OBJ on Hard Talk
Entertaining, to say the least. The interview begins 1"20 in. Thanks Nkem for uploading.
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22 hours ago
Thursday, March 19, 2009
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25 comments:
He is not a very articulate leader. This is very depressing!
I intensely dislike Obasanjo, and think that his tenur as President was one huge dark hole of a God complex gone wrong, but all thsi interview did was make me feel sympathetic towards him.
Steve was obnoxious, obtuse and ill-informed. He asked stock questions that he obviously thought could apply to African leader. The question about no member of cabinet being arrested was obviouisly disgusting for its lack of accuracy or research. The question about the President's daughter was silly and a cheap point.
Steve obviously thought he could ask 'stock' questions and get away with making 'yet another' African leader squirm. He was wrong. And this interview was a disaster - for steve and his credientials as a serious jour5nalist.
Hard Talk? How about rigour with the 'hardness'?
Cheiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii..hehehheheeh
The way im call that Tessler name with familiarity...ehhhhhhhhhhn, e be like say dem don chop for each other house before oh...
Meanwhile, I don't even know how I managed to get through the whole thing, the first five minutes tried my patience.
i am yet to believe that obasanjo was shameless enough to give interviews to the international world. that man ruined Nigeria, elevated corruption and stole $16BN energy fund yet, he is here lying through his teeth about being an upright man. Why didn't Tessler ask him about our $16Bn, his escapades with Gbenga's wife and series of contracts allocated to his criminal daughter iyabo with fictitious names. The Obasanjo family is a disgrace to not only the yoruba race but to Nigerians as a whole. The eggs pelted at him in London is just a tip of the iceberg because they will chastise him with scorpions in hell when he eventually dies. He doesn't have up to 20 years max to live, in't he seventy something?
As usual, the journalist asked the standard "you Nigerians/Africans are all extremely corrupt" questions which is typical of interviews of these sorts.
The double standards of the Western establishment is frustrating.
Regarding the ICC arrest warrant for Beshir, you will never hear me defending his actions in Sudan, but how come when an African dictator instigates a war which causes the death of hundreds of thousands of people, displaces a million people he is accused of genocide, but if a former American president and a former UK prime minister do the same in another country, they are untouchable?
The US constantly gives the finger to the ICC whenever they are issues involving their "War against Terror" activities, why shouldn't Sudan be able to do the same.
It was amusing to read Gordon Duguid's, the acting deputy spokesman at the US State Department, press briefing where he had to walking the contradictory tightrope of commending Beshir's arrest warrant and still explain why the US doesn't acknowledge the jurisdiction of the ICC!
Until there are no more "untouchable" countries and until the global justice system is fair and balanced, I say F*** the ICC.
I can hear OBJ grumbling "Oloshi" as he left that studio.
Obj...respect! U may be corrupt and posterity will judge for that but u didnt disappoint me in this interview.
Nice analysis of the interview over on Akin's blog: http://akin.blog-city.com/nigeria_obasanjos_hard_talk.htm
Lol, i cant stop laughing @ "can you ask an European leader that kind of question." brave question. Look at what we left in Aso Rock for 8 years.
i have to agree with the majority view here, Obasanjo almost made me proud for once. His originality shone thru and you can see he is a proud yoruba/african leader who refused to buy into the caricature of the average african leader - one which Tessler failed accurately to depict.
altho i must add here that i had no idea he was that 'ugly' - obasanjo that is... lol!!!
Ole oshi!!
Upright man ko upleft man ni.
Embarrassing piece of garbage
This old man needs to return to his farm
Some of these western jounalists are complete idiots. I don't know if OBJ was corrupt or not but the modafoka Steve didn't even have his facts right - he said no corrupt senior official was brought to justice during OBJ's tenure. Haba, what abt Afolabi, Ehindero, and the education Minister.
Do I really blame the journalists like Steve? Maybe NO. I really blame the Nigerians that really suck up to the Western shit.
I never voted for OBJ but I think I liked the fact that he didn't take shit from this idiot. If I were in OBJ's shoes, I would have been so rude to that guy on set!
l tink it was at steve's discretion to ask wut eva question he deemed fit, and l'm glad he didnt make any exceptions, l quote "Steve was obnoxious, obtuse and ill-informed. He asked stock questions that he obviously thought could apply to African leader. The question about no member of cabinet being arrested was obviouisly disgusting for its lack of accuracy or research. The question about the President's daughter was silly and a cheap point" if there was equality in NIGER then ODILI should be imprisoned by now, yar adua should not be president, obj should not hav slept wit sons wife, he is dumbest president l've ever seen, geting upset when asked simple questions. ones u decide to become a leader u automatically become a role model and u will be judged publicly, long live freedom of speech.
