Jonathan, Obasanjo in fence-mending meeting … discuss differences over lunch at villa

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Sunday made a dramatic appearance at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He worshipped with President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife, Patience and other top government officials  at the Aso Villa Chapel.

We learnt that the visit was a fence-mending one between the two leaders who are publicly believed to  differ on  some issues in the polity, including  tackling  the Boko Haram insurgency.

It was not clear on Sunday  whether Jonathan  invited the former President or  he (Obasanjo) made the visit a surprise one.

The former President was said to have been accompanied to the Villa by two of his  daughters,  one of his sons identified simply as  Juwon, and a businessman, Mr. Femi Otedola.

A source in the chapel said Obasanjo read the second lesson of the service and led a prayer session.

At the end of the service,  he was also said to have visited the Children’s church in company with Jonathan. He also offered prayers for the children.

The former President was said to have thereafter followed the President to his official residence where they had a lunch meeting before he departed the Villa.

Details of what they discussed  during the  lunch were not officially disclosed but sources said the discussion was about fence-mending.

Obasanjo’s appearance at the Presidential Villa came  hours after  reports quoted him in an interview with the pan-African magazine, New African, as saying that Jonathan was mismanaging the security challenges in the country.

The magazine had quoted him as saying, “If the President is the chief security officer of the country and there is a security problem, where do you go for the solution? And if that solution is not coming from the chief security officer, who has everybody and can mobilise everybody inside and outside to get a solution, then he has the responsibility to solve the problem. And nobody else should be blamed but him.”

Ironically, Obasanjo visited  the Villa  less than 24 hours  after  the Presidency responded to his criticism, describing him as confused.

Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak,  said Jonathan did not take Obasanjo’s statement seriously because  he  (former President) had unlimited access to him(Jonathan) if he wanted to give a piece of  advice.

“If Obasanjo said what he said, we will just tolerate him because the other time, he said force should be used and he turned back to say dialogue must be used. Now, he is saying another thing. He is becoming confusing. I think the old man is becoming confused. The fact is that the insecurity issue started even during Obasanjo’s regime. It did not start with Jonathan’s regime,” he said.

Gulak said the present administration was confronting the insecurity through intelligence to fish out culprits.

He said  the government had resolved not to use brutal force against innocent citizens since  the President was against that.

“The security agencies are deploying intelligence. The culprits are being arrested and arraigned in courts . Bomb manufacturing outfits are being identified and destroyed.  That is the best way to go about it and the government is doing so reasonably,” he said.

There has been several media reports insinuating  disagreements  between Obasanjo and Jonathan.

Although the Presidency had denied the existence of any rift between the two leaders, Obasanjo’s public pronouncements critical of Jonathan had proved otherwise.

Our correspondent, however, learnt that since Obasanjo started his public criticism of Jonathan, the President had sent emissaries to him on the need to cease fire.

The efforts had, however, not yielded the desired result.

The camp of the President was said not to be happy with Obasanjo’s disposition to Jonathan especially as pre-2015 election activities would soon begin.