A new account from former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, reveals the incident that triggered the breakdown in relations between the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua and his predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo.
According to a report published by Naija News, the disclosure comes from Lamido’s newly released autobiography Being True to Myself, where he recalls a key moment during Yar’adua’s early presidency involving electoral reforms.
The turning point, Lamido wrote, occurred during President Yar’adua’s first National Council of State meeting in 2007. At that session, Yar’adua presented a memo on electoral reform that candidly described the election that brought him to power as “massively irregular.” Despite Lamido’s warnings about the memo’s potential consequences, Yar’adua stood firm.
“When the Council convened, President Yar’adua read the memo, describing his own election as being ‘massively irregular’. I looked across the Council and observed the utter shock and bewilderment of President Obasanjo and Justice Katsina-Alu. I turned my gaze to President Yar’adua, who appeared unconcerned and totally indifferent to the thick atmosphere in the Council.”
Lamido described Yar’adua’s action as courageous, noting it deeply unsettled those in the room, particularly Obasanjo, who had played a major role in selecting Yar’adua as his successor. He added that Chief Justice Katsina-Alu, who had upheld the election result in the Supreme Court, was also present during that tense meeting.
Despite personal and political risk, Yar’adua acknowledged flaws in the electoral process and pursued reforms, setting a tone of accountability. Lamido, while maintaining that his own election was fair, expressed confusion over Yar’adua’s decision to present such a memo in that setting.
This moment, Lamido suggested, may have been the catalyst for the eventual rift between the two leaders, one that shaped the tone of Yar’adua’s administration moving forward.
Article updated 1 month ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
