Former Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state has said that Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo was the architect of misfortunes that started befalling the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from 2011 in Ogun state when he used Buruji Kashamu to hijack party’s structure from then incumbent Governor Gbenga Daniel.
It will be recalled that in 2011, Obasanjo teamed up with Kashamu in 2011 to hijack party’s structure from then incumbent Governor Daniel to impose retired General Tunji Olurin on the PDP as Governorship Candidate in Ogun state against Gbenga Daniel-annointed Guber candidate – Gboyega Nasir Isiaka which prompted Daniel’s political camp in PDP then to defect and float another political party – the People’s Party of Nigeria (PPN).
BusinessDay recalls that the massive defection of Daniel’s political supporters from PDP to PPN in Ogun state then, did not only destabilise the party but also confused PDP’s supporters and electorate, thereby, aided the emergence of defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and its Governorship candidate – Ibikunle Amosun as the democratically-elected party and the governor respectively, for the state.
That political scenario soon played out in almost all Southwest states and other geo-political zones of the federation which gave birth to a splinter group called new People’s Democratic Party (nPDP) that finally merged with opposition parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria, the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP), the Congress of Progressive Change (CPC) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Allaince (APGA) to form a coalition that defeated Goodluck Jonathan-led PDP Federal Government in 2015.
Reacting to the Condolence letter signed and addressed to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state by Obasanjo to mourn the passing of late Kashamu who died of complications developed from COVID-19 on Saturday, ex-Governor Ayodele accused the former president of being the architect of the misfortunes that befell PDP using Kashamu as a tool of destruction, saying Obasanjo had a hand in political misdeeds that were committed by Kashamu against PDP.
Obasanjo had said in the Condolence letter that, “The life and history of the departed have lessons for those of all us on this side of the veil. Senator Esho Jinadu (Buruji Kashamu) in his lifetime used the manoeuvre of law and politics to escape from justice on alleged criminal offence in Nigeria and outside Nigeria, but no legal, political, cultural, social or even medical manoeuvre could stop the cold hand of death when the Creator of all of us decides that the time is up.”
With these statements, Obasanjo referred to the long battles which late Kashamu had with both Nigeria and United States on his possible extradition to the US for alleged drug trafficking which had also forced the former president out of the PDP in 2014, having told Bamanga Tukur, then National Chairman of the party that PDP as a party, should disassociate itself from Kashamu and his ilks if he must continue to be the card-carrying member of the party.
The statements credited to Obasanjo that were made against Kashamu seemingly infuriated former Governor Ayodele Fayose, who was and is still one of the chieftains of PDP in the Southwest, saying whatever political misdeeds committed against PDP by Kashamu then had the blessings of the former president.
The former Ekiti state governor on Sunday took to his Twitter handle @GovAyoFayose and tweeted thus, “I commiserate with the family of Senator Buruji Kashamu for this irreparable loss and pray for the repose of his soul. The Almighty God will console those he left behind.
“I also condemn the statement made by former President Obasanjo on his (Kashamu) death.
“It’s regrettable that Obasanjo could say what he said about Buruji Kashamu after his death and when he can no longer question him. Why didn’t he say that when Kashamu was alive?
“Can Obasanjo say in good conscience that he did not at some point collaborated (sic) with Kashamu and most of the things he (Kashamu) did politically were not his collaboration?
“Nigerians will watch out for Obasanjo’s own end. He should stop forming saint because he is not. He should remember that his own end will come too and nobody knows how the end will be”, Fayose told Obasanjo.
