President Bola Tinubu was on Thursday captured bowing to greet former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the fundraising ceremony for the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) Presidential Library and the presentation of IBB’s autobiography titled “A Journey in Service”.
This came a few months after Obasanjo attacked Tinubu, describing Nigeria as a “failing state” under him and accusing the current administration of widespread corruption and leadership failure.
Obasanjo, during a lecture at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University in November 2024, attributed Nigeria’s woes to weak leadership and corruption and referred to Tinubu’s leadership as uninspiring.
The former president used terms like “Baba-go-slow” and “Emilokan,” in his criticism of Tinubu’s administration.
“What is happening in Nigeria – right before our eyes – is state capture, where public institutions are subject to undue influence from vested interests,” Obasanjo had said in his keynote lecture titled “Leadership failure and the state of corruption in Nigeria” delivered at the Chinua Achebe leadership forum at Yale University.
In response to Obasanjo’s remarks, the presidency dismissed the former leader’s criticisms.
Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said Obasanjo had a history of publicly criticising subsequent administrations pointing despite his alleged failure to address Nigeria’s challenges during his time in office.
The presidency described Obasanjo as a hypocrite, citing various scandals and governance failures during his tenure, including corruption allegations and poor management of national infrastructure.
Meanwhile, President Tinubu, at the IBB book launch, praised Babangida’s political contributions.
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