Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has asked Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, to stop his verbal attacks on him and seek God’s forgiveness for abusing him barely two years after he begged him in a letter over previous insults.
Governor Fayose had last week in Ile Ife, Osun State, lambasted Obasanjo for what he called Obasanjo’s unnecessary outbursts on President Goodluck Jonathan.
But Obasanjo, through one of his associates, disclosed that Fayose wrote him a letter, begging him two years ago to facilitate his (Fayose) return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Obasanjo’s associate asked Nigerians not to take Fayose serious as he would soon write another letter of apology to the former president.
Fayose’s letter, dated 26th June, 2012, obtained by Saturday Tribune, detailed how he begged Obasanjo for forgiveness, for what he called his actions that had caused embarrassment to the former president. The tone of the letter also asked the former president to help him facilitate his return to the PDP.
The former president, in his reply to Fayose’s letter, dated July 18,2012, accepted to forgive the Ekiti State governor but told him that the aspect of facilitating his return to the party needed to be handled at the local, state and the national levels of the party.
Below is the unedited content of the letter Fayose wrote to Obasanjo and the former president’s reply to Fayose’s letter.
Fayose’s Letter:
“Dear Baba,
“There is no denying the fact that my relationship with you has gone sour as a result of my action and inaction which have definitely caused you embarrassment in public and this has marred our very good father-son relationship in the past.
“I take responsibility for my over reaction and disrespect to your person which is most regretted, I am indeed sorry.
“I pray that God will give you the grace to let go of the past knowing fully well that I am human and therefore not infallible especially considering the circumstances surrounding my removal from office.
“To further buttress my willingness to seek peace with you, I could recall that I had made several efforts to this effect by consulting your close allies in the persons of Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), Chief Omilani and Pastor Oyedepo amongst others.
“Lastly, kindly disregard all insinuations or political blackmailing suggestive of my doing or saying anything contradicting my present disposition as contained in this letter.
“My reconciliation with your goodself may not go down well with some of my political opponents, but you remain the father of all.
“My wife sends her love and greetings.
“With high regards.
Signed
Ayo Fayose.
Obasanjo’s reply dated July 18, 2012
“Dear Ayo,
“I write to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated June 26, 2012 pleading with me to forgive you, as you put it, for your action and inaction which have caused me embarrassment in the public.
“As for the embarrassment and personal insult to me, forgiveness is divine and I will not withhold forgiveness since I believe that God will not withhold forgiveness for my inadequacies.
“However, for me, the personal aspect can be handled by me but the party aspect has to be handled at the local, state and national levels of the Party.
“I wish you all the best and God’s blessing.”
Signed Olusegun Obasanjo.
Obasanjo’s associate told the newspaper that “One wonders why the same Fayose who wrote that letter is now against the president settling his differences with Obasanjo given the background that he (Fayose) wrote that letter of apology barely two years ago.”
Fayose had on Friday condemned Thursday’s visit of five Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors to former President Obasanjo, saying the visit would further encourage disrespect for the office of the president of Nigeria.
Fayose said in a statement made available to newsmen in Ado Ekiti on Friday that “visiting Obasanjo to plead with him to rescind his decision not to participate in the party’s activities was capable of encouraging other members of the party to openly disrespect the office of President and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria as being done by Obasanjo.”
Governor Fayose also called for “immediate suspension of the former president from the PDP for anti-party activities,” and contended that “a man who has refused to respect the office of the President of Nigeria that he once occupied does not also deserve respect from anyone.”
He also called on the leadership of the PDP to set a panel to probe Obasanjo’s anti-party activities.
“The PDP as a party must stop condoning indiscipline. Nobody should be treated as being bigger than the party.”
He said: “Obasanjo, who does not appreciate others, deserve no respect,” adding that “no amount of mud-slinging from him will stop President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election.”
According to him, Obasanjo was “one of the major problems of Nigeria,” and added that “the former president’s open castigation of President Goodluck Jonathan is unbecoming of someone who led the country for 11 years and wasted billions of naira in his attempt to perpetuate himself in office beyond the constitutionally recognised two-terms.”
He said: “Have you ever heard a former president of the United States of America openly abusing a sitting president of the country?
“Does it mean that former US president, Bill Clinton, agreed with all the policies of George W. Bush and the incumbent president, Barack Obama?”
He said: “Obasanjo’s behaviour is unpresidential and he must be told to respect himself.
“General Yakubu Gowon, General Ibrahim Babangida and Alhaji Shehu Shagari have not been doing the same. They don’t openly disparage the office of the president or his person and this is not because they agree with all his policies, but because they know that there is a channel through which they can convey their feelings to the president.”
On why he is the only governor out of the about 18 other PDP governors that did not go to see Chief Obasanjo, Fayose said: “Chief Obasanjo is our own and we are the ones who should correct our own as Yoruba.”
Speaking further, Fayose said Obasanjo was already a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and that he was pushing for one of his loyalists to be the party’s vice presidential candidate.
He said; “Obasanjo is a man who can never be pleased. His principle of life is- if it is not his way, it must not be another person’s way.
“Even if President Jonathan gives Obasanjo his blood today, he (Obasanjo) cannot change because he is already neck-deep in the APC agenda, with his eyes on the vice presidential ticket of the party.
“Therefore, no amount of visits by PDP governors can make him change his mind about President Jonathan, whom he hates not because he has not performed, but because he (Jonathan) did not hand over his presidency to him”.
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