The office of the Presidency was too big for Jonathan to handle- Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, said former presidnet Goodluck Jonathan, was too small to have become President. In a book titled, “Against The Run of Play” which is set to be launched in Lagos on Friday, Chairman of ThisDay Editorial Board, Olusegun Adeniyi, quoted Obasanjo as saying actions taken by Jonathan showed the office of the President was too big for him to handle.

In the book, Obasanjo stated that Jonathan deceived him by going against some of the decision he had advised him not to take. Obasanjo cited an example of Jonathan appointing Diezani Alison-Madueke, as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, which he ,Obasanjo, had advised him against.

“There were certain decisions taken by Jonathan very early in his administration that pointed to the fact that the office was bigger than him and one of them was the appointment of a petroleum minister. Jonathan gave me the impression that he was not going to give her the portfolio but at the end he did and we can see the consequence. He, of course, knew what he was doing”.

Obasanjo in the book, denied claims that he opposed Jonathan’s government just to give his support to President Buhari during the buildup of the 2015 general election. According to him, ex-president Jonathan and his cabinet members believed they could buy up everyone to win the 2015 election. He said he was a strong advocate for AOBJ meaning Any One But Jonathan.

“I didn’t join them in supporting Buhari. I joined in opposing Jonathan so Buhari was just a beneficiary of my opposition to Jonathan since my position was AOBJ: meaning Any Option But Jonathan. If he was wise, he would have yielded the ticket to somebody else in the PDP.”he said

Obasanjo in the book, said Jonathan was more afraid of President Buhari sending him to jail than he was afraid of life outside the villa “I believe the President’s concern or fear is not about life after office per se because he and I have had occasions to talk about this both seriously and jovially. I believe the President’s fear is particularly motivated by the person he sees as his likely successor, that is General Buhari. I believe the people would have been telling him that Buhari is a hard man. He would fight corruption and he (Jonathan) may end up in jail if not in the grave”he said