeria. Do you hope to provide an alternative?
No, I would not stand in the way of that movement. If it decides to become a candidate sponsoring organization then it will become political and I will withdraw from it.
It is not yet clear who the members will be. And the names that got a lot of attention were the names people already know former governors, members of the [opposition] PDP (People's Democratic Party). Some people have the feeling that it is not going to be a new innovative movement but think that it's old people in new clothes.
If that is what you hear then you are hearing it wrongly. There are thousands of Nigerians inside Nigeria and outside Nigeria who have never been in politics and are members of this movement. It's not old wine in a new bottle. It's new wine in a new bottle.
The interview was conducted by DW's Africa correspondent Adrian Kriesch.
Politics has a funny relationship with hindsight. The person who helps put you in power can eventually become the person warning the public not to keep you there. Obasanjo's Buhari story is a reminder that political support is not necessarily a lifetime contract — sometimes the same person who says “this is the man” can later say “I have seen enough.”
'Yes, it was the right decision. With the benefit of hindsight, you will agree with me, if you know what has happened and what has been revealed about the government of Jonathan and those who are with him, in terms of sordid corruption and you will agree that this was the right decision. I believe it that was a decision that was good at that time for our country and our democracy. Because we were able to transition from one party to another party. As a result of that we are consolidating democratic process. It is also the right decision now, for us to see that the man who is taking over from Jonathan has not met the expectation of Nigerians, that's what democracy is all about. Democracy is about change. But if you think that is not the right decision, then you are not a democrat. But I am a democrat and tomorrow if I take a decision and things don't work out the way we expect them to work out in a democracy, then you make a change'.See excerpts from the interview below....
One of the biggest promises of President Buhari was to fight corruption. That is his flagship topic. You are now saying that he turns a blind eye on corrupt people in his inner circle. Has Buhari's corruption fight failed already?
I won't quite put it that way. I would say he was probably looking outside, he wasn't looking inside, because if you are fighting corruption [and] corruption is becoming rife then you also have to turn your attention inward.
What would you do differently if you were him in fighting corruption?
I would do what I exactly did before. I set up the two mayor institutions that are being used to fight corruption. I would make sure that the people who are in charge of these two institutions are men or women of integrity and I would look outside and inside because there is no point in fighting corruption beyond you while you have corruption (in front of) your nose.
Would you say is that you were more successful in fighting corruption?
I won't judge myself. I will leave that to other people.
President Buhari is widely regarded as a man of integrity among most Nigerians. Is he lacking seriousness?
I don't know which Nigerians you are talking about. Maybe Nigerians of four years ago. Talk to Nigerians today.
In your letter, you wrote that Buhari has a poor understanding of the dynamics of internal politics. You also said that he is weak in understanding and playing in the foreign affairs sector. Your critics are saying that they have the impression that you [feel you] are a moral authority and that you are the only person who understands how to run this country. What do you say to that?
I won't answer them. I will reserve it as my right as a Nigerian.
You said in the past that you would pull out of politics. How does that go together with the new coalition movement?
A movement is a movement. It's not a political organization. It's a social, economic organization. And I have said that if that movement turns political, I will withdraw from it.
But you write that the two biggest parties in the country are unfit to run Nigeria. Do you hope to provide an alternative?
No, I would not stand in the way of that movement. If it decides to become a candidate sponsoring organization then it will become political and I will withdraw from it.
It is not yet clear who the members will be. And the names that got a lot of attention were the names people already know former governors, members of the [opposition] PDP (People's Democratic Party). Some people have the feeling that it is not going to be a new innovative movement but think that it's old people in new clothes.
If that is what you hear then you are hearing it wrongly. There are thousands of Nigerians inside Nigeria and outside Nigeria who have never been in politics and are members of this movement. It's not old wine in a new bottle. It's new wine in a new bottle.
The interview was conducted by DW's Africa correspondent Adrian Kriesch.
Politics has a funny relationship with hindsight. The person who helps put you in power can eventually become the person warning the public not to keep you there. Obasanjo's Buhari story is a reminder that political support is not necessarily a lifetime contract — sometimes the same person who says “this is the man” can later say “I have seen enough.”
Would you say Obasanjo's decision to support Buhari in 2015 was a political mistake, or was his later change of position proof that leaders should be judged by what they do in office?
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