Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that he opposed President Muhammadu Buhari during the build-up to the last Presidential election not for personal reasons but for the advancement of democracy. Obasanjo said this at an event held in commemoration of his 82nd birthday in Ogun State on Tuesday. This is the former President’s first public appearance in Nigeria since the election.

Obasanjo said: “You see, in a democracy, you criticise policies of government. It is not family affair. Even if it is my brother that is there and he is not doing what I think he should do, he must be criticised. That is what democracy is all about- criticism and seeing the other side So, if I say any government in Nigeria or anywhere for that matter is not doing well, let that government prove that it is doing well. It is not anything personal. That is your boss, Buhari. There is nothing personal between me and him. Just as he is your boss, I am his boss, with all due respect.”

The former President of Nigeria, who ruled as a military head of state from 1976 to 1979 and as a democratically elected President from 1999 to 2007, said he will forever remain Nigeria’s longest-serving leader “The point is that I have been in that position longer than any other Nigerian will ever be there. That is the truth,” he added. Obasanjo, who supported his former deputy, Atiku Abubakar, of the Peoples Democratic Party, was one of Buhari’s fiercest critics during the electioneering.

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However, the former President was mocked by Buhari and his associates when the President won at the polling unit where Obasanjo voted. The APC-led government accused Obasanjo of squandering $16 billion meant for reviving the power sector. Now, though, Obasanjo explained why he will continue to criticise President Buhari, saying, democracy involves criticism and that it is not family affairs. Obasanjo said the issues between him and Buhari were not personal.

Obasanjo had responded to remarks by the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Michael Gbadebo, who advised him to stop attacking Buhari. The monarch had said that he was never comfortable whenever Obasanjo verbally attacked Buhari, urging him to stop. He said: “Governance is not a family affair and democracy involves criticism and considering all sides to an issue. There is nothing personal between President Buhari and me.” [Culled from Punch].