Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has denied saying Bourdillon is where one can find a thoroughbred politician, noting that only the military trains personnel to be good managers of men and materials.
In a statement on Sunday by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo said that he never made any remark at the expense of the military, a “noble profession.”
An unverified WhatsApp message, which has gone viral and authenticated by a faceless group called “National Patriots,” claimed that the former Nigerian President said, “If you are looking for a thoroughbred politician of masters class, visit Lagos Bourdillon.”
But, according to Obasanjo, “Only the military trains personnel to be good managers of men and materials. So, I cannot disparage my noble profession for politics that has no formal training. This is false and fake.”
The statement, however, commended a fact check done by Newsbreak.ng for a thorough investigation of the report and its subsequent publication.
The alleged full WhatsApp message by Obasanjo read: “I am not a politician; I am a decorated soldier, an Army General. If you are looking for a thoroughbred politician of masters class, visit Lagos Bourdillon, there you’ll find one…
“Politics, however, has no permanent friends or enemies. If you remind me about what Bola said about me four years ago, have you reminded yourself about what I did to him and his Lagos government about 20 years ago?
“I almost crashed his government and state. No governor or government from 1999 to date could have survived what I did to Bola and Lagos. No One. He survived because he has the magic wand.
“I hope he gets the chance to wave the magic wand over Nigeria,” Obasanjo was quoted to have said.
(Courtesy: Vanguard)
