I have been at a very close quarter with Obasanjo twice. One at Katsina. I did not even know that he was in the VIP lounge. I think it was during the late Yar’Adua’s daughter’s marriage to Yuguda. I wanted to use the rest room and here was Obasanjo directly sitting inside. I was even scared because he almost passed out.

I held his hand and he said, ‘DSP, what have I done that deserved you shaking me?’ There were other people, Kenny Martins and one other of his political friends. I said I was shaking him for two reasons. One was because of the Almighty God that created us. Number two is that tradition demands that we should welcome our visitors. Then Kenny got up and said, ‘great leader, great leader’ and he came to hug me. The second encounter was when I was going to Dubai and if Obasanjo had known that I was in that aircraft, he would not have entered but I was already seated. We were very few in the aircraft. Because of fear, Obasanjo saw me and hysterically called me Fayose and I told him that I was not Fayose. I said former president, Olusegun, Mathew Kikiola Aremu Obasanjo, you are a devil incarnate. I said when we were small, our lesson teachers always talked about this devil and that devil but I never knew that the devil was a human being. I told him that ‘you are a direct descendants of the devil.’ I told him that ‘if you talk, I will throw you out of this aircraft.’

I know of a truth that he did not sleep throughout the flight. The only thing he said was ‘DSP, is it only you that entered prison? I too entered prison.’ He said you entered prison and I entered prison. So, I asked him where he was going and he said he was going to Saudi Arabia. I said ‘Saudi Arabia? Former President Obasanjo, is there no God in Nigeria again that you are going to meet Muhammed? You are not telling me the truth, you are going to look for that money you kept in Saudi Arabia.’ The Obasanjo I know was going to check his account in Saudi Arabia. You are not going to worship or do any other thing. He kept quiet and I left. But I have forgiven him and I can even go to Otta. He is an elder. One thing I know of Obasanjo is that you can say anything against him but he is a leader. If he says he is going to do this, he will do it. You can call Obasanjo any time of the day or night and he will pick the phone himself. He will be ready to sit down with you to solve any problem even though he will not allow you to talk. He has invited you to seek your opinion on how to solve the problem but he would not allow you to talk and at the end of the day, you begin to wonder why did this man call me when he had the solution. That is the type of character that he is. But from my encounter with him, if we start it now, this interview will not end. If that scenario plays out today, I will better handle it than that time. I will document it because I have his dossier and I gave it to him. It is from 1966, the first military coup in this country. I know him. For me to say he is devil incarnate, he is.

Courtesy: The SUN