Former president Olusegun Obasanjo, jokingly said if not for enemies of the southwest, the Presidency could have remained in the region permanently.
Obasanjo who made the statement in Abeokuta after his investiture as a trustee of the Abeokuta Club, a socio-cultural organisation of Egba people of Ogun State, used the game of football as an analogy, saying when a team wins a cup three times consecutively, they keep the cup permanently.
He said if not for the annulment of June 12 presidential election where Chief MKO Abiola, won a race adjudged to be the most peaceful, credible and fair election in the country, his (Obasanjo’s) emergence as president in 1999, would have meant the Southwest produced three presidents consecutively, starting with the former Head of Interim National Government (ING), Chief Ernest Shonekan, who governed the country first as a military Head of State and a civilian president.
Obasanjo said: “When Abeokuta Club was in the process of being birthed, things in Abeokuta were not as rosy as they are today. And the sons of Abeokuta, who were in Lagos, put their heads together in late Chief Sobo Sowemimo’s residence to think of what they could do to improve the development of Abeokuta as a city. I pay tributes to all those founding members, those who have departed this world and those who are still here.
“I want to thank the club for this honour being bestowed on me and the honour being bestowed on my school mate, MKO Abiola, which he richly deserved.
“Kabiyesi, the Alake (of Egbaland) alluded to it. Normally, when you win a cup three times, you keep that cup. Isn’t it? If not for bad belle, Abeokuta would have produced President of Nigeria three times, in which case, we should have kept it permanently."
Also speaking, the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, while presenting the award plague to Obasanjo, described Obasanjo and MKO Abiola as proud sons of Abeokuta.
He also said that some “bad blood” didn’t allow Abiola to emerge President of Nigeria.