I have read certain comments here and feel even more ashamed than when I just finish watching the interview. For anyone to have a kind word for OBJ baffles the sh*t out of me. Time they say is money...we wasted 8yrs of time on OBJ...God help Nigeria.
i really have to give obasanjo a big hand, he really was defending our country Nigeria. Though there are lots of lapses in Nigeria, the so called steve of a guy has no right was so ever to make sure a serious allegations against obasanjo for what ever reason, it is against the human right code. And ofcourse i know that he will not make the allegation against the western country. common guys he should show some respect.
Yes obasanjo was not a good leader as anyone expected him to be, but still, i think he has respect for our great country nigeria.
Proudly Nigerian
As a Nigerian & a very proud Nigerian one at that, I know Nigerian leaders are very corrupt and are the bane of our failures.
But I must say on this occasion, in this interview, I was quite proud of the way Mr Obasanjo fought back. He made of lot of sense with some of his arguments e.g. he can't be held responsible for the actions of a 42 yr old woman. True isn't it, whether it is true or not he is part of the case.
Steve tried to embarrass Mr Obasanjo, with cheap and silly questions & some allegations (which were not even well researched or correct) & which I dare say would not be asked of current of ex-leaders of certain counties.
When it comes to corruption, a lot of Nigerians are very guilty, whether it can be proven or not. But we need to put a stop to this attempt to always embarrass and degrade Africans at large.
And that is why I felt sympathetic and had a sense of support for Mr Obasanjo in this interview. I must also say, he was quite articulate and clear and speaks a lot faster now.
He also made a very good point, being a good man with good intentions is not enough to bring change to Nigeria, one needs a lot more than that. I dare say even an Obama or a Tony Blair will struggle to change Nigeria.
Change in Nigeria has to be gradual and sustained and by God's grace, we will get there sooner than later, Amen.
People, I concede that Steven Sackur was combative in his interview style, but if you've seen him grill others on his show you'll know that he always is. OBJ knew what to expect when he submitted himself to be interviewed. But with regards to the substance of the latter part of the interview, I'm not convinced that Baba Iyabo was being hand on heart truthful.
@Nkem: what has human right code got to do with any of Mr Sackur's questions to OBJ?
Also you said
"Yes obasanjo was not a good leader as anyone expected him to be, but still, i think he has respect for our great country nigeria"
What respect are u talking about please? Tell that to the villagers in Odi and Benue state that he sent troops to massacre. Tell that to the millions of people who's votes he rigged in 2003 and again in 2007 to force Umoru upon us.
OBJ showed no respect for Nigeria and he deserves none either, he only went on Hardtalk in a bid to repair the damage done to his image(sleeping with daughter in-law, stealing NEPA money etc) in the Nigerian press. Shikena!
while i am not a fan of OBJ, i was sorry that missed seeing this.
thanks for the link.
p.s
i will reserve judgement until i watch it cos i have read so many conflicting views on the internet already
all of u defending obj r either ignorant or suck ups u r d type of pple dat suck up 2 pple in power just 2 enrich urselves @ d expense of ur own pple.thats y Africa is backwards,@least d whites will prey on us rather than their selves n defend their actions because back home majority of d pple have good jobs,electricity n clean water n they can count on their support.but in Africa its a different scenario our leaders prey on us n when d international community ask questions we can not ask, cos of fear 4 our lives n jobs some of u sit down n type nonsense. may be if there was a medium where african leaders can be held accountable for their actions by d common pple without any bureaucratic nonsense like in britain every week d prime minister is summoned n scrutinized by d opposition party n its live on tv.where as in nigeria theres only one functioning party.if u r a public figure u shuld be ready 2 be transparent n open 2 criticism.they asked him a question n he came up with d cheap n petty defence of "will u ask an European leader dat question"well if u dont want 2 be scrutinized by an European do d right thing n keep ur overbearing attitude in ur pocket of always feeling insulted when a simple question is asked.when d truth is u r actually a corrupt n paranoid leaderthat did nothing 4 nigeria in his 8yrs of leadrship..
