A former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has responded to claims by an elderly statesman of the Niger Delta, Chief Edwin Clark, that he hates the region.
Obasanjo issued this rejoinder on Monday via an open letter written and addressed to Clark, noting that he had never shown anger or disdain for the Niger Delta region or any part of the country.
Ripples Nigeria had reported that Clark, the leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) had written an open letter to Obasanjo.
He stated that Obasanjo’s comments that the oil found in the Niger Delta does not belong to the people of the region represents his disposition towards the Niger Delta.
Nonetheless, Obasanjo, in the letter titled “My response to the open letter by Clark” said: “Let me proceed with the most basic constitutional fact that you cannot have two entities in a sovereign State.”
“I have never shown any anger, distraught with Niger Delta region nor any part of Nigeria.
“Some of the languages you have deployed to describe me in your letter are offensive, uncouth and I totally and completely rejected them.
“I am not inconsistent, hypocritical, unstatesman, and nor am I anybody’s lackey.
“You use your own yardstick to judge others. I hope you think and adjust. Negotiation achieves better results than dictation. Revolution for sea-change may rarely happen and then we may continue to languish in frustration and regret with dire judgment in posterity.
“What you call an outburst is my own way of calling attention. I raise my voice such that those who are sleeping would have to wake up to listen to me. Truth must be stated and upheld, no matter how bitter it might be.”
