Dele Farotimi, a human rights activist and lawyer from Nigeria, has claimed that former vice president Atiku Abubakar was being plotted to replace Olusegun Obasanjo as president.
Speaking in an interview with Edmund Obilo, Obasanjo was informed of this plot and tried to thwart it. Farotimi disclosed the origins of the dispute between Atiku and Obasanjo. Atiku Abubakar was ostensibly being groomed to take over from Obasanjo. He wasn’t truly Obasanjo’s choice.
Obasanjo was not the type to bring someone who would blossom into maturity. Also, Obasanjo had no interest in having Atiku as his deputy after he had established himself in 2003. That needs to be made very obvious. Having an influential deputy is not practical for Nigerians.
According to him, a colourless, non-threatening person is always desirable. According to Farotimi, this pattern was deeply ingrained in Nigerian politics, with the position of Vice President traditionally held by men who did not constitute a political danger to their leaders.
He made the observation that politicians who were ambitious were seldom retained in that role. But he did single out Vice President Kashim Shettima as an exception, saying that even before he became the country’s second-highest official, Shettima had genuine character and standing.
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