Former
President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has revealed how his action, during
military rule, against Americans over occupation of an office
backfired.
This
is coming at a time ex-National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), Senator Ahmadu Ali, yesterday, admitted that his generated made
some mistakes just as he said they did their best for the country.
Speaking
in Abuja, yesterday, at the launch of a biography on Ali, Obasanjo said
his consipracy with the former PDP chairman to retrieve an office from
Americans led to his reprimand by the then Head of State, General Yakubu
Gowon.
Gowon also confirmed that Obasanjo’s action caused diplomatic row between Nigeria and the United States of America.
Obasanjo
told the audience of how he conspired with Ali to evict the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) from its office,
around the Tafewa Balewa Square, Lagos. He also confessed that he and
Ali kept what led to the incident away from Gowon for 43 years.
Said
Obasanjo: “Ahmadu Ali had been appointed Director of the National Youth
service Corps and he needed an office; one being occupied by the
American Embassy had been identified.
“That
office was too close to the Cabinet Office, it had been what we had
talked about, complained about and even requested the Americans to
vacate and be given an alternative office. So, Ahmadu Ali and I
conspired that we will remove the Americans.
“Of
course, I belonged to the Nigerian Army Corps of Engineers and had
military men under my command, Ahmadu had no military men. I had to be
used or should I say I had to concur by performing the task and I made
it a military operation. By 4:00am, soldiers had surrounded the office
and by the time the Americans were arriving for work, they were not
allow to go inside. Of course, I didn’t realise the diplomatic
implications. Then the Americans violently protested and it was reported
to the Commander-in-Chief, General Gowon, and I was carpeted,
tongue-lashed and thoroughly washed down.”
Gowon,
who was Head of State in 1975 when the incident occurred corroborated
the story but said he did not know of Ali’s involvement until yesterday.
Gowon
described the dislodgment of the Americans by Obasanjo as a huge
embarrassment to the nation, but that the latter could not be punished
because of the good work he was doing for the country then.
He
said: “Of course, the Minister of External Affairs came and reported to
me what was happening; that it was done by Obasanjo. Then between the
Chief of Staff; Gen. David Ejoor and myself; we really dressed him down
because he exactly started a very serious diplomatic incident.”
Earlier,
Ali, said his generation made some mistakes. He urged youths to be
resourceful and not allow themselves; to be used as willing tools in the
hands of desperate politicians.
He
challenged the youths not to keep lamenting and pointed out that his
generation did much for the country, at their youthful age.
Ali
said: “We’ve tried our best. We expect you younger ones to try your
best. Get up and do something; have a second address, politics is no
job…
“When General Yakubu Gowon became the head of state of Nigeria, all the young people he kept quoting were 32.
“At
32, he was a Battalion Commander of 1,000 men and 5,000 extra family
members. And, I was going to the United Kingdom in 1965 for
post-graduate studies and I met him; he was in London, attending the
highest institution of administration in the whole world; for military
and civilians, from the 54 nations of the Commonwealth to receive
training on how to rule the world; not only their countries.”
Sun News
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