Details have emerged that the loyalists of former President Olusegun Obasanjo were the ones that organized the peace meeting between him and President Goodluck Jonathan which took place on Sunday.
The loyalists are business mogul, Aliko Dangote; oil marketer, Femi Otedola; court-sacked National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olagunsoye Oyinlola; and a former Chief Executive Officer of the United Bank of Africa, Mr. Tony Elumelu, among others.
These men, who have also gained the confidence of Jonathan were said to have convinced Obasanjo that the lingering feud between him and his successor ran counter to the interests of the PDP, especially as the race for 2015 was heating up.
They were said to have received the blessings of Jonathan before they approached Obasanjo with a peace deal.
Despite public statements that all has been well between the duo by the Presidency, the ex-president and incumbent president have been at loggerheads for some time, evident by the sharp jabs taken at each other.
Not more than 24 hours before the sudden visit of Obasanjo to the villa in Abuja, the Presidency had criticized the ex-President, with an aide calling him ‘confused’ in his assessment of the Boko Haram issue.
“If Obasanjo said what he said, we will just tolerate him because the other time, he said force should be used and he turned back to say dialogue must be used. Now, he is saying another thing. He is becoming confusing. I think the old man is becoming confused. The fact is that the insecurity issue started even during Obasanjo’s regime. It did not start with Jonathan’s regime,” Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, had said in an interview.
Shocked by the statement from the Presidency and scared of Obasanjo’s likely response, the group of loyalists were said to have rushed his Abeokuta mansion to beg him to give peace a chance.
True to their fears, Obasanjo had planned a befitting bitter response to drop on his way out of the country on Sunday, but for the intervention of the ‘peacemakers’, a source revealed.
The peacemakers were also said to have been propelled by Jonathan’s known aversion to pick quarrels with Obasanjo who was said to have facilitated the President’s rise to power, though a fresh revelation by another Obasanjo loyalist and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, in his yet-to-be-released book is said to have indicated that the ex-President really wanted to ditch Jonathan because of his “weak character”.
It is also said that the common sentiment among those advising the President that his major concern should be the provision of effective leadership for the party, and not to be seen as fighting.
However, some members of the Obasanjo camp are interested in seeing the rift linger, according to a source.
“You see, the Obasanjo camp is divided between its loyalists who wanted a fight and those who wanted settlement.
“You can see that while people like Oby Ezekwesili wanted a fight, people like Femi Fani-Kayode were not in support of such a fight, although they would defend Obasanjo in all situations no matter what.
“However, some of Obasanjo’s allies like Oyinlola, Dangote, Otedola and Elumelu initiated the move to bring the two men together. With what has happened, it is clear that those who didn’t want a fight are the ones winning. But don’t lose sight of the fact that the other camp would not go to sleep.
“The challenge, however, is that the President’s men and those on the side of peace from the Obasanjo camp have to work hard to nurture it.
“The President is the leader of the party. It is his responsibility to lead the party. He cannot be fighting his people; he has to lead them.”
Meanwhile, Jonathan has reportedly ordered his aides to cease fire on the dispute between him and Obasanjo in tandem with the truce agreed upon by the duo on Sunday.
Obasanjo was accompanied to the Villa by two of his daughters; a son, identified as Juwon; and Otedola.
A top chieftain of the PDP, who pleaded anonymity, said, “You will observe that Jonathan has not engaged in any direct verbal war with Obasanjo. He has been looking for ways to restore the peaceful relationship between them.”