Olusegun Obasanjo, former president, has suggested how the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) can rise up again.
Since the return to democratic rule in 1999, the PDP has been piloting the affairs of the country until in 2015 when it lost power to the then opposition and now ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) at the national level.
The attempt by the PDP to reclaim power in the 2019 general election was futile as President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC defeated Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the opposition to actualize his second term ambition.
The former president while playing host to regional stalwarts of the opposition in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital, on Monday, said the party needed truly committed members to get back to power, urging it to purge itself of ‘bad eggs.’
“I knew PDP would lose the election in 2015 because it was clear, and I knew PDP will need to be rebuilt after losing the election,” Obasanjo said.
“You need what I call a critical mass of committed people, and come rain, come shine they are committed. With that, you can make Nigeria better.
“You see peoples’ faces beautiful but you don’t know what each person harbours inside of him. If you discover a bad egg, remove such a person and if such person has learnt his or her lessons, there can still be room to accommodate the person.
“Politically speaking, you can’t be my friend if you don’t buy into Nigeria’s project. For me, till death, I will continue to push for a better Nigeria,” he told his guests.
Mr Obasanjo who had served out his two term in office as president under the PDP dumped the party and publicly declared support for Mr Buhari when the latter sought the exalted office in 2015. The former Nigerian leader helped in thwarting the re-election of then president, Goodluck Jonathan.
The 2015 election was the first time in the country the opposition will be winning at the national level, unseating an incumbent president.
As the 2019 election season drew near, Obasanjo kicked against the aspiration of the president, urging him not to run for a second term based on his performances in office, backing the PDP candidate to challenge the president.
Buhari, who dumped the advise in a trash can, contested and defeated Mr Abubakar, who has gone to the election tribunal, with over 4 million votes, politically humbling Obasanjo in the process.
