Former Governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande has said that the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo was reluctant to find the killers of late former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige.
Ige was killed by yet-to-be-identified assailants on December 23, 2001.
In his autobiography titled, “My Participations”, which was unveiled in Lagos on Thursday, Akande stated that Ige got in trouble with the Obasanjo administration for his charisma and popularity.
After Ige’s killing, Akande wrote, a copy of his letter of resignation from Obasanjo’s government was found in his room.
He wrote, “I believe what brought problem for Uncle Bola was his charisma, his relentless pursuit of the common good and his magical popularity with the Yoruba people. I knew he might be in trouble the day I witnessed what the PDP leadership later dubbed ‘The Shame’ at the Liberty Stadium.
“I believe it was after that outing that some elements close to the president met and decided to deal with Bola Ige. The next time Obasanjo would enter that stadium was to participate in the burial ceremonies of Ige.
“There was enough evidence that the government of former president Obasanjo was reluctant to find the killers of Bola Ige.
“The man, who came hunting for us was President Olusegun Obasanjo, Ige’s friend for many years who became our relentless foe.
“He and Ige met in the late 1960s when both of them served in the government of then Colonel Adeyinka Adebayo, the second military ruler of the old West. Since then, Obasanjo had dug Ige’s path like an evil spirit. During his reign as military head of state, Ige gave him a wide berth, yet Obasanjo would not disappear from Ige’s path.”