Jonathan/Obasanjo Feud: Elders To The Rescue

Elder statesmen across the country have concluded plans to mediate in the seeming rift between President Goodluck Jonathan and his political godfather, former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Saturday Newswatch gathered that some of the 'mediators' plan to meet in Kaduna tomorrow, to prepare the ground for an enlarged meeting in Abuja, scheduled for next week.

Among the leaders said to be involved in the mediation are former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Second Republic President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari and head of the Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan.

Also this weekend, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), would be meeting to elect a new leader and take a critical look at the nation's polity as it affects the northern region. A former Inspector General of Police is tipped to emerge as its consensus candidate.

Obasanjo had in a letter to President Jonathan on December 2, x-rayed the state of the nation and concluded that all was not well with the running of government, an action that elicited a reply full of bile and a dint of threat from the President who on December 24, dragged the former president to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and the anti-graft agencies.

Not done yet, the President, in his Christmas Church service message, again, took on his predecessor, warning that: "for us at this time, especially we the politicians, that we think we own this country, to begin to think about next election and doing what we ought not to do, making statements we ought not to make, writing letters we supposed not to write..."

It was gathered that the conveners of the meeting were worried that the altercation between the two leaders was capable of overheating the already charged political atmosphere.