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Babatunde Adenodi
Pharmacist
East Orange,
New Jersey
 USA

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Ordinarily, one should believe the affidavit as deposed to, especially bearing in mind the consequences of pejorative statement sworn to under oath. But these are not ordinary times and Obasanjo is not an ordinary man. He has become an institution in Nigeria, for better or for worse. He has been an instrument of change (catastrophic or otherwise) in Nigeria. And if the affidavit by his own son is true; I strongly suspect it is NOT, it will commend itself to the myriads of psychoanalysts in Nigeria and all over the world!

 

Obasanjo, Gbenga and Mojisola: Defiling Yoruba Culture
 by Tunde Adenodi.
 

Curiously, I am hoping no one will read this article! The obvious solution to this dilemma is not to write it. No one can read what is not written! This is not so simple especially when I feel a compulsive, probably even a compelling need to write it. Compulsive, because a person’s gut reaction to issues is often the right one and compelling, because it is wrong not to comment on the bizarre stories coming from Obasanjo’s staple.

The title mentions only three characters: former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Gbenga, his first son and Mojisola, his first daughter-in-law. There is a fourth character: Otunba Alex Onabanjo, Mojisola’s father. And minor characters such as Gbenga’s children. It is a story worthy of the tabloids and soap operas on Broadway, in New York or Hollywood. Except that it is the shame of a culture nurtured for ages. It is not fun to talk about, and certainly, not easy to write about. So, don’t read further if you do not have a hard-headed curiosity of the likes of famed Amebo of the Village Headmaster.

There is an affidavit sworn to by Olugbenga Obasanjo, obviously a reply to one sworn to by his estranged wife, Mojisola, for dissolution of their marriage in the High Court of Lagos State in the Ikeja Judicial Division. It was dated January 11, 2008. Gbenga provides 50 reasons why he believes that the marriage should be annulled. Three of the reasons stand out like a sore thumb as follows:

  1. “That the respondent (Mojisola Oluyemisi) confided in him severally while they were living together that she had been sexually abused and defiled by her (own) father, Otunba Alex Onabanjo on several occasions”.
     

  2. That he knows for a fact that the respondent committed adultery with and had intimate sexual relationship with his own father, General Olusegun Obasanjo, due to her greed to curry favours and contracts from him in his capacity as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
     

  3. That the sexual relationship of the respondent with her own father, Otunba Alex Onabanjo and his father General Olusegun Obasanjo has brought him great pains and psychological trauma and is the primary reason for the breakdown of his marriage with the respondent”.

It should be noted that many other depositions flow from the major three listed above.

In Yoruba land, and indeed many other lands, this is an abomination. It rarely happens, if ever. And if it does, it is never made the subject of public discourse. It is a family secret discussed in hush tones. The subject will remain a secret for ever! Why did Gbenga break this tradition?

If Alex Onabanjo had had an incestuous relationship with Mojisola, why had Gbenga been a party to the cover-up? Why had he not divorced her earlier on this ground? If Obasanjo had had an incestuous relationship with his own daughter-in-law, why had he remained quiet until now? Why is he the victim twice over of this bizarre sexual perversion of the two major male characters in his life?

Ordinarily, one should believe the affidavit as deposed to, especially bearing in mind the consequences of pejorative statement sworn to under oath. But these are not ordinary times and Obasanjo is not an ordinary man. He has become an institution in Nigeria, for better or for worse. He has been an instrument of change (catastrophic or otherwise) in Nigeria. And if the affidavit by his own son is true; I strongly suspect it is NOT, it will commend itself to the myriads of psychoanalysts in Nigeria and all over the world!

In order to fully analyze this story, it is necessary to bring into context the nature of General Obasanjo as revealed by himself in his public life in the last 40 years.

Abubakar Atiku was the most disloyal deputy there has ever been. Buoyed by his bloated sense of “popularity” ( I call it notoriety), he went to work, destroying Obasanjo’s northern base while both were in power thus pulling the rug from under Obasanjo’s feet. This was in time for the 2003 re-election campaign of Obasanjo, long before his attempt to stay in power beyond 2007. However, Atiku did not know whom he was dealing with. He did not know how crude and vindictive Obasanjo was. He did not know how wicked a heart he had. He did not know that if you ride a tiger, you are likely to end up on his dinner table. And that is exactly what Obasanjo did. He tore into smithereens Atiku’s reputation (do they all have any?), and sought to destroy him politically. And because of his modus operandi on Nigeria’s political mine-field, he could not get the National Assembly to impeach Atiku. It would have been a political kamikaze.

He was instrumental to the jailing of Wole Soyinka for the entire period of the Civil War only because Soyinka delivered a message from Brigadier Banjo that would have changed the course of Nigerian history. Obasanjo was in office as Head of State and as president for about 13 years. Yet his own people hate him like the Palestinians hate Israelis. In Yoruba land, Obasanjo is now a pariah. This must tell a lot about Obasanjo’s character.

What does this have to do with Gbenga and Mojisola? A lot! If Gbenga is a chip of the old block as I suspect he is, then he must be like his father. He will stop at nothing to destroy his opponent! He will not mind destroying his own father. Not to talk about his father-in-law.

When does it become the responsibility of a son to engage in age declaration for his own father? Why would Olugbenga be announcing to the world in 2006 that his father was actually older than he had admitted? Sometimes, the shrub, as innocent as it may look, grows up to become a wild cactus. Olugbenga Obasanjo is a wild cactus probably more dangerous than his father.

Those who want a public comment on this issue do not know the enormity of the charge in Yoruba land. What is he supposed to say? “I did not do it”? Obasanjo loves his son and will probably not want anything terrible to happen to him. The veracity of the charge will remain a secret for ever. It is the word of a pervert and sadistic son against the silence of an even more pervert and sadistic father.

When he was born, Obasanjo named him Olugbenga – God has exalted me. I am sure that he is singing a new tune now.

One word of caution: Beware of the Obasanjo’s. Especially the patriach! If it is true that he did what his son says he did, it is a defilement of Yoruba tradition. If it is not true and Gbenga did it to punish his father, it is even a worst defilement of Yoruba tradition. Both of them, father and son, deserve to go to the hottest part of hell.

 

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