The Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, said that he fell out with former President Olusegun Obasanjo when the latter failed to address the issue of true federalism in the country as president.
The Awujale said though Obasanjo had promised to address the issue of true federalism before the 1999 elections, but on getting to office, he did otherwise.
He said, “With Obasanjo finally settled in office, I went to see him at Aso Rock in Abuja. I sought to meet with him so that we could discuss the contentious issue of true federalism in the nation and the future association of the constituents. He had talked a great deal along this line before going into office and so I never anticipated any problem with him on the matter. I urged him to provide a solid structure for the country. Obasanjo declined to call any national conference on federalism and I was very disappointed. This was the dividing line for me in our relationship.
“During one of my visits to Aso Rock, Obasanjo revisited the issue. He asked if I remembered that I had called him a Judas. I told him I not only remembered but still maintained that he was a Judas who would betray his people. I did not give up pressing on the federalism issue. In September 2002, I went again to see him at Aso Rock on the need for the constituents of the nation to discuss our association. There was no positive response from him. In my disappointment, I told him before leaving that his case would end up like that of a snake crawling on a rock without leaving a footprint.”
This was excerpted from Chapter 12 of the monarch’s autobiography, titled “Awujale: The Autobiography of Alaiyeluwa Oba S.K. Adetona Ogbagba II,” from pages 171 to 183.
Excerpts from pages 187-195 of the book, which was published in 2010 by Mosuro Publishers, had recently gone viral for reasons unknown.
In the book, Awujale accused Obasanjo of using the then Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, to persecute billionaire businessman and founder of Globacom, Otunba Mike Adenuga.
According to the monarch, Obasanjo believed Adenuga was fronting for the then Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, and a former military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida.
The monarch alleged that Adenuga was detained and harassed because Obasanjo was fighting with Atiku and Babangida at the time. Awujale further described Obasanjo’s eight-year tenure as a complete waste “short of tangible achievements
