Vunderkind
Social Member
Almost a year after Obasanjo's daughter, Iyabo, wrote a heated letter against her father, the former president of Nigeria has finally replied her, alleging that President Goodluck Jonathan's administration was the one that incited her against him.
In his latest memoir, Obasanjo said that 'this administration' was inciting his daughters to do 'a dirty job' and that he had already tried to discourage them. However, he said, Iyabo fell prey because of 'her character' and 'the influence of her mother.' This was obtained from TheCable's initial reading of the yet-to-be-published book.
It will be remembered that Iyabo Obasanjo, a former Ogun state commissioner and ex-senator, said that her father had failed as a parent and lacked the moral right to criticize anyone. Her sensational writer had said, "this is the end of my communication with you for life. I pray Nigeria survives your continual intervention in its affairs."
Obasanjo said: “I got a warning that this administration was attempting to induce two of my daughters, including Iyabo, to do a dirty job. I warned them both against it, but because of her character, the influence of her mother and her attitude, Iyabo succumbed; the other daughter did not.
“I was warned about a former minister of finance, who wrote the reply for Jonathan, and about the writer of the letter to which E. K. Clark appended his signature. Iyabo’s letter and the response to it has been treated as a family issue, so that all the members of the family can be equipped with the other side of the story from me for posterity.
“If Iyabo was childish and unwise enough to allow herself to be used, no other member of the family should allow himself or herself to be so used. Tolerance and acceptance of others must be practiced in the face of any provocation, no matter how vile.”
It will be recalled that Olusegun Obasanjo had once been accused of inbreeding and adultery by his son, Gbenga, who accused him of sleeping with his wife.
Obasanjo said that a network around the late President Umar Musa Yar'Adua had attempted to frame Iyabo, when she was a senator, for corruption:
“My adversaries tried other means to get to me,” he stated. “If Obasanjo could not be cut down to size, they must have thought, what about those close to him, including his daughter? When Senator Iyabo, my daughter, was accused of corruption, I took my time to have a serious interview with her on what exactly had transpired. She briefed me in detail and I was satisfied. “But I did not stop there. I spoke with the Senate President, who also briefed me and assured me that Iyabo had not committed any offence as he had personally looked into the matter."
