Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has said that the United States of America would inform Nigeria of any operation on the soil of Africa while he led the nation as a military head of state.
He expressed sadness over the dwindling fortune of Nigeria as a nation to be reckoned with internationally.
According to him Nigerian engagement with the world reached a point that “to the extent and Jimmy Carter administration will not do anything in Africa without informing us, I do not say they take permission from us, but they will tell us,” he emphasised.
Obasanjo said the world had waited for Nigeria to rise to become a force to be reckoned with internationally but was yet to understand the undermined status of Nigeria globally.
The former President of Nigeria said, at independence the World had waited for “the giant in the sun” which was the description of Nigeria at Independence by the comity of nations.
He said this at the public presentation of the Book: The Letter Man”, by Muskilu Mojeed which detailed some diplomatic communications of the former President as Military Head of State.
Obasanjo who said he did not grant any permission to the author of the book pointed out that he was indeed impressed and amazed at the literary work.
He said the recent embarrassing experience was the recent death of the past head of state in Chad, Mr Idriss Derby Itno who was killed on the war front, a situation that caused some upheavals in the country.
He said shamefully, the settlement came from Doha in the middle east when Nigerian could have immediately stepped in and settled the issues to unite the country
His words: “it was Doha that decided to pull the different elements in Chad together. Not Nigeria. And Chad is at our door here” he lamented.
Speaking on the various letters he wrote to persons and government, he pointed out that in “most of the letters that you will find, there was nothing personal to me but the interest of the community, the society, the organisation that I belong to.
For example “the military, the war front, how should the war be fought so that we minimize casualties so that we can deal with it quickly and finish it up and the country can move on.
“Or in the fight against apartheid you’ll find in all these, not only do I write letters, in some cases, I also prefer solution,” he stated.
Former minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, who represented the former President of Nigeria, Dr. Ebele Jonathan said, President Jonathan considered former President Olusegun Obasanjo as a father and his letters created engagements in the political arena and the diplomatic community.
Jonathan said Obasanjo would be remembered not inky for the letters of engagement but for debt forgiveness of Nigeria and also creating the anti-graft agencies.
Author of the Book, Musikiku Mojeed said he had no authorisation from the Author of the many letters but was drawn to the archive of the former president when he visited the Obasanjo Presidential library and saw the red and blue boxes containing letters by the former head of state.
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