I am truly disappointed with those that have decided to support Obasanjo on this interview. He ruled Nigeria three times and there is nothing and I mean “nothing” to show for it. The very basics - Water, electricity and security are totally missing. Forget about other things, without these three, Nigeria shall “never” grow. This “creation” had the opportunity to change the country “three times – 1976, 1999 then again in 2003” but he did not do “a” thing. Apart from the people of Nigeria who are inherently hardened but still kind hearted anywhere and everywhere in the world, I am sorry to say that there is nothing good to “raise” about the country – “rebranding” my foot. Can you imagine loads of people in Nigeria now flock to Ghana. Haba, Ghana that we gave the adage “GHANA MUST GO” in those “years”. Do you know how they insult us now (Nigeria supposedly the giant of Africa) - “NIGERIA MUST COME” when things are not working in our country. A country blessed with “all and any natural resources you can think of including the “black gold”. We have no choice but to stomach such insult because of these “creations” that we call “our leader/s”. For once “baba” was boxed into a corner (not seriously) but he still stammered and showed a bit of anger like a child cut pxxxx DOWN. Beautiful Ghana is now far better than Nigeria. Electricity does not blink. If they need to switch off the mains they “even” tell the people. No such chance in Nigeria. Everyday for my country na candle light dinner – Chei Chei Chei. Na wa o.
I am truly disappointed with those that have decided to support Obasanjo on this interview. He ruled Nigeria three times and there is nothing and I mean “nothing” to show for it. The very basics - Water, electricity and security are totally missing. Forget about other things, without these three, Nigeria shall “never” grow. This “creation” had the opportunity to change the country “three times – 1976, 1999 then again in 2003” but he did not do “a” thing. Apart from the people of Nigeria who are inherently hardened but still kind hearted anywhere and everywhere in the world, I am sorry to say that there is nothing good to “raise” about the country – “rebranding” my foot. Can you imagine loads of people in Nigeria now flock to Ghana. Haba, Ghana that we gave the adage “GHANA MUST GO” in those “years”. Do you know how they insult us now (Nigeria supposedly the giant of Africa) - “NIGERIA MUST COME” when things are not working in our country. A country blessed with “all and any natural resources you can think of including the “black gold”. We have no choice but to stomach such insult because of these “creations” that we call “our leader/s”. For once “baba” was boxed into a corner (not seriously) but he still stammered and showed a bit of anger like a child cut pxxxx DOWN. Beautiful Ghana is now far better than Nigeria. Electricity does not blink. If they need to switch off the mains they “even” tell the people. No such chance in Nigeria. Everyday for my country na candle light dinner – Chei Chei Chei. Na wa o. dzoid
I am truly disappointed with those that have decided to support Obasanjo on this interview. He ruled Nigeria three times and there is nothing and I mean “nothing” to show for it. The very basics - Water, electricity and security are totally missing. Forget about other things, without these three, Nigeria shall “never” grow. This “creation” had the opportunity to change the country “three times – 1976, 1999 then again in 2003” but he did not do “a” thing. Apart from the people of Nigeria who are inherently hardened but still kind hearted anywhere and everywhere in the world, I am sorry to say that there is nothing good to “raise” about the country – “rebranding” my foot. Can you imagine loads of people in Nigeria now flock to Ghana. Haba, Ghana that we gave the adage “GHANA MUST GO” in those “years”. Do you know how they insult us now (Nigeria supposedly the giant of Africa) - “NIGERIA MUST COME” when things are not working in our country. A country blessed with “all and any natural resources you can think of including the “black gold”. We have no choice but to stomach such insult because of these “creations” that we call “our leader/s”. For once “baba” was boxed into a corner (not seriously) but he still stammered and showed a bit of anger like a child cut pxxxx DOWN. Beautiful Ghana is now far better than Nigeria. Electricity does not blink. If they need to switch off the mains they “even” tell the people. No such chance in Nigeria. Everyday for my country na candle light dinner – Chei Chei Chei. Na wa o.
As a matter of fact, i believe we nigerians , can always weather all conditions , baba agba never disappointed me.
If i was baba, i would have given him a dirty slap, and also send him home if he could talk to his elders like that.Greatest baba.
Am impressed with Obj's comment, whoever is not satisfied with it has a right to his or her opinion.
With all due respect Steve was rude with his questions, he deserves a serious query if he were to be talking to the president of an European country.
I don't care if he had done anything wrong or right, but if any body gets there they can't do any better.
I give kudos to baba.
Nigeria Good People,
Great nation
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