By Abiodun Lawal
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers paid a visit to former president Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta on Monday to consult and solicit his support for his presidential ambition in 2023.
He was accompanied on the visit by Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue.
Wike told newsmen after a closed-door meeting with Obasanjo that he visited to learn from the wealth of experience of the former president.
The Rivers governor, a presidential aspirant in the 2023 general elections on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it was important to consult a leader and someone who had presided over the affairs of the country in the past.
“We have come to consult our leader; to consult somebody who has presided over the affairs of this country, not just as a president, but also as a former military Head of State.
“The kind of experience he had and the passion he has for this country coupled with his continuous preaching for unity and peace is something to be emulated.
“This country requires somebody who has the courage; somebody who can take a firm decision and somebody who wants to unite Nigerians and that is what we think that we should do,’’ he said.
Wike added that if elected as the president of Nigeria in 2023, he would further unite Nigerians and also take the issue of security seriously.
Earlier, Obasanjo noted that all hands must be on deck to fix the challenges facing the country, saying that no one individual could do it alone.
The former president explained that the issues Wike raised were the issues that were dear to his heart for the unity and stability of Nigeria.
He stated that Nigeria remained a complex country, but not a difficult country.
“If we are sincere and fair to ourselves, it is not a difficult country,’’ Obasanjo stressed.
“I ceased to be a partisan politician; I don’t belong to any political party, but if politics is the welfare of the people, I cannot cease to be a politician because I must always seek the welfare of the people.
“As I often said, no one individual can say yes I can do it because the situation Nigeria is in today, we need all hands, all Nigerian hands on deck to restore Nigeria and that is what Gov. Wike is saying to me.
“Courage, he doesn’t lack it; and if you have courage and you have the conviction to speak your mind, you will be an example of a saying in this part of the world that `a person who speaks the truth all the time may not even get a mat spread for him’.
“I wish Gov. Wike well,’’ Obasanjo said. (NAN